Some may ask why this book was worthy of being written. Others may say, "so what" if the Archdiocese of New Orleans was consecrated to Our Lady of Lourdes in 1873 - what is the meaning in that for us today? Still others may question why so much time might be spent poring over documents long forgotten from a time so distant from our own. We might hear from some Catholics that we have ongoing Marian apparitions that deserve our full attention now rather than on apparitions that have been concluded for years. The simple answer is I just couldn't resist finding out everything about the 19thcentury devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. The fact is the embers of the Lourdes consecration, Arch-confraternity and message have been burning in our area since 1868 and with a small wind the ash can be blown from those embers and the burning fire re-ignited in the hearts and souls of the devoted today.