The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France

*WS 135: The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France*

Lourdes is a small town in southern France. From 11 February to 16 July, 1858, the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, was said to have made 18 apparitions to a 14 year old simple farm girl, Bernadette Soubirous in a cave near a village in Lourdes. The girl’s later visits to the cave were followed by thousands of curious people. No other people could see the Virgin except her. Various miracles were said to have occurred at the place during that time, under the watchful eyes of the anti-religious government officers with the incidences well documented. One particular case was a clear spring appeared the next day on the spot where the girl dug into the ground and drank some muddy water the day before. 

The water from the spring has since became the source of claims of miraculous healing. The Catholic Church has since set up a Medical Bureau manned by medical specialists in various fields (may not be Catholics) to examine the truth of the claimed healing. Since 1905, more than 7000 cases were submitted and by 2017 the Bureau declared that 69 of the healing cases are considered “beyond scientific explanation”. The religious called them miracles.  

In 1862, the Catholic Church declared that the apparition story was “worthy to believe”. It is up to the followers to believe it or not. A small chapel was first built here in 1866. Now the sanctuary is a complex of many churches and other buildings, to cater for some 6 million pilgrims a year, for hope of healing or spiritual renewal. This is a popular pilgrimage site for Malaysian Catholics. 

In 2016 we made a 4 night pilgrimage stay at this town of Lourdes, which has more hotels in France than any other cities except Paris. The first photo shows the cave where the Virgin Mary was said to have first appeared and a status of her, the likeness as described by the girl Bernadette who later became a nun. Many of the Malaysian Catholic churches have such a grotto set-up outside their church buildings. The next is a scene of a morning mass held in front of the cave. 

The 3rd photo shows the Crypt, the small rock cave chapel blasted out of the rock slope completed in 1866. The next shows the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, the 2nd of the churches to be completed, in 1876, built over the Crypt. 

The 5th photo shows a photo of our big family group in front of the 3rd church constructed: the Rosary Basilica completed in 1901. The next shows the lateral view of the two basilica mentioned earlier. The 7th is the interior of the Basilica of St. Pius X, also known as the Underground Basilica, the largest of the churches, completed in 1958. The capacity is 25,000. The 8th photo shows the main open space, called the Rosary Square, where processions are held. 

The last 2 photos show scenes of the daily prayer procession at the Rosary Square. There are many volunteers to help the sick or handicapped pilgrims.