01x02 - France

[bunniefuu]

We're somewhere in Europe,

about to meet

Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis,

the permanent residing physician

of the Office of Medical Observations

here at the most famous healing shrine

in the world.

He's the official doctor,

who was appointed by the regional bishop.

This is an incredibly special

and holy place.

And he's a really, really big deal.

Uh

Are you OK in town?

Did you like the town?

Sir, excuse me. I'm sorry.

Can you stop talking just for a second?

I gotta check Zac's mic.

Why you interrupt me?

- I'm not an actor.

- Right.

You know my city,

you know everything about me.

We've been preparing this for months.

I was even told that one of you

is very famous. I don't care.

- Yeah.

- It's him.

- It's you? I don't know

- No.

Just a few days into Europe

and we're already off to a bad start.

Hooray.

Don't intimidate me,

because then I react very negatively.

- These cameras mean nothing to us.

- Nor to me.

- Right.

- I'm discussing with two people.

- Exactly.

- That's all.

- And I'm telling you a story.

- Ex

- Unique in the world.

- Exactly.

I'm sure something

just got lost in translation.

So, while Darin clears all this up,

I'll explain why we're here.

We came all the way

to the culinary capital of the world

to study the most important nutrient

that we put into our bodies.

Water.

- What?

- This looks disgusting.

I love it.

And even though water isn't a food,

in many ways it's even more important.

Why the hell water?

- That is a very fair, valid question.

- I think so too!

We can live three weeks

without food,

but we can't go more than three days

without water.

And our bodies are

between 50 and 65% water.

There's some real science

to all of that stuff.

I dig it, man. I'm also thirsty as

Just like the food we eat,

we need to ask the hard questions

about the water that we drink.

What's the source of our water?

I'm just ready for a merman to swim up

- and be like

- Yes.

Aside from hydrogen

and oxygen molecules,

what's in the water that we drink?

Are we getting enough water?

- I didn't bring you a bottle.

- I don't think he needs it.

Also, does water hold

any secret metaphysical properties?

It's not about any kind of superstition.

It's symbols.

Through water, through light.

This is France.

Guys, we're going to Paris!

Let me start at the beginning.

A few years ago, I met Darin.

- I can't feel my feet or my hands.

- I'm proud of you, bro.

Yeah.

He's a guru of healthy living

and superfoods.

Yes, great. Thank you so much.

Really appreciate it.

You could say he wrote the book

on the subject. Literally.

A healthy lifestyle,

solid principles.

Darin and I are traveling around the world

to find some new perspectives

on some very old problems.

That's Mother Earth, bro.

Searching for healthy, sustainable

living solutions for the planet

Wow.

and all who live on it.

Woo-hoo!

Ignore the crazy white guy.

- And hey, you gotta eat too, right?

- You don't have to eat it.

- How does it move like that?

- Oh, my God.

It's time to get Down to Earth.

Trippy.

OK, so we're not in France yet.

But we are at a fancy French restaurant

in Los Angeles,

and I brought my friend Anna.

She makes everything fun.

- Oh, my darling!

- Even water.

This is Le Petit Ermitage

in West Hollywood,

home to America's

first certified water sommelier.

That's right,

Martin Riese is a water sommelier.

"Martin, you're a sommelier for water?

You could be a wine sommelier.

You could do drink beer,

you could drink liquor.

Like, why the hell water?"

That is a very fair, valid question.

I think so too.

And we all know this, in L.A. especially,

you're getting this,

pardon my English, nasty tap water.

Water's like highly chlorinated.

And I thought, "I'm gonna change that."

It was for me fascinating that we all need

to drink it, we drink it on a daily basis,

but nobody actually talks about it.

It's kind of crazy.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

So you're gonna show us

a variation of waters

that we'll be able to taste the difference

in because of their mineral content?

- Yes, correct.

- And none of them are purified?

No. I don't touch any purified water.

- So, all this

- Wait, what's wrong with filtered water?

So when it says "purified water"

on the labels, or "distilled water,"

I would never touch that.

That means it's nothing other

than actually boiled up tap water.

I'm always saying,

"When water's pure, don't drink it."

- OK.

- 'Cause water needs minerals.

Calcium, magnesium, potassium, silica,

all those amazing minerals,

what your body actually needs.

When you won't drink pure water,

water will look for minerals,

and it will find minerals in your body.

