Shrine of Lourdes — The Complete Dossier

I. Introduction: the Marian heart of Europe

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, situated in the small town of Lourdes, in the department of the Hautes-Pyrénées, in south-western France, is the most important centre of Marian pilgrimage in Europe and one of the most visited in the world, welcoming between five and six million pilgrims every year. At the foot of the Pyrenees, bathed by the waters of the river Gave de Pau, Lourdes has become since 1858 a beacon of faith, hope and consolation for millions of the sick, the poor and the needy who come to the grotto of Massabielle seeking the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

The history of Lourdes begins on 11 February 1858, when the Most Holy Virgin appeared in a grotto on the banks of the Gave to a humble young girl of fourteen, Bernadette Soubirous, the daughter of a desperately poor family. Over the course of eighteen apparitions, the Virgin conveyed a message of prayer, penance and conversion, and revealed her name with the words that have remained engraved in the memory of the Church: «Que soy era Immaculada Counceptiou» — «I am the Immaculate Conception». This event, which took place barely four years after the proclamation of the dogma by Pope Pius IX, constituted a heavenly confirmation of the truth of faith that the Church had defined.

Today, the Domaine de la Grotte —the precinct of the shrine— comprises the grotto of Massabielle, three basilicas, an underground church, the baths where pilgrims bathe, and an extensive complex of buildings and open-air spaces that welcome visitors from all over the world. Devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes has spread across every continent, and there are thousands of replica grottoes in parishes, shrines and homes throughout the Catholic world.

II. The apparitions of the Virgin (1858)

Historical and geographical context

In 1858, Lourdes was a small town of some four thousand inhabitants, situated in the valley of the Gave, in the region of Bigorre, at the foot of the Pyrenees. It was a largely peasant community, Gascon-speaking (Occitan), deeply Catholic though marked by poverty and by hard living conditions. France was living under the Second Empire of Napoleon III, a period of economic prosperity and urban transformation, but rural areas such as the Pyrenees remained untouched by these changes.

The Soubirous family, made up of François, Louise and their eight children, was one of the poorest in Lourdes. François, a miller by trade, had lost the family mill through a legal dispute and had lived in destitution ever since. The family occupied a single room in the former police station, a dark, damp and insalubrious lodging known as «le cachot» (the dungeon), which a cousin of the family had let them use free of charge. Bernadette, the eldest child, was a young girl of frail constitution, asthmatic, small in stature (barely 1.40 metres), who could neither read nor write. She had been instructed in Christian doctrine by her mother and by the Sisters of Charity, but her knowledge of the catechism was simple and elementary. It was precisely this simplicity and purity of heart that made her worthy to receive the message of the Virgin.

First apparition: 11 February 1858

On Thursday 11 February 1858, Bernadette left her home in the company of her younger sister Toinette (aged eleven) and a friend, Jeanne Abadie, to gather firewood on the banks of the river Gave. The three girls walked to the place known as Massabielle (from the Gascon «Massa-bielha», meaning «old rock»), a natural grotto formed by the river’s erosion of the limestone rock, situated about two kilometres from the centre of Lourdes. It was a place the townspeople avoided, used as a watering place for livestock and known as a gloomy, damp spot.

While the other two girls were crossing the river at a ford, Bernadette, who hesitated for fear of the cold water on account of her asthma, suddenly heard a noise —«like a gust of wind»— and, looking up, saw that the wild rose bushes growing at the mouth of the grotto were swaying as if shaken by a current of air. In the upper hollow of the grotto she saw a figure of extraordinary beauty: a Lady dressed entirely in white, with a sky-blue sash, a golden yellow rose upon each foot, and a rosary in her hands. The Lady was smiling and beckoned her to come closer.

Bernadette, overawed, rubbed her eyes, believing it to be an illusion. But the vision persisted. She took her rosary from her pocket, knelt down and tried to make the sign of the cross, but she could not —her arm fell limp—. Then the Lady crossed herself, and Bernadette was then able to make the sign of the cross. She began to pray the Rosary, and as she did so, the Lady passed the beads of her own rosary through her fingers, though she moved her lips only at the Glory Be. When the Rosary was finished, the Lady suddenly disappeared.

