Is Lourdes only for Catholics?

Statue of the Virgin Mary in the grotto... If you are a Roman Catholic, the religious significance of Lourdes is obvious, but even non-Catholics can enjoy a visit to the Sanctuary, its facilities, and this French town in the foothills of the Pyrénées.



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Lourdes is one of the very few apparitions the Vatican has officially commended as worthy of belief, with its own feast day, Feb. 11, in the church's annual liturgical calendar. Some 6 million pilgrims come to the shrine in Lourdes, France, each year to pray and seek healing.

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Lourdes: At a Glance Since then, Lourdes has become one of the holiest Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world, visited annually by more than five million people who come in search of healing from its sacred waters.

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Every year, Lourdes welcomes millions of pilgrims and visitors from all over the world, following in Bernadette Soubirous' footsteps on their pilgrimage.

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Since 1858, when a 14-year-old peasant named Bernadette Soubirous proclaimed she had had 18 encounters with the Virgin Mary, Lourdes has become one of the most visited sites by Catholics in the world. Lourdes has a special appeal for the fragile and the weak, including wounded military personnel.

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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.

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Spiritually, in the Bible, the Rock symbolises trust in God, the stone on which the Church is built, the solid word on which we lean. Although the current health crisis does currently allow us to touch the Rock, you can make this gesture in your heart at the feet of the Virgin Mary.

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Wandering the streets of Lourdes is an unforgettable experience, but the city's underground also features some landmarks. The Basilica of St. Pius X is a massive religious building within the Boulevard Père. This architectural marvel was completed in 1958 and can accommodate up to 25,000 worshipers.

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The Healing Waters As Catholics, we see water, tied to the sacredness of Baptism, as a sign. Combined with faith, water can heal. 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.

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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.

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Grotto in Lourdes, France The Lourdes Grotto is the spot where Saint Bernadette experienced 18 apparitions in 1858. Today, it is open to the public for candle lighting and, at specific times, to bathe in the healing water. What is this? There are two queues, one for men, the other for women.

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