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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Every year, Lourdes welcomes millions of pilgrims and visitors from all over the world, following in Bernadette Soubirous' footsteps on their pilgrimage.
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.
A nice day at the lakeA lovely day trip to the lake. Great for swimming and other water sports like paddleboarding, canoeing. Nice walk from the centre of Lourdes.