Bernadette returned home and, pressed by her sister Toinette, told her mother what had happened. Louise Soubirous, worried, forbade her to return to the grotto.

Second apparition: 14 February

On Sunday 14 February, Bernadette felt an inner force urging her to return to the grotto. After Mass, accompanied by her mother and some neighbours, she made her way to Massabielle. She carried a bottle of holy water, which she sprinkled towards the grotto, saying: «If you come from God, come closer; if not, go away». The Lady bowed her head, smiling, and on seeing her, Bernadette fell into ecstasy. Her mother, alarmed, dragged her away from the place by force.

Third apparition: 18 February

On Thursday 18 February, Bernadette returned accompanied by a devout woman, Antoinette Nicolau, and by other people. She brought a pen, ink and paper, in case anything needed to be written down. The Lady appeared, and Bernadette, obeying an inner prompting, offered her the paper. The Lady smiled and said to her in Gascon: «Aquo n’ei pas necessari» («That is not necessary»). Then she added: «Me faré la grace de vous aüey tous les jours pendant quinze jours» («I will have the kindness to see you every day for a fortnight»). She asked her to come for fifteen days in succession. Bernadette promised to do so, and the Lady said to her: «Je vous promets de vous rendre heureuse, pas dans ce monde, mais dans l’autre» («I promise to make you happy, not in this world, but in the next»).

The fourth apparition and the light of the candle: 19 February

On Friday 19 February, Bernadette went to the grotto and lit a blessed candle. The Lady appeared and Bernadette remained in prayer for an hour. From then on, witnesses began to observe that Bernadette’s face was transfigured during the apparitions, taking on an expression of beatitude that impressed all who were present.

Fifth apparition: 20 February

On Saturday 20 February, the Lady taught Bernadette a prayer that she was to say every day. She also gave her a message of penance: «Penance, penance, penance. Pray to God for sinners. Go and kiss the ground in penance for sinners». Bernadette obeyed at once, kneeling down and kissing the ground, a gesture she repeated in subsequent apparitions.

Sixth apparition: 21 February

On Sunday 21 February, a crowd of curious onlookers —about a hundred people— had already gathered at Massabielle. The Lady appeared and Bernadette, in ecstasy, repeated the gestures of penance. That day, the police commissioner of Lourdes, Dominique Jacomet, questioned Bernadette as she left the grotto, trying to obtain a retraction from her. But the young girl remained firm and consistent in her account.

Seventh apparition: 23 February

On Tuesday 23 February, the crowd had grown to several hundred people. The Lady revealed a secret to Bernadette —one she would never disclose— and repeated to her the message of penance. Dr Dozous, the town physician, examined Bernadette during the ecstasy and found that she was not breathing, yet her pulse was normal. He passed the flame of a candle beneath Bernadette’s hand without her withdrawing it or showing any sign of a burn. The doctor was deeply impressed and became a firm defender of the authenticity of the apparitions.

Eighth apparition: 24 February

On Wednesday 24 February, the Lady once again insisted on the message of penance. Bernadette repeated: «Penance, penance, penance. Pray for sinners. Go and kiss the ground in penance for sinners». That day, the crowd had already reached a thousand people.

Ninth apparition and the miracle of the spring: 25 February

On Thursday 25 February, the Lady said to Bernadette: «Anatz a la hont, bevetz e lavatz-vos-î» («Go to the spring, drink of it and wash yourselves there»). Bernadette, who could see no spring, understood that she was to go to the back of the grotto, where the Gave formed a small pool. She began to dig the earth with her hands. A little liquid mud appeared. She drank it, used it to wash her face and ate some herbs, as the Virgin had instructed her. Those present thought she had lost her mind: «Bernadette has gone mad», they said. No one understood the meaning of the gesture.

The following day, the small pool that Bernadette had dug out had become a spring of clear and abundant water that flowed without ceasing. By 28 February, the flow was already considerable, and the authorities, fearing contamination, had the water analysed. The chemical analysis showed that it was pure water, with no special mineral properties. But from that time onwards, the spring has never stopped flowing, at a rate of some 100,000 litres a day, providing water for millions of pilgrims over more than 160 years.

Tenth and eleventh apparitions: 26 and 27 February

On Friday 26 and Saturday 27 February, Bernadette continued to go to the grotto. The Virgin reiterated the message of penance and prayer. The crowd kept growing: several thousand people were now gathering at Massabielle, coming from Lourdes and the neighbouring villages.

Twelfth apparition: 28 February

On Sunday 28 February, the examining magistrate of Lourdes, Clarens, summoned Bernadette and questioned her at length, trying to find contradictions. But the young girl answered with a simplicity and a consistency that disarmed the magistrate. That same day, the mayor of Lourdes, Anselme Lacadé, forbade access to the grotto, although the measure proved difficult to enforce because of the crowds.

Thirteenth apparition: 1 March

On Monday 1 March, the first public miracle took place. Catherine Latapie, a woman from Loubajac whose arm had been paralysed by a fall, came to the grotto. She plunged her arm into the water of the spring, and at once recovered full movement. It was the first of the countless wonders that would be attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Fourteenth apparition: 2 March

On Tuesday 2 March, the Lady gave Bernadette a message for the priests: «Diguez als capelans que venguen aicî en processiou e que s’i bastisse ua capèra» («Tell the priests to come here in procession and to build a chapel here»). Bernadette conveyed the message to the parish priest of Lourdes, Father Dominique Peyramale. The priest, a man of firm and prudent character, asked her for a sign: that the Lady should make the wild rose bush of the grotto bloom and that she should reveal her name.

Fifteenth apparition: 3 March

On Wednesday 3 March, Bernadette conveyed the parish priest’s request to the Virgin. The Lady smiled, but did not answer directly. The crowd was by now immense: it is reckoned that between eight and ten thousand people had gathered at Massabielle. Father Peyramale, seeing the magnitude of the phenomenon, remained prudent and withheld his approval.

Sixteenth apparition: 4 March

On Thursday 4 March, the last day of the promised fortnight, more than twenty thousand people came to the grotto, according to the chronicles of the time. The Lady appeared, but no extraordinary sign occurred to satisfy the sceptics. Bernadette, however, was serene. She had kept her promise.

Seventeenth apparition: 25 March

After an interval of twenty-one days without apparitions, on 25 March, the feast day of the Annunciation of the Lord, Bernadette once again felt the inner call and went to the grotto. The Lady appeared. Bernadette asked her name four times, as Father Peyramale had instructed her. Finally, the Lady joined her hands, raised her eyes to heaven and pronounced in the Gascon tongue of the region: «Que soy era Immaculada Counceptiou». Bernadette ran off towards the presbytery, repeating those words she did not understand, and on arriving she said them to Father Peyramale: «I am the Immaculate Conception». The priest was deeply moved: «She has said what I myself do not know!», he exclaimed, for he knew that an illiterate young girl could not have known that theological title. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception had been proclaimed by Pope Pius IX on 8 December 1854, barely four years earlier. The Virgin was coming to confirm the truth defined by the Church.

Eighteenth and final apparition: 16 July

The last apparition took place on 16 July 1858, the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The grotto had been fenced off by the authorities, and Bernadette could not approach it. She stood on the opposite bank of the Gave, facing the grotto, and there, from a distance, the Virgin appeared to her for the last time, «more beautiful than ever». Bernadette said that the Virgin smiled at her and blessed her. From that day onwards, she had no further visions. Bernadette’s mission had come to an end.

