In more than 150 years, even after millions of pilgrims have traveled to Lourdes, only 70 miracles are officially recorded. The miraculous waters of Lourdes, France, are known throughout the world.
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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.
Some come on pilgrimage in search of strength and guidance in times of difficulty or distress. For many sick pilgrims Lourdes gives an opportunity to bathe in the healing waters of the spring and to find peace with their prognosis rather than to seek a miraculous cure.
Being immersed in the baths is something most pilgrims look forward to. However, as of late December 2022, the baths remain closed for actual immersion, but they have developed an alternative plan.
The Catholic Church has formally endorsed, although not dogmatic, for sick people to bathe and visit Lourdes for healing. Since the apparitions, many people have claimed to have been cured by drinking or bathing in it, and the Lourdes authorities provide it free of charge to any who ask for it.
Many miracles have been attributed to bathing in or drinking the water at Lourdes as well as to participating in the Eucharistic Procession and Adoration. Pilgrims may experience healing in body, mind or spirit and leave with a deeper sense of God's presence and love in their lives.
Lourdes is a place of the journey from sickness to health, spiritual as well as physical; a journey from darkness to light; a journey from the suffering of this earth to the peace of heaven.
With 6 million pilgrims visiting Lourdes each year, there is no doubt that it is a place of enormous attraction for those seeking enlightenment through the footsteps of St. Bernadette. The itinerary can be either 3, 4, 5 or 7 nights.