Lourdes
In the heart of the Pyrenees, Lourdes receives five million visitors from all over the world every year.
Spirituality, whether belonging to history or legends, is part of the present through the depth and beauty of the sight, the marks of the past, the serenity of the Sanctuaries.
Lourdes was just a small market town, when, on February 11 1858, Bernadette, her sister Toinette and a friend, Jeanne Abadie, went looking for firewood in a cave called Massabielle, beside the River Gave.
While Toinette and Jeanne gathered wood, Bernadette heard a sound like a gust of wind. “Lifting her head, she saw, in the crevice of the rock, a young girl, surrounded by light, who looked at her and smiled.”
That was the first apparition, the “Lady” that made the town a
Marian city, 17 others were to follow.
The Grotto of Massabielle
On the ground, to the left in front of the Grotto, a stone plaque marks the exact spot where Bernadette stood: “Here Bernadette prayed on 11th. February 1858”.
At the back of the Grotto, to the left of the altar, one can see the flowing spring that Bernadette discovered on February 25 1858. This water, in order to make it available to everyone, is now channelled towards the taps and the baths. Inside the Grotto, behind the altar, one can find the box where people place their prayer petitions.
The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Over the main door is a picture of Pope Pius IX, who proclaimed the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, that is, the Virgin Mary was "conceived free from sin", "immaculate", complete light of love. This is how the Blessed Virgin presented herself to St Bernadette on March 25 1858 saying: "I am the Immaculate Conception".
By the entrance on the right is a marble plaque containing the complete text of the judgement made by Mgr Laurence, recognising the Apparitions as authentic. This is why the first Basilica of Lourdes is so called.
The Altar of the Basilica is directly over the place of the Apparitions.
On the upper level of the Basilica the stained glass windows tell the story of the history of salvation from the Fall of Adam and Eve until the raising up of Mary, conceived without sin and the image of the Church.
In these side-altars the stained glass windows retrace the story of Lourdes, of the Apparitions and of the first pilgrimages. On the walls you find many of the votive offerings in thanksgiving to God for graces received through the intercession of Our Lady.
Basilica of St Pius X
The Basilica is decorated with 52 "Gemmail" images representing :
• on the east ramp : the 15 Stations of the Cross.
• lower level east side: the story of the Apparitions of Our Lady to St. Bernadette.
• on the west ramp: the 15 Mysteries of the Rosary.
The Rosary Basilica
In the form of a Greek Cross and of a neo-Byzantine style the Basilica invites us to rediscover the deep meaning of the Rosary as a prayer. Above the doorway is the work of Moniglier showing the Blessed Virgin giving the Rosary to St. Dominic.
The Baths
Each year 400,000 pilgrims are immersed in the water of the Baths. This process is a response to the invitation of the Blessed Virgin to Bernadette on February 25 1858 “Go drink of the spring and wash yourself there.”
When it is their turn to enter the Baths, the pilgrim is invited into the dressing-room. Covered with a loincloth or a robe, they enter into the bath cubicle. There they are welcomed by a team of members of the Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes. The ritual is always the same, one of the Hospitality members asks: “Would you now like to present your prayer intentions to Our Lady?” The pilgrim is then gradually immersed in the water. The member of Hospitality again asks: “If you wish, you might like to make the sign of the Cross to recall your Baptism. Would you like to kiss the statue of the Blessed Virgin?” Then come the invocations: “Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. St Bernadette, pray for us. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.” The visit to the Baths is often a step towards the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Church of St Bernadette
Built on the spot where St Bernadette stood on the day of the last Apparition.