III. Saint Bernadette Soubirous

Childhood and youth

Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, known familiarly as Bernadette, was born on 7 January 1844 at the Boly mill, in Lourdes, the firstborn child of François Soubirous and Louise Castérot. She was baptised on 9 January in the parish church of Lourdes. Her childhood was spent in poverty, aggravated by her frail health: she suffered from chronic asthma, which worsened in winter and brought on severe attacks of breathlessness. At the age of twelve she had contracted cholera, from which she recovered miraculously, but her health remained impaired for ever.

The family’s economic situation deteriorated steadily. François Soubirous lost the Boly mill, and the Soubirous family moved to ever humbler lodgings. At the time of the apparitions, they were living in the «cachot», a former cell of the municipal prison of Lourdes, of barely four square metres, which a cousin had let them use. The family of eight slept in that cramped space, in conditions of extreme poverty and insalubrity.

Bernadette was a young girl of gentle, patient and reserved character. Her natural intelligence was clear, though her schooling was almost non-existent. She could neither read nor write — she learnt both after the apparitions — and her knowledge of French was limited, for she habitually spoke Gascon. Her catechism was simple, but her faith was firm and her piety sincere. Those who knew her remarked on her honesty, her lack of affectation and her extraordinary humility.

After the apparitions

After the apparitions, Bernadette’s life changed profoundly. She became the centre of attention of Lourdes, of France and soon of the world. She was subjected to countless interrogations by the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Commissioner Jacomet, Judge Clarens, Prefect Massy and even the Emperor Napoleon III himself tried to obtain from her a retraction or at least a contradiction, but her testimony always remained firm, consistent and simple.

On 17 November 1858, the Bishop of Tarbes, Monsignor Bertrand-Sévère Laurence, set up a commission of enquiry to examine the facts. The commission questioned Bernadette and numerous witnesses. On 18 January 1862, Bishop Laurence issued a favourable official judgement, declaring: «We judge that the Immaculate Mother of God, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, truly appeared to Bernadette Soubirous on 11 February 1858 and on subsequent days, on eighteen occasions in all». That same year, construction began on the first chapel above the grotto.

Bernadette, eager to escape from fame and public curiosity, expressed her desire to enter the religious life. In 1866, at the age of twenty-two, she left Lourdes for ever and entered the convent of the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction of Nevers, where she received the name of Sister Marie-Bernard. In the convent, she carried out the humblest of duties: she was a nurse, a sacristy assistant and an embroiderer. Her religious life was marked by illness: her asthma worsened, and to it were added tuberculosis of the bone and a serious affliction of the knee. She spent the last years of her life confined to the convent infirmary, offering up her sufferings for the conversion of sinners.

Death and canonisation

Saint Bernadette died on 16 April 1879, Holy Wednesday, at the age of thirty-five, after a long and painful agony. Her last words were: «Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a poor sinner». She was buried in the cemetery of the convent of Nevers.

Her body was exhumed for the first time on 22 September 1909, in the presence of the ecclesiastical authorities and several physicians. The body was found perfectly preserved, without any sign of decomposition, despite having lain for thirty years in damp earth. A second exhumation on 3 April 1919 confirmed the same phenomenon. The third exhumation, on 18 April 1925, was the last before her beatification. The body of Saint Bernadette remains incorrupt to this day, displayed in a crystal reliquary in the chapel of the convent of Nevers, where thousands of pilgrims come to venerate it.

She was beatified by Pope Pius XI on 14 June 1925, and canonised by the same pontiff on 8 December 1933, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Her feast day is celebrated on 16 April, the anniversary of her death. She is the patroness of the sick, of shepherds and of those who suffer persecution for their faith. Her incorrupt body, clothed in the habit of the Sisters of Charity, rests at Nevers beside the chapel that bears her name, and her serene face seems to sleep a sleep of peace.

IV. The miraculous spring

Discovery and properties

On 25 February 1858, when the Virgin told Bernadette to drink and wash at the spring, no spring of any kind existed in the grotto of Massabielle. The young girl dug into the earth with her hands in a damp corner of the cave, and a small flow of murky water welled up. Bernadette drank the muddy water and washed her face. Those present were scandalised: «Bernadette has gone mad», they said. Yet by the following day the flow had increased and had become clear and crystalline.

