Why do people touch the rock in Lourdes?

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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People come to Lourdes to go to the Grotto where Bernadette saw the Virgin Mary. This place is a place of prayer, trust, peace, respect, unity and silence that we can take advantage of in different ways.

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The first miraculous healings occurred in the days that followed. The Lourdes spring became a place of pilgrimage in itself and offered new hope for millions of sick people worldwide. The act of drinking water is one of the highlights of the pilgrim's journey to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

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The Massabielle Grotto is the very place where the apparitions occurred, and within it is the spring that Bernadette discovered. To the right of the Grotto are the Taps where you can drink Lourdes water. Those who wish to can also go to the Sanctuary Baths and perform the water gesture.

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Instead, the volunteers of the Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes are inviting pilgrims to take part in the water gesture by washing their face, hands and forearms with water from the miraculous spring. The gesture can be done alone, but also with family, friends or those close to them.

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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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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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THE SIGNS. The rock, the light, the water, the crowds, the sicks and the helpers are signs 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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Soon, pilgrims began coming to Lourdes from far away. They were attracted by stories of apparitions and miraculous healings that occurred when infirm people bathed in the spring water. After four years of skepticism, the Roman Catholic Church validated Bernadette's claims that she had seen the mother of Jesus.

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Like many pilgrimage sites, a chief lure of Lourdes is what many consider the healing power of its waters. Those waters come from a spring where Bernadette said she encountered the Virgin Mary.

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