In the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, the pilgrimage town of Lourdes, France

 In 1858, Lourdes rose to prominence in France and abroad due to the Marian apparitions to the peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous (who was later canonized for her virtuous life). Shortly thereafter, the city and its Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes became one of the world's most important sites of pilgrimage and religious tourism.

====================================================================
(in southwestern France) The sprawling pilgrimage town of Lourdes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées départment of the Occitanie région is found southwest of Toulouse. Situated at the foot of the Pyrenees and now on both banks of a torrent, the Gave de Pau, the town and its fortress formed a strategic stronghold in medieval times. During the Hundred Years’ War the French captured it from the English in 1406 after an 18-month siege. The medieval castle, on the right bank of the Gave de Pau, has an interesting 14th-century keep.

+ The contemporary importance of Lourdes dates from 1858. In that year, from February 11 to July 16, Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old girl, had numerous visions of the Virgin Mary in the nearby Massabielle grotto, on the left bank of the stream. The visions were declared authentic by Pope Pius IX in 1862, and veneration of Mary as Our Lady of Lourdes was authorized. The underground spring in the grotto, revealed to Bernadette, was declared to have miraculous qualities, and Lourdes became a major pilgrimage center. The basilica, built above the grotto in 1876, eventually became overcrowded by the increasing number of pilgrims, and in 1958 an immense prestressed concrete underground church, seating 20,000, was dedicated. Lourdes is visited by millions every year, and tourism plays a dominant role in the local economy.

+ Bernadette, christened Marie-Bernard, was born on January 7, 1844, in Lourdes. On February 11, 1858, she went to gather twigs for firewood by the banks of the Gave de Pau. Bernadette heard the roar of a great wind, but the trees were still. Looking up, she saw in a nearby grotto a vision she later described as “a lady, young and beautiful.”

+ Bernadette continued to have visions, always in the grotto. During the ninth vision she uncovered a trickle of water that proved to be a spring. A few days later a blind stonecutter bathed his eyes in the water and reported a miraculous cure. Thousands of people began gathering there, and more such cures were attributed to the use of the water.

+ Bernadette took final vows as a nun with the Sisters of Charity at Nevers, France, in 1878. On April 16, 1879, Bernadette died of tuberculosis and was buried in the convent chapel. She was beatified in 1925 and was canonized as Saint Bernadette on December 8, 1933. Her feast day is February 18.

+Today, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes (shown here) stands near the site of Saint Bernadette’s visions: