The World Day of the Sick is a feast day of the Roman Catholic Church which was instituted on May 13, 1992 by Pope John Paul II. Beginning on February 12, 1993, it is celebrated every year on the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes, for all believers seeks to be "a special time of prayer and sharing, of offering one's suffering". The feast of Lourdes was chosen because many pilgrims and visitors to Lourdes have reportedly be healed by intercerssions of the Blessed Virgin. The pontiff was also fond of the sanctuary of Harissa in Lebanon.