So that means it pulls out of the body

and you're losing actually minerals

by drinking water.

- OK, my mind is actually blown.

- So

the World Health Organization is actually

saying you should not drink that

'cause you could jeopardize your health

in the long-term.

- Did you both know that?

- Oh, yeah.

- You're such hippies.

- So all these purified water brands,

who are selling themselves,

"No, this is the most purest water ever,

and this is so cool, and pure, pure,"

that's all bull- for me.

That's the worst thing on planet Earth,

to call a water completely pure.

There is a TDS to every single water

on this planet.

TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids.

So the higher the TDS level is, the more

powerful we'll be tasting the water.

And we will start now with Australia.

This water is the olive oil of water.

I've always wanted

the olive oil of water.

It's literally,

it's a thick water.

- It's a thick water?

- It is.

- This water has a TDS of 1,300.

- Whoa.

It annoys me that this is so good,

'cause I don't know how to describe it,

but it tastes so strong!

- Yeah.

- Like, not in a good or a bad way,

- but it's wild.

- Yeah.

- Water has a flavor, for sure.

- Crazy, huh?

It's a watery flavor.

I feel like I'm being Punk'd, and if these

all turn out to be the same water,

and it's like this is actually an episode

about the power of suggestion.

I mean, I don't know,

egg on my face, I guess.

Next water, the very,

very famous brand in the UK.

So Hildon, we're introducing

our little bubbles.

And Hildon, this is now gently sparkling.

Very British, obviously.

Gently sparkling.

- Cheers, everybody.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

Wow, that's got some

- I don't know.

- The bubbles are awesome.

They're, like, super tiny.

Almost like Champagne bubbles.

- So I really like this.

- I like this one a lot.

Next one

Vichy Catalan,

and obviously Spain right here,

and the spring is actually

a little bit northern of Barcelona.

This is pretty much the number one

consumed sparkling water in Spain.

You will find it everywhere.

But this water is very unique in taste.

It has a TDS of 3,050.

- Whoa. Naturally?

- Have this water.

- Naturally.

- Amazing.

Mmm!

Oh, my God.

- Oh, my God.

- That's Alka-Seltzer in a bottle.

I love that you're saying this.

I would say, "What do you think?

What's the taste?"

- Yeah, Alka-Seltzer. Clearly.

- Yeah.

- But it has the same impact.

- This is wild!

This is considered

a healing water in Germany,

so this has so many minerals dissolved

that this, like,

actually has an impact on your body now.

I can, like, feel it sticking

to the roof of my mouth.

Crazy, huh?

- How intense this water is?

- It's oilier. Reminds me of Vegas water.

It comes of a 140 degrees Fahrenheit

hot spring

- I like that.

- out the geyser.

I have a very interesting water for you.

And this is a water, nobody else can

access this in America. You're the

That's my favorite, then.

So you're the only people today

on the whole continent of America

who actually have access to this water.

- No one's got that in their fridge?

- So this water, nobody get it.

- I feel like a Kardashian.

- This water comes from

- Not even the Kardashians.

- I made it!

- We did it!

- We made it! We did it!

So this water comes from Slovenia.

And I have to be very careful.

This is when I worry

that this is all a joke on me.

Because you tell me

that it's, like, the fanciest water,

- and I'm really excited.

- I think there's gold in it.

You see, like,

there's something happening here, huh?

So it looks like, when I'm pouring it,

it looks like a soda.

Oh, wow.

- What?

- This looks disgusting.

I love it.

What?

- That is very active.

- What's in there? Something.

This water has so much minerals

combined

that you can actually see

sometimes the minerals,

and you can see it, there's little

floating residues right here.

So it comes from a very old spring.

And I'm not telling you

the TDS of this water.

- It tastes like there's

- This tastes crazy.

Tastes like there's a coin

in there.

God, you are so good.

- I'm always telling people, this is

- There's gold in here?

This is, for me,

like a very metallic flavor to it.

- No one has said that there's gold!

- It's the gold cap.

One of the highest-magnesium content

waters ever found on this planet.

- Really?

- So it's magnesium.

Magnesium is one of the lowest

in most people.

So we need magnesium.

- What's the TDS?

- What's the TDS?

- 7,400.

- Wow.

This is not for hydration.

This is like,

it's pretty much medication now.

- Right, it's

- This is like a functional water.

- Yeah, functional water.

- But from nature.

