Lourdes is the most famous healing shrine in the world but it’s a fascinating pilgrimage destination for anyone, even if you’re not in need of a miracle. People from many nations fill its streets.
Each year the French shrine of Lourdes draws millions of visitors from around the world. But when a young servant girl named Bernadette Soubirous claimed to see a radiant vision of a woman in white here on February 11, 1858, it was a just small market town virtually unknown to the larger world.
Over the next five months the lady would appear 17 more times to Bernadette, visions that the Roman Catholic Church (though initially skeptical) would declare authentic appearances of the Virgin Mary. Miraculous cures have been associated with Lourdes ever since.
Lourdes today is far different from the isolated mountain hamlet of 1858. During the main pilgrimage season that runs from Easter through the end of October, an average of 25,000 pilgrims gather here each day in the shrine located in the center of Lourdes.
Several huge basilicas and churches dominate the grounds, each with many services throughout the day and evening. The torchlight processions for which Lourdes is famous wind between them, a flickering ribbon of light held by pilgrims singing hymns of praise to Mary.
While Lourdes has clearly changed from the time Bernadette saw the first vision, the heart of the grotto remains essentially the same. The large outcropping of stone known as Massabiele is still there, and in the niche where the lady had appeared to Bernadette stands a statue of the Virgin Mary, her hands joined in prayer as her eyes gazed heavenward.
Below, a long line of people slowly wind into the area beneath the stone, where they reverently touch the rock and leave photographs, flowers, and other tokens near the spring that had been uncovered by Bernadette. A rack of candles burns brightly in front of the grotto, and nearby is a line of spigots where people collect water from the spring.
I visited Lourdes on the days surrounding February 11, the anniversary of the first apparition and a feast day of Bernadette. More than 20,000 pilgrims would join me in the celebrations at the shrine. (About 25,000 pilgrims are present daily in Lourdes during the main pilgrimage season that runs from Easter through the end of October.)
Seeking Healing Miracles
The diversity of people was striking: nuns in long habits, elderly couples, young people traveling in groups, elegant Italian women in fur coats, and groups of men holding large banners aloft bearing the names of their cities and churches.
After several more blocks, the commercial district ended and I reached the entrance to the shrine. Just inside St. Joseph’s Gate, a large marble statue depicted the Virgin Mary appearing to a man in a hospital bed. A few more steps and a huge basilica came into view, an imposing structure with a gilded crown set atop its lower level. Two ramps extended like arms from each side, ending in a huge square and esplanade capable of holding many thousands of people.
Once I wandered around to the side of the basilica, I was relieved to see that the heart of the grotto remained essentially the same as it had been all those years before. The large outcropping of stone known as Massabiele was still there, and in the niche where the lady had appeared to Bernadette stood a statue of the Virgin Mary, her hands joined in prayer as her eyes gazed heavenward.
Below, a long line of people slowly wound into the area beneath the stone, where they reverently touched the rock and left photographs, flowers, and other tokens near the spring that had been uncovered by Bernadette. A rack of candles burned brightly in front of the grotto, and nearby was a line of spigots where people collected water from the spring.
While the grotto was the heart of the sanctuary, I found the rest of the complex intriguing as well. Several huge churches welcome the hordes of pilgrims that throng here, each with many services throughout the day and evening. My favorite was the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, a Roman-Byzantine structure with exquisite mosaics.
While its physical setting is striking, the shrine’s power is also interwoven with the pilgrims who journey here. I remember a young woman, her face open and vulnerable, kneeling on the cement before the grotto in the falling rain, and a friar wearing a brown cape who looked like he had stepped out of a tapestry from the Middle Ages. I recall the Italian woman who noticed me standing near the water fountains and gestured me forward with a broad smile and the words “Bella! Bella!” I remember the many people in wheelchairs at all the processions and services, and the pilgrims who waited patiently to take their turn in the baths near the grotto.
And I recall with special fondness something that may seem small and trivial in comparison—all those shops selling Virgin Mary souvenirs. While one can complain about the commercialism, I think there’s something pleasingly subversive about those endless shelves of knick-knacks.
I imagine the places where those trinkets are likely to end up, how they will find their way into nursing homes, hospital rooms and bedside tables, into the pockets of chemotherapy patients and the hands of soldiers going off to war.
Though small and inexpensive, those tokens carry a powerful message: they are a reminder that the broken and wounded will be the first to enter the Kingdom of God, that miracles are possible even when the darkness seems overwhelming, and that the most unlikely among us can receive a life-changing vision of light.
To learn more:
See Also:
Before visiting Lourdes, I hope you’ll read my book Holy Rover: Journeys in Search of Mystery, Miracles and God, which is a memoir told through trips to a dozen holy sites around the world. One of the chapters focuses on Lourdes and its influence on my own spiritual life.
If You Go:
Located in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains near the Spanish border, Lourdes has a population of just 15,000 (but more hotels than any other French city except Paris).
The main pilgrimage season in Lourdes runs from Easter through the end of October. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is open 24 hours every day, and admission is free.
Getting to Lourdes: Lourdes is 5 ½ hours from Paris by high-speed train and has an international airport with direct flights from many European cities. The airport is 10 minutes from the downtown.
Lodging: A wide variety of lodgings are available in Lourdes, including accommodations for the sick. The Best Western Lourdes Hotel offers accommodations near the train depot and within walking distance of the shrine.
If you want to venture beyond the sanctuary at Lourdes, you can tour the medieval fortress that perches atop a hill overlooking the town for insight into Pyrenees history and culture, then drive 15 miles south into some of Europe’s most spectacular scenery in Pyrenees National Park. Hiking trails wind amid 100,000 acres of jagged peaks, alpine meadows, and waterfalls.
Don’t miss the Cirque de Gavarnie, a natural rock amphitheater and World Heritage Site with the longest waterfall on the continent. At one end of the valley looms a break in the peaks called Roland’s Gap (according to legend, it was cut by Roland, nephew of Charlemagne). Rare fauna in the park include the isard—a species of antelope—and Pyrenean bear, as well as soaring Egyptian and griffon vultures.
In the ski resort town of Cauterets 20 miles from Lourdes, hot springs offer rejuvenation for footsore mountain explorers.
For more information: The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, Lourdes Tourist Office; and the French Government Tourist Office
Lori Erickson is one of America’s top travel writers specializing in spiritual journeys. She’s the author of The Soul of the Family Tree, Near the Exit and Holy Rover. Her website Spiritual Travels features holy sites around the world.
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