The magazine, Auras de Lourdes, published by the Assumptionists who run the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Santo Lugares section of Buenos Aires, celebrated its 100th birthday on January 1 of this year --- 100 years without interruption. To commemorate the event, the religious of the shrine produced a special centennial issue. At present the magazine appears four times a year.

The centennial issue, 54 pages in all, gives a short history of the magazine which was launched on January 1, 1914, at the original chapel under the direction of Fr. Godofredo Pierson AA, the superior of the community at the time. Only in 1920 was this community established as a parish.

The centennial issue also offers a summary of the current life of the shrine (esepcially the outreach to the sick and the elderly), the work and the charism of the Assumptionists, the active involvement of lay Assumptionists, some Marian themes, and articles on Christian formation and the family. It features an article on Pope Francis and his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium as well.

Fr.·Luis Ramón Rendón, pastor and superior of the local community, is likewise the editor of this centennial edition, perhaps one of the few magazines that have carried on uninterruptedly for a century. The magazine began·simply as a parish newsletter but, with time and the growth of the shrine, took on greater and greater importance and readership. According to Fr. Luis, the·publication strives to be faithful·its Marian heritage but has·remained open to current issues affecting the Church and the faithful.

Fr. Luis Ramón Rendón, A.A.

(This article first appeared in the December 19, 2013 issue of the Agencia Informativa Católica Argentina.)