That's a pretty amazing takeaway of

just for the day:

Why do you pick the water that you pick?

- When you're at the store

- What'll fit in my cup holder in my car.

Yeah, but I get it, yeah.

Look at this.

Exactly, sometimes that's it.

But, like, I guess I don't really

think about it much.

This is amazing to sit down and really see

what you're actually putting in your body.

It's so distinct.

It's so distinct, and I'm ashamed

I've never done this before.

And when you think over 70%

of your body's actually water

Yeah.

I think it's really important what

you're actually putting into your body.

It's kind of the first go-to tip

for anyone looking for overall health.

Anybody who's seeking

an overall change in their health

- Yes.

- Go-to is

Drink a lot of water. It will really help.

Just go to the grocery store

and look at the labels.

Like when it says spring water

or aquifer water or

or ice glacier water,

that is your choice.

And when you see purified,

just leave it on the shelf.

I would love to hear your takeaway.

- Do you think water has taste?

- Yeah.

- Do you appreciate water more?

- Yes.

- Do you think water has value?

- Yes.

This is pretty much my three points.

Do I think you have a real job

or a made-up job?

Still not sure.

OK.

Now we're on our way to France.

- Oh, hey.

- "Oh, hey."

We're in England,

about to cross the English Channel.

We're just driving our car

into this large train,

which will then transport us

about 32 miles through a tunnel

Whoa, this is a weird-looking train.

from England to France.

No way.

Underwater.

- Oh, my God.

- Whoa, what the?

Whoa, I feel like we just drove

into a hospital.

This is the Chunnel.

Short for Channel Tunnel.

And while 57,000 people safely travel

through this every day,

I'm not so comfortable with it.

We're in the tube!

But here we are

in a car

inside a train

inside a tunnel

underwater.

We're in a train in a tunnel

under the sea.

I'm in a train in a tunnel

under the sea.

In a car.

- In a car.

- In Europe.

Welcome to France.

We should figure out a place

we can get out and stretch, man.

Yeah, could we?

Man, I'm tired.

Something I like to do when I hit

another country is, like, feel the earth.

Push-ups?

No, like, just, like,

take the shoes off, feel the earth,

get grounded, feel the

the pulse of the earth.

Where's he going with this?

- Take off your shoes.

- Right now?

- No, dude, that's like thorny ground

- Yeah, yeah. No, no.

No, you gotta take off your shoes.

- Come on.

- What?

Let's go. Take off your shoes!

Oh, my God.

- Shoes off!

- All right.

What are you doing?

- Are you barefoot?

- Yeah.

'Cause I wanna get my feet on the ground.

It's a new It's a new country.

All that travel.

Don't you feel like you gotta just,

like

get connected?

- Yeah, I feel very connected.

- Oh

Dude, you're missing out.

I'm telling you.

This feels so good.

Take your bloody shoes off.

Even that guy was

That Larry David guy was looking at us.

I promise, if you take 'em off,

and it doesn't feel good,

you can put 'em right back on.

Come on.

Woo!

How do you say "poison oak"

in French?

Poison ivy.

- Yeah!

- Aw!

Dog!

Oh, no way.

No, yeah, I feel barefoot,

I feel like, uh

Wow, that is really pretty.

Gotta get the electromagnetic

connection to the earth again.

It'll help your, uh circadian rhythm.

Well, it turns out

the circadian rhythm really is a thing.

It's basically your internal clock,

based on the 24-hour-a-day cycle.

Tell me it doesn't feel good.

Jet lag happens

when you upset your internal clock

by quickly traveling

to another time zone.

The idea of grounding is that,

in order to combat your jet lag,

you reset your internal clock

by connecting with the magnetic field

of your new time zone.

Does it work?

I don't know.

Maybe it's just really nice

to get out of the car and stretch.

Or maybe Darin is

really onto something here

and my feet really are becoming one

with France.

Go!

He might have beat me

but I was tired and these

weren't optimal conditions, so

Ah, yeah.

- Ready?

- Yeah, I feel grounded.

Paris, here we come.

Totally needed that.

Guys, we're going to Paris!

I'm guessing I should waste some time ♪

Enjoy the sunshine ♪

So many reasons I shouldn't complain ♪

Now that's what I'll do ♪

Can you cry on demand?

Have you ever seen one of my movies?

- You're crying on demand?

- That's why they hire me.

'Cause I can I could just cry right now

for no reason.

- Really?