The spring rises on the left-hand side of the grotto, beside the rock. Its flow remains constant at some 100,000 litres a day, whatever the season of the year. The water has been analysed on many occasions by chemists and independent laboratories, and its composition is that of ordinary mountain water, with no mineral or radioactive properties that might explain the cures attributed to it. This circumstance has reinforced the supernatural character of the prodigies: it is not the water itself that heals, but faith and the intercession of the Virgin.

The miraculous cures

Since 1858, more than seven thousand cases of inexplicable cures have been documented by the Lourdes Medical Bureau. Of these, 72 had been recognised as miraculous by the Catholic Church by April 2025, after a rigorous process of medical and ecclesial investigation. The process is extremely demanding: the cure must be instantaneous, complete, lasting and scientifically inexplicable.

The Medical Bureau and the International Medical Committee

The Lourdes Medical Bureau (Bureau des Constatations Médicales) was created in 1883 by Doctor Henri-Ferdinand Dunot de Sainte-Maclou, the first physician responsible for the shrine. Since then it has functioned without interruption, examining the cases of cures that occur during the pilgrimages. The bureau is directed by a chief physician and has a team of doctors of every speciality and nationality, Catholic and non-Catholic, who examine those claiming to have been cured.

In 1954 the International Medical Committee of Lourdes (CMIL) was created, with its seat in Paris and composed of physicians from different countries and creeds. This committee carries out a second review of the cases which the Medical Bureau considers inexplicable. If the CMIL confirms that the case is medically inexplicable, it is referred to the bishop of the cured pilgrim’s place of origin, who appoints a canonical commission to decide whether the cure may be declared miraculous. Finally, it is the bishop who pronounces the official recognition of the miracle.

Some of the most celebrated miracles

Marie-Bernarde (Bernardette) Moreau (1858, the first recognised cure): Catherine Latapie, a thirty-eight-year-old woman from Loubajac, had had her right arm paralysed for two years as the result of a fall. On 1 March 1858, upon plunging her arm into the water of the spring at the grotto, she immediately recovered its full mobility. It was the first cure attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Louis Bouriette (1858): A stonemason of Lourdes who had lost the sight of his right eye through a gunpowder explosion. His daughter brought him water from the grotto; on washing his eye, he recovered his sight instantly.

Henriette Bordenave (1866): A young woman of twenty-seven who suffered from an incurable lachrymal fistula. After bathing in the pool of the shrine, the fistula closed completely and never opened again.

Gabriel Gargam (1885): A five-year-old boy who suffered from cervical glandular tuberculosis with suppurating fistulas. He was taken to the pool by his mother and, after immersion, the fistulas closed and the boy was completely cured.

Marie Lemarchand (1894): A young woman of nineteen who suffered from advanced pulmonary tuberculosis, considered terminal. After bathing in the pools, she was cured instantaneously. Her case was meticulously documented by Doctor Boissarie, then president of the Medical Bureau.

Johanna Bézenac (1911): A twenty-nine-year-old religious sister who suffered from tuberculous peritonitis. After drinking water from Lourdes, she was cured suddenly and completely. Her cure was declared a miracle in 1913.

Alexis Carrel (1903): The celebrated French physician and biologist, future Nobel laureate in Medicine (1912), witnessed at Lourdes the cure of a dying young woman, Marie Bailly, who suffered from advanced tuberculous peritonitis. Carrel, who was a sceptic, verified the sudden and inexplicable cure of the patient. Although he never publicly converted, the event marked his life and thought profoundly, and led him to write on the limits of science in explaining certain phenomena. His testimony appears in the work «The Voyage to Lourdes», published posthumously.

