The Woman Whose Job Is to Investigate Miracles

In the French pilgrimage town of Lourdes, one woman has a job unlike almost any other in the world: she investigates claims of miraculous healing.

Dr Giana Monami works at Lourdes’ medical investigation office, known as the Bureau de Constatation. Her role is to examine reports from people who believe they have experienced unexplained and permanent recoveries.

Lourdes has attracted pilgrims for more than a century. The town became famous after Bernadette Soubirous, a young shepherd girl, reported seeing apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1858.

Today, tens of thousands of people continue to travel to the shrine each year. Many come hoping for healing, while others arrive simply to pray, volunteer or support sick and disabled pilgrims.

Dr Monami approaches the claims from a medical perspective. Reports of possible miracles are examined carefully, with medical records and previous diagnoses considered before a case can be recognised.

According to the BBC, 72 healings have so far been officially recognised as miraculous by the Catholic Church following the Lourdes process.

But the work is not only about deciding whether an illness has disappeared without a medical explanation. Dr Monami also encounters people whose experiences have changed their lives in less measurable ways.

Some visitors say they have found renewed faith. Others describe overcoming addictions or discovering a new sense of purpose after coming to Lourdes.

Another important part of life in Lourdes is the thousands of mostly young volunteers known as hospitaliers. They help sick and disabled visitors move around the shrine, take part in ceremonies and manage the practical challenges of travelling with serious health conditions.

The volunteers often describe the experience as meaningful in its own right. For many of them, helping another person through a difficult journey becomes a personal experience of compassion and solidarity.

For Dr Monami, the work sits at an unusual intersection of medicine, faith and human experience. Her responsibility is to examine extraordinary claims carefully, while the people around her continue to search for hope in their own ways.

Whether a recovery is ultimately considered miraculous or medically explainable, the stories coming through Lourdes continue to reveal something deeply human: people facing illness and uncertainty often find strength in one another.

Source: BBC World Service, Heart and Soul: The Miracle Doctor of Lourdes, October 2, 2026.