- Oh, easy.

I just make a certain face,

and it's frickin' floodgates.

No.

Yeah, if I just l just

think about something, like,

sort of stressful and emotional,

like I can kick in a reflex,

and already, like

I don't even like know why,

I just already. Like

Oh, my God. That's incredible.

- It's kinda sad, isn't it?

- Holy It's kinda sad.

- It's kind of pathetic.

- Oh, yeah, it is. It is kind of sad.

Yeah.

Wow.

So, what's in tap water,

city tap water, that's that's bad?

Oh, Jesus. A lot.

So we have what seems to be water

coming on demand,

which is a beautiful, modern solution.

It's not coming off of the rocks

and streams and fresh rivers,

and got the minerals

and energize itself from the sun.

There's some real science

to all of that stuff.

So now we have water that we've put

through very old systems of filtration.

It's been infused, unfortunately,

with a lot of chemicals.

And we're drinking

this kind of experimental tea

that has all

of these unnatural things in it.

- Yeah, that's terrifying.

- It is!

'Cause one of the greatest things

you can do is drink great water,

and it cleanses your body.

And it's one of the number one sources

of literally energy.

So when we feel low in energy,

instead of grabbing coffee or tea

- Hydrate. I know that.

- You should hydrate first, right?

- With good quality water.

- Yeah.

Cool! I dig it, man.

I'm also thirsty as

- All right, great trip.

- Par-ee!

Not all tap water is created equal.

Paris is known for so many things,

but most don't realize how well

they do tap water.

Since 2010, water production

and distribution in Paris

has been taken out of the private sector

and provided by a single public operator:

Eau de Paris.

We're meeting the elected official

in charge of the water in Paris,

Deputy Mayor Célia Blauel.

Well, my job is really interesting,

because in France,

water is one of the most controlled

product that you can eat or drink.

Actually, in France,

the idea is that everybody,

you, tourists coming in Paris,

can have free water in the streets,

but also homeless people.

Wow, so no one goes without clean water.

Everybody has clean water all year long.

What are some of the things

you wanna try to filter out?

New pollution, you know, like drugs

in the river and that kind of stuff.

Bacteria. We check a lot of pesticides,

and we have more than 1,000 fountains

all around Paris.

Wait And so the water

in the fountains is just as good to drink?

Yeah. Yeah. This is one of our

We're talking so much about water,

I'm thirsty now.

And I didn't bring you a bottle!

I have to give you one later.

I don't think he needs it.

You went for

the straight-under catch.

- So is that OK?

- That's very good.

Aside from how bad single-use water

bottles are for the environment,

there's concrete evidence

that bottled water

isn't all it's bottled up to be.

I think a bottle of water

is the biggest joke ever.

Because of what's inside

and how much you pay it. So

I love it.

About 25% of it is locally sourced,

plain old tap water.

And testing has shown

that some bottled water contains

dangerous contaminants, microbes,

and even mold.

It's hard to imagine

that people would drink that,

let alone pay for it.

As Paris takes back control,

you also eliminate the need for companies

to sell us overpriced water.

Yeah.

We still make a lot of profit, but we give

it directly back to the people of Paris.

Come on!

- That's amazing.

- By investment or in reduction of prices.

- Wow.

- Wow, that's a fantastic model.

You guys are setting

a hell of a standard to

But we are not the only one.

It's just like a movement

that is gaining all Europe.

More than 500 cities all around the world

decided to make the same movement.

- Wow.

- Thinking water is a common good,

shouldn't be business.

Wow. When she puts it like that,

the US is really behind.

But imagine if the Paris model

was adopted all over the US.

We'd have less bottle waste,

less pollution,

less dependence on oil,

and an overall healthier population.

Is there anything

that you add back to the water?

No. We're just like on the really

natural properties.

The only thing we can add sometimes

is bubbles,

when we have sparkling fountains.

Otherwise

- You have sparkling fountains?

- We have sparkling fountains in the city.

They're sh**ting, essentially,

- Perrier or

- Yeah.

Next-level.

- That's next-level.

- Yeah, they are. That's amazing.

OK, now I'm completely consumed

with the idea

of finding a sparkling water fountain.

Look at that.

Sparkling fountains are scattered

all over the city,

and they even list the mineral content,

so you know exactly what you're getting.

- Is it good?

- Yes, very good.

- Very good?

- Yes.

- With bubbles.

- Really?

