A religious site that I've always wanted to see is Lourdes, a city in the south of France. Fortunately I don't live too far away from it, so I went there for a day trip this weekend. This town sits on the Gave de Pau River at the foot of the Pyrenees in southwest France. It was an obscure village until the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous 18 times between February 11th and February 16th, 1858. Healings have also reported to have happened there from the natural spring that appeared in the grotto next to the Gave de Pau River. Since 1860, Lourdes has been a famous pilgrimage spot for thousands who seek physical and spiritual healing. This weekend, I had the chance to walk in the footsteps of Bernadette and explore this beautiful market town situated right next to the Pyrenees.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady Lourdes
The Rosary Basilica
The open space in front of the Rosary Basilica is known as Rosary Square.
I am standing in front of the Basilica of Immaculate Conception and Crypt, which is above the Rosary Basilica. It is also known as the Upper Basilica.
On the left is the Basilica of Immaculate Conception and on the right is the Rosary Basilica.
On February 11th, 1858, Bernadette Soubirous and her two sisters were gathering firewood outside Lourdes when she fell behind the younger girls. In a grotto next to the river, Bernadette saw the apparition of a lady dressed in white with a blue sash and a yellow rose on each foot. Bernadette went to the grotto a second time but it was not until the lady's third appearance that she spoke and asked if Bernadette would like to meet every day for 2 weeks. Word spread throughout the town of these visitations and soon, hundreds of people were coming with Bernadette to see the apparitions of this lady for themselves. However, she only appeared to Bernadette. The apparition soon insisted that the priests build a chapel in the grotto and that Bernadette drink from a spring there. There was no spring in sight, so Bernadette dug in the muddy ground until clear bubbles appeared. Water from that same spring is still piped to a bathing house where pilgrims gather to receive its healing blessings. On March 25, after her sixteenth visit, the lady revealed her name to Bernadette, who, when questioned by a skeptical priest, relayed the lady's identity as "The Immaculate Conception."
The grotto that is there today is not the original grotto; the original is on the outskirts of the town. However, this one is still supposed to look and be exactly like the one where St. Bernadette's visions took place. A statue of Mary is placed where she appeared to Bernadette 18 times and a large strand of candles next to the altar is kept burning throughout the year. The spring that Bernadette is said to have dug is at the rear of the grotto and is covered by glass. When Mass is not being celebrated, pilgrims can access the grotto and touch the rock under the statue. This rock is polished and smooth now because so many people have touched it, including myself. There are also rows of benches in front of the grotto that allow visitors to pray and reflect. This whole area is totally silent because it is a place of devotion.
After visiting the churches and the grotto, I continued walking and visited a room to light candles. I also went to the bath house and went through the same actions that Bernadette did when she saw the apparitions of Mary -- I washed my hands, drank from my hands, and washed my face with the spring water of the grotto. The sanctuary offers daily mass, rosaries, confessions, and water gestures at the baths at certain hours too.
I continued to walk the life path of Bernadette after spending my morning at the sanctuary. This is the Parish Church of the Sacred Heart. It was rebuilt after the Mary Apparitions, however the church houses the baptismal fonts used for Bernadette. She was baptized on January 9th, 1844.
A few blocks from the Church of the Sacred Heart is the Hospice of St. Bernadette -- Bernadette made her first Holy Communion there on June 3rd, 1858 and boarded there until 1866.
The Boly Mill (Birth place of Bernadette): Bernadette was born there on January 7th, 1844 and she spent the first ten years of her life there.
The Cachot is the former prison of Lourdes and the home of Bernadette's family at the time of the Apparitions. They moved to this small room from the Boly Mill because Bernadette's parents were unable to pay rent. In all of the 18 years Bernadette's family lived here, they didn't fight once -- the people living above them never heard anyone raise their voice. This is apparently because the family lived in the love and grace of Christ.
I really enjoyed touring the Sanctuary of Lourdes and learning about Bernadette's childhood in this town. How a whole town attracts 5 million visitors each year because of this one woman and her visions amazes me. Bernadette entered the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction at Nevers in 1865. She died in 1879, was beatified in 1925, and canonized in 1933. After her death, she was exhumed three times and found to be perfectly intact each time with little skin missing from her body. Some parts of her face have been covered with wax to cover the blackish color, but other than that, her body has not decomposed. Her body is on display at the Chapel of Saint Gidard at the Sisters of Charity in Nevers.
Another historical site I wanted to check out in the town was the Château fort de Lourdes, a historic castle that held an army garrison at the time of Bernadette. This castle now houses a Pyrenean Museum where you can learn about the defensive elements of the fortress, mountain life in the Pyrenees, and see a beautiful panoramic view of Lourdes and the surrounding valleys.
The Castle is perched on a rocky peak and has dominated the city for more than 700 years. It started as a fortified castle in the 11th and 12th centuries as the residence of the Counts of Bigorre. In 1590, under the reign of Henry the 4th, the castle became royal property. The king locked his enemies in the castle's dungeon with simple letters of cachet in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1921, Louis and Margalide Le Bondidier started to bring together collections on mountain life in the Pyrenees and the Pyrenean Museum was created.
A rock garden in the Castle
Here are two rooms in the castle. On the left is a medieval bowling alley -- bowling has always been a popular sport in France. On the right is wax made to look like string.
The castle offers amazing views from all angles. You can see the town of Lourdes, including the sanctuary, the Pyrenees, and the Gave de Pau River.
I ended my trip to Lourdes with a visit of L’Accueil Marie Saint-Frai. It started as a place that would welcome all the sick and poor pilgrims who would come to Lourdes to visit the sanctuary who did not have a place to stay. Today it is a hospital and housing for the sick and handicapped.
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