V. The basilicas of the shrine

The Crypt (1866)

The first construction of the shrine was the Crypt, hewn out of the living rock above the grotto of Massabielle. It was blessed on 15 May 1866, eight years after the apparitions. The Crypt, in a simple neo-Gothic style, houses an altar recalling that the first chapel of Lourdes was carved into the very rock where the Virgin appeared. It preserves the altar at which Bishop Laurence celebrated Mass during the ceremony of blessing. The Crypt serves as the base and foundation of the upper basilica.

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (1871)

Known as the Upper Basilica, it was built between 1862 and 1871 upon the rock of Massabielle, directly above the Crypt. It is a neo-Gothic building, 70 metres in length and 70 metres high at its central spire, visible from the whole town of Lourdes. Its façade, elegantly proportioned, presents three doorways with pointed arches and a great central rose window. The interior, of a single nave with side chapels, is adorned with stained-glass windows depicting the life of the Virgin Mary and the scenes of the apparitions. The basilica was consecrated in 1871 and can hold some 550 faithful. Outside, a monumental Way of the Cross in cast bronze, the work of the artist Raffl, winds from the basilica up the hill of Espélugues.

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (1901)

The growing influx of pilgrims made a basilica of greater capacity necessary. Between 1883 and 1901 the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was built, situated facing the grotto, on the esplanade of the shrine. It is in the neo-Byzantine style, with an imposing central dome 51 metres high and a façade adorned with golden mosaics reminiscent of the Basilica of Saint Mark in Venice. The interior, oval in plan, is surrounded by fifteen side chapels dedicated to the mysteries of the Rosary, each of which houses a mosaic depicting the corresponding mystery. The basilica can hold up to 1,500 faithful. The great dome is decorated with mosaics representing the coronation of the Virgin Mary and the procession of the saints. The main façade, with two bell towers, opens onto the great Rosary esplanade, where the great gatherings of pilgrims are held.

The Underground Basilica of Saint Pius X (1958)

For the centenary of the apparitions, the Basilica of Saint Pius X was built, also known as the Underground Basilica, a temple of prefabricated concrete designed by the architect Pierre Vago. It was inaugurated on 25 March 1958 by Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope Saint John XXIII. With a capacity of 25,000 people, it was the largest church in the world at the time of its construction, and it remains one of the largest. Its modern, sober design, with no interior columns, allows an unobstructed view of the altar from any point. It is built underground, partially excavated into the hillside, so as not to alter the landscape of the shrine. Its elliptical shape, 201 metres long and 81 metres wide, calls to mind an upturned ship.

VI. The shrine today

The Domaine de la Grotte

The Domaine de la Grotte (Domain of the Grotto) is the precinct of the shrine, an extensive space of some 52 hectares on the banks of the river Gave de Pau, comprising the grotto of Massabielle, the basilicas, the baths, the Rosary esplanade, the pilgrims’ hospital, the chapels of Light and of Adoration, and various reception buildings. Access to the shrine is free of charge and it is open all year round, twenty-four hours a day. The atmosphere of the Domaine is one of deep recollection: the murmur of the river, the singing of the pilgrims, the glow of the candles and the gentle fragrance of incense create an atmosphere of peace that impresses even non-believing visitors.

The grotto of Massabielle

The grotto of Massabielle is the spiritual heart of the shrine. It is a natural cave some twelve metres deep, formed by the erosion of the river Gave in the limestone rock. The grotto has three cavities: the largest, where the statue of the Virgin stands; a left-hand side cavity where the spring rises; and a third side cavity where the pilgrims’ candles are lit. The statue of the Virgin, placed in the niche where the Lady appeared, was sculpted in 1864 by the artist Joseph-Hugues Fabisch, according to the indications given by Bernadette. The statue depicts the Virgin just as Bernadette described her: dressed in white, with a blue sash, a golden rose on each foot and a rosary in her hands. Thousands of pilgrims come to the grotto each day to pray, to touch the rock, to light candles and to leave their intentions. The atmosphere in the grotto is of a spiritual density difficult to describe: the murmur of the river, the prayers whispered in dozens of languages, the flicker of the candles, the brush of hands upon the stone worn smooth by centuries of devotion.