The sparkling water doesn't come

from a natural spring.

It's simply CO2 added

to the regular drinking water.

Oh, wow,

that's empty water bottles you can buy.

- Oh, sick.

- And then they'll give you the water.

That's, like, completely opposite.

One million bottles per minute.

That's the world's single-use

plastic water bottle consumption rate.

With these fountains,

Paris is doing something about it.

We wanted to learn more

about how they treat water,

and what's so unique about the process.

So our next stop is

the Paris water treatment plant.

- This must be the plant, huh?

- I smell

- You smell what?

- water.

Get some water.

This is Benoit Lorain,

the plant manager.

- Hey, how are you?

- Hello.

Here, they're so confident

in their systems,

they are more than happy to pull back

the curtain and show us how it's done.

So first, we're gonna put

the security gears.

- Protect us from the water?

- Yeah.

OK, cool.

- They wanna know where the Americans are?

- Yes.

Here, we treat water

from the river main

for people living in Paris.

Up to 300,000 cubic meters per day.

Like a huge amount of water.

To visualize that, one cubic meter

is about the same volume

as a washer and dryer sitting

next to each other.

Now imagine 300,000 cubic meters.

That's a lot of water.

We use different processes

to treat the water.

First, we do a screening,

so we remove all the big stuff.

What's the weirdest thing

you've ever filtered out?

A lot of weird stuff.

Like bicycles stuff like that.

- Really? Oh, wow.

- Yeah.

Merci.

- The second one is clarification.

- Whoa.

So the water goes through

something like sand.

Just aims to remove all the particles

you can see.

After those filters,

we go directly to the big filters.

We test at every step,

about 300,000 parameters

- 300,000?

- on the water.

Because we find

more and more by size.

They test

for 300,000 different contaminants

in the water,

everything from pesticides

and pharmaceuticals, to even arsenic.

This testing is to ensure

that these levels

are below the acceptable standards

for human consumption.

And Paris has very high standards.

So the

All those measures that you take

to make sure that they're clean,

at what point do you guys

remove the ducks?

- Removing the birds.

- The last clarification process.

It's not a problem for us,

because we haven't treated yet

the bacterial problem.

- Right.

- Wonderful.

The next one is what we call

a polishing process.

So around you is the big tanks

where we put ozone in the water.

- Whoa! That is so cool.

- That is so cool.

No bacteria, virus, or microbiological can

survive in a high-oxygen environment.

That is a high-oxygen environment.

- Wow.

- And you said it's super efficient?

It's very efficient.

It's more efficient than chlorine.

Can you guys see in there?

Wow, that's awesome.

I'm just ready for, like,

a merman to swim up and be like

Yes.

Yeah.

So here

you can see the lights.

Whoa!

That's trippy!

- So UV is a very good thing.

- UV is a very good thing.

- Cool.

- And there's no chemicals.

- Wow.

- It's just light.

In the US, they still use

a high amount of chlorine, and

- Yes.

- And I think we're at 300 to 600 times

what we need in a day

because of the overuse of it,

and it builds up and it creates

some carcinogenic effects.

So I really like the fact

that you're using ozone and UV

- Yeah.

- so you use less of the chlorine.

In Eau de Paris, we try to use

the right dose to do the right thing.

Wow.

I feel like swimming.

Is that wrong?

If the ducks are swimming, can I swim?

You could but no.

As if providing flat

and sparkling drinking water

all over the city wasn't enough,

Eau de Paris provides a free app to make

their water even more accessible.

Where is this thing?

- I'm on the Find Your Water app right now.

- Hold on, hold on.

I got my own techniques.

It just but it shows you

right here where it is.

Yeah, well

I'm figuring it out on my own.

How?

Feeling it.

Feeling where the water is, bro.

- I think it's this way.

- That's just a broken sprinkler.

No, wait, the app literally shows you

right where it is.

Like, there's sparkling water

and then there's

You don't wanna use the app?

There's two

- in this park. Yeah, two in this park.

- There's two?

First one to find it wins.

Do you know where to go? Is it in here?

You gonna trust the app or are you using

your hand-ground technology?

Yeah, it's gotta be in there.

It says I'm on top of it.

I don't know, this is way harder

than Pokémon Go, man.

Oh, it's right here!

- What?

- It's right here!

Are you serious?

h*-h*-h*!

- It was right here the whole time.

- Water!

Thanks, guys.

