Why this exists
For more than a century, faithful from every corner of the world have travelled to Lourdes to leave a written petition at the Grotto where Our Lady appeared in 1858. For many, the trip is impossible — distance, age, illness, money. We started Volunteers of Lourdes for those people.
Once a month, we travel to the Sanctuary, walk to the public Grotto, and place each customer's printed prayer in the Petition Box where the faithful have left their petitions for generations. We photograph every delivery and send each customer their photo by email — a small, tangible sign that their petition reached the Grotto.
What we are: a paid volunteer service. The fee covers printing, travel, photography, materials, and the time of our small team.
What we are not: we are not officials of the Sanctuary of Lourdes, of the Catholic Church, or of any religious institution. We do not promise miracles, healing, or specific outcomes. We promise to deliver your prayer with care and to send you the photograph as proof. Anything beyond that is between you and your faith.
Who runs Volunteers of Lourdes
Volunteers of Lourdes is operated by Iago Rodrigues, a Brazilian Catholic, under the registered trade name "Ministry of Devotions". The service is run as a single-owner business (CNPJ 52.210.584/0001-23) registered in Águas Lindas de Goiás, Brazil. The on-the-ground volunteer team in Lourdes is composed of independent collaborators who help us print, deliver, photograph, and ship out the materials.
How we work
- Once a month we make the trip to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France.
- The day before each trip we print every prayer petition received since the last visit.
- At the Grotto we place each printed prayer in the Petition Box and photograph it. For Tier 2 (Volunteers of Lourdes Prayer Circle) and Tier 3 (Sacred Pilgrim) customers, a volunteer also reads the prayer aloud at the Grotto before placing it.
- Within 7 business days of returning, we email every customer their personalized photo confirmation.
Why we charge
Every service tier covers real costs — paper and ink for printing, travel between Brazil and France, accommodation near Lourdes, photographic supplies, the email infrastructure for delivering photos, customer support, and the time of the small team that makes this happen. There is no profit margin built into the lower tiers. The Sacred Pilgrim tier ($55) helps subsidize the team and keep the basic tier affordable for those who can only contribute a little.
Transparency
We try to be honest about what we do and what we don't do.
- We are not registered as a non-profit. We are a regular for-profit single-owner business operating under Brazilian tax law.
- We are not affiliated with the official Sanctuary of Lourdes, the Diocese of Tarbes-Lourdes, or the Catholic Church.
- The "miracles" claimed at Lourdes are recognized by the Sanctuary's Medical Bureau, not by us. We make no medical or supernatural claims of any kind.
- Every order is covered by our 60-day money-back guarantee.
- Every customer's payment is processed by Digistore24 Inc., an independent regulated payment provider.
Our promise
Treat your prayer with reverence. Deliver it where you asked us to deliver it. Photograph it as proof. Email you within the timeframe we promised. Refund you in full if you ever feel let down.
That is all we promise — and that is what we will do, every month, for as long as we are able.