Why do Christians still visit Lourdes today?

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.



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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.

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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. Lourdes is an easy trip from Pau, about 45 kilometers (29 miles), less than an hour's drive.

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In Lourdes, the Holy Virgin invites all to regard earth as a place of pilgrimage toward our final homeland, which is heaven. In reality, we are all pilgrims, we need Mary to guide us; and in Lourdes, her smile invites us to go forward with great confidence in the awareness that God is good, God is love.

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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: Juan's Story 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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While I experienced many beautiful blessings on the trip, the biggest ones occurred in Lourdes, a place in France people visit to seek healing because Mary appeared there. Over several months in 1848, Mary appeared a number of times to a 14-year-old peasant girl named Bernadette.

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Prayer, Penance & Poverty The message of Lourdes is the Good News of the Gospel message of prayer, penance and poverty. After four years of investigations, the Catholic Church proclaimed the apparitions at Lourdes in 1858 as valid and pronounced this site a place worthy of pilgrimage.

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The Grotto of Massabielle is a must for all visitors to the Shrine of Lourdes, whether they are ordinary visitors or believers. The visit to the Grotto is silent, most people touch the wall of the Grotto with their fingers in respect or to make a wish or a prayer. Processions are organised too for infirm pilgrims.

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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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The “secret of Lourdes is the Eucharist,” the renowned shrine's chief medical officer told OSV News. “The fabulous part of Lourdes is that we are invited, convened (here) by our Blessed Mother, but we end up discovering and possibly making friends with Jesus Christ, who is very present in Lourdes,” said Dr.

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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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