I've never given so much thought

to water before.

The last time I was in Paris,

it was all about the steak frites.

But now, I admire Paris for how well

they promote healthy living.

Especially through their water supply.

Thanks to this trip,

I'll never look at the City of Lights

the same way again.

Water can provide

more than just hydration.

There is also a spiritual aspect to it.

We're on our way to Lourdes, France,

home of the most famous healing shrine

in the whole world.

It is here that four to six million people

come to visit each year,

specifically for the water.

Most of the people come

in search of a miracle.

We are seeking answers.

As the story goes, in 1858,

the Virgin Mary appeared to a 14-year-old

peasant girl here in Lourdes.

The young girl, Bernadette,

was instructed by the apparition

to uncover a natural spring

and to drink and bathe from the water.

Bernadette's furious digging into the mud

led townspeople to think she was mad.

Yet, when water eventually began to flow,

her vision was determined to be real,

and, thus, a miracle.

To this day, that water continues to flow

from the spring,

and thousands have claimed

miraculous healing

as a result of drinking and bathing in it.

Which brings us to how we started

this story.

Right after we insulted the chief doctor

of Lourdes Medical Bureau

here at the sanctuary.

Luckily, Darin sorted all this out.

Right, Darin?

Yeah, he's got this.

- And?

- And we're gonna get to it.

- Let me give you a backstory of me and us.

- Yes.

So, I've been dedicating my life

to finding

- health principles around the world.

- Good.

And it means everything to me.

And he heard me on a podcast years ago,

and he reached out because something

about it was truthful to him.

Had no discussion of a TV show.

It was just two people respecting

each other and getting to know each other.

I've kind of studied what Darin knows.

I've been learning what he knows.

It's opened my eyes drastically.

So I'm very eager to hear

what you have to say.

So, basically, since 1883,

there has been a residing physician

at the sanctuary.

We have the duty of welcoming anyone

that wants to report an alleged cure.

Uh, the last one was yesterday.

I listened to the story.

- Wow, yesterday.

- Yeah, I see about 100 people per year.

And then I have to judge as a doctor,

am I in front of a possibly true cure?

So it's a filter, as any doctor would do.

Since the 1700s, the Catholic Church

has seven strict and clear criteria

for a health event or healing

to be determined a miracle.

One, a full diagnosis,

verified by doctors.

This is a young man, age 23.

He develops a cancer.

So the blurry mass there,

that's the cancer?

- Jeez.

- Hmm.

Two, the ailment is severe,

not a headache or the flu.

So he comes to Lourdes in 1963.

The cancer has eroded the articulation.

- So he just

- Holy cow!

- Yeah, that's

- So now, his left leg

is attached only by skin and muscles.

He is bathed in the baths of Lourdes

with a cast.

As he gets out of the baths, he says,

"I have no pain."

He puts aside his crutch.

He feels a subjective feeling

of consistency of the articulation.

Three, it instantly goes away,

just like that.

- This is after the cure.

- Come on.

- Oh, my gosh.

- It's a complete reorganization of a new

Four and five,

it disappears immediately and completely,

with no remaining side effects

or symptoms.

- And he did nothing else?

- Nothing.

- We have a new, completely new

- Holy!

a completely new head of the femur.

This was the side non-affect

It was a side effect.

- Oh, my God.

- This was '69.

It's completely rebuilt.

Six, the illness does not come back.

For this reason,

they don't even consider a case

until the healing is over a decade old.

And I have a beautiful RMI

that he did for me in 2013,

50 years after the cure, and, yeah.

Seven, no explanations can be found

for why the illness has gone.

In the last case considered a miracle,

in 2018,

over 300 doctors studied the case,

looking for a medical explanation,

but none could be found.

In medicine, we have

every now and then reports of

spontaneous regression of diseases.

- Severe diseases.

- Sure.

We don't know the reason.

So I know that in

in medicine, in the world, there are

events like that that can happen.

- Sure.

- All we do here

is to study thoroughly an alleged cure

to make absolutely sure

that we are in front of a person

that was sick, of a severe disease,

they've been cured in the full with it,

and there's no explanation.

Then his bishop will recognize this cure

that scientists cannot explain

Fifty years later cannot. He says,

"For me, this is intervention of God."

So this is a miracle, it's not

my business, because I'm in medicine.

But I understand that

if a miracle is recognized

on an unexplained cure,

uh why not?

