History of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
The Virgin Mary appears to St. Bernadette.
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Photo © Sacredsites.com.
It was a young girl's visions of the Virgin Mary that put the little town of Lourdes on the map and have attracted millions of pilgrims and tourists to Lourdes ever since.
On February 11, 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a 14-year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous (or Soubiroux) as she searched for firewood in the remote Grotto of Massabielle. More visions followed, for a total of 18, with the last occuring on July 16, 1858.
The Virgin Mary appeared as a young and beautiful lady ("lovelier than I have ever seen," Bernadette said) and told the young girl to drink from a natural fountain in the grotto (previously undiscovered) and to tell the priests to build a chapel on the spot and make processions to the grotto.
It was only four years later, in 1862, that the bishop of the diocese declared the faithful "justified in believing the reality of the apparition" and a basilica was built upon the rock of Massabielle by M. Peyramale, the parish priest.
A statue of the Madonna of Lourdes was erected at the site in 1864. In 1873 the great French pilgrimages to Lourdes were inaugurated. Three years later, the basilica was consecrated and the statue solemnly crowned. This is the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, which still stands today.
In 1883 the foundation stone of another church was laid, as the first was no longer large enough. Consecrated in 1901, it was built at the foot of the basilica and named the Basilica of the Rosary.
Pope Leo XIII authorized a special office and a Mass in commemoration of the Lourdes apparitions and in 1907 Pius X extended the observance of this feast to the entire Church. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is now observed on February 11.
Bernadette Soubirous entered a monastery in Nevers in 1866, and died there after a long period of illness in 1879. She was canonized a saint in 1933. Like many saints, her body has remained miraculously preserved, and pilgrims to Nevers can view her body in a glass case.
- Lourdes-france.org - official website
- Lourdes Office de Tourisme
- Notre-Dame de Lourdes – Catholic Encyclopedia
- Lourdes Travel - TripAdvisor
- Lourdes, France – Lonely Planet
- Lourdes – Let's Go Guides
- A Visit to Lourdes – Spirituality.org