If you want to measure it,

all of this is medicine. This is religion.

And if it seems like having a cure

deemed a miracle is hard,

that's because it is.

Over the past 135 years,

out of 7,400 claims submitted

to the Lourdes Medical Bureau,

only 70 have been substantiated

and verified by the bishop as miracles.

- See you soon. Keep in touch.

- What a pleasure.

That was really mind-blowing.

And it ends up

- Grazie.

- Prego.

he's a really nice guy.

And now we go from the medical

to the spiritual part of this journey.

- Hey.

- This is Father Jim Phalan,

one of the chaplains at the sanctuary

here at Our Lady of Lourdes.

Father Jim leads us to the grotto,

where it all began, back in 1858.

Like, it doesn't seem real.

It's just so

huge.

So those who want

pilgrimage here.

We have about 7,000 or 8,000

people who have cancer come.

They find a peace here.

Even if they don't necessarily all expect

that they're all gonna be

miraculously cured, but there's a

- there's something that goes on inside.

- Right.

This is the grotto.

Let's take a walk over there.

It's hard to believe

that back in the 1800s,

a 14-year-old girl

that people wrote off as crazy

had a miraculous holy vision,

right here at this very spot.

And for hundreds of years,

thousands and thousands

of people have come here

in hopes that they will too

have their own unique epiphany.

That something in the air, the water,

the grotto, can rub off

and help them in some way.

There is no denying the sacred feeling

you get just by being here.

And when people walk away

from this experience,

real or imagined,

there's a change.

Let's make it clear.

Lourdes is not about magic,

it's not about any kind of superstition.

It's symbols.

Through water, through light.

Intentions of prayer are left

by lighting a candle at the sanctuary.

It's a way of kind of making

your prayer concrete.

Prayer means different things

to different people.

But what I've found is that, sometimes,

just taking the time to ask

can help bring peace.

I don't expect everything I pray for

to be answered.

But taking the time to ask

is often comforting in and of itself.

Does that comfort come

from a spiritual force or from within?

If you're able to find inner peace,

it doesn't really matter.

A busy time for you.

Oh, that's what I'm here for. I love it.

You can't ever just go, "Sorry, I'm busy"?

Uh Not when I'm dressed like this, no.

You don't get to do that.

Could I have a minute, Father Zac?

I don't know where I'd start.

- Look, you were really great. Fantastic.

- Yeah, thank you very much.

On a compté les lendemains ♪

Qui nous restaient mais incertains ♪

On s'est perdu sur un chemin ♪

Une inconnue dans le refrain ♪

De grands sourires

N'y changeraient rien ♪

Car le début jouait la fin ♪

À l'origine on n'était rien ♪

Juste une ébauche ou un dessin ♪

Des rêves suivis de petits points ♪

Au coin des rues un doux parfum ♪

Suprême idylle main dans la main ♪

De belles photos on se souvient ♪

Puisqu'on se perd pour mieux s'unir ♪

Puisqu'on ne tient plus au présent ♪

Le moindre souffle nous détruit ♪

Et nous disperse avec les vents ♪

The evening torchlight procession.

Whether or not you believe

in the power of prayer,

when you witness thousands of people

at a candlelight vigil like this,

there's no denying the energy.

My thoughts are almost

in a pure meditative state,

and I feel like I'm a part of something

much greater than myself.

I definitely believe there's

some kind of power in group prayer.

All of these people

coming together for prayer,

creating one massive force.

Does it work?

I don't know.

But you can't deny the extraordinary peace

and beauty that is going on right here.

Puisqu'on se perd pour mieux s'unir ♪

Puisqu'on ne tient plus au présent ♪

Le moindre souffle nous détruit ♪

Et nous disperse avec les vents ♪

Tous ces mensonges que l'on déguise ♪

Nous laissent un beau jour

Sans défense ♪

Puisqu'on se perd pour mieux s'unir ♪

Puisque l'on s'aime toujours autant ♪

There is the thought, of course, that

all of this is simply a placebo effect.

But if a miracle is defined as

"the impossible inexplicably

becoming possible,"

then real or not doesn't matter, does it?

So what does all of this have to do

with water?

It's got everything to do with it.

The Earth's surface is 70% water.

Our bodies are on average 60% water.

We need water to bathe,

to grow our food,

and to simply survive.

Look, we're all here on one Earth.

Let's make it last.

Hello, France!