The baths (bains)

The baths of Lourdes are facilities situated at the foot of the grotto, beside the spring, where pilgrims may immerse themselves in the water of the source as an act of faith and of petition for healing. The present baths were built in 1955 and consist of seventeen individual baths (twelve for women and five for men), each with room for three or four people. The pilgrims, clothed in a white robe, immerse themselves briefly in the water while praying and entrusting their intentions to the Virgin. Immersion in the baths is one of the most moving moments of the pilgrimage to Lourdes, an act of humility and of faith performed each year by hundreds of thousands of people, the sick and healthy pilgrims alike.

The torchlight procession

Every evening, as the sun goes down, the Marian torchlight procession takes place, one of the most emblematic and moving ceremonies of the shrine. Thousands of pilgrims, carrying lighted candles, make their way along the Rosary esplanade and through the precinct of the Domaine, praying the Rosary and singing the «Ave Maria of Lourdes». The procession begins with the blessing of the candles at the grotto and culminates with the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament before the basilica. The sight of the esplanade lit by thousands of candles, with the hymns rising to heaven in a score of languages, is one of the most unforgettable experiences for any pilgrim.

The blessing of the sick

The blessing of the sick is the central act of the pilgrimage to Lourdes. It takes place every afternoon, at the end of the Eucharistic procession, and constitutes the culminating moment of the day. The sick, gathered on the Rosary esplanade in wheelchairs and on stretchers, receive the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament. Thousands of pilgrims pray for them, and the silence becomes absolute at the moment of the blessing. It is an act of profound spiritual weight, in which the faith of the Church is made visible in a moving way: the sick are the protagonists, the privileged ones, those who receive the attention and the love of all.

The Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes

The care of the sick at Lourdes is made possible by the Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes, an organisation founded in 1880 by Father François Picard, chaplain of the shrine. It is made up of thousands of volunteers —men and women of all ages and backgrounds— who devote their time and effort to accompanying, caring for and serving the sick pilgrims. The hospitallers, men and women alike, are distinguished by their uniform: a blue and white armband, and a medal of the Virgin. Their selfless and joyful labour is one of the most eloquent testimonies to the spirit of Lourdes: charity lived in its most concrete and endearing form.

VII. The miracles approved by the Church

The process of recognition

The recognition of a miracle at Lourdes follows a rigorous and extremely demanding procedure, considered the strictest in the world in the matter of extraordinary cures. The process comprises several stages:

In the first place, the person who claims to have been cured must present themselves before the Lourdes Medical Bureau, where a team of doctors from different specialities examines their clinical history, previous diagnoses and current state of health. The bureau is open to doctors of any creed, including non-Catholics. If the majority of the doctors consider that the cure has no scientific explanation, the case is declared «medically inexplicable».

The case is then referred to the Lourdes International Medical Committee (CMIL), composed of some thirty doctors from different countries and specialities, which carries out a second investigation. If the CMIL confirms that the cure is medically inexplicable, the case passes to the ecclesiastical authority: the bishop of the cured person’s place of origin appoints a canonical commission to study the case from a theological perspective. Finally, the bishop issues a decree recognising the miraculous character of the cure. By April 2025, 72 cures had culminated in episcopal recognition as miraculous.

Cures recognised as miraculous

The official list of miracles recognised by the Church stretches from 1858 to the present day. Some of the most representative, in addition to those already mentioned, include:

Marie Savoie (1894): A young woman of nineteen who suffered from advanced pulmonary and laryngeal tuberculosis, which had left her voice completely lost. After immersion in the baths, she recovered her voice and was cured of all her ailments. The miracle was recognised in 1898.

Serge Perrin (1970): A French citizen who suffered from Foix-Alajouanine syndrome, a serious neurological disease that had caused him partial paralysis, blindness and sensory disorders. After travelling to Lourdes on pilgrimage, he experienced a sudden and complete cure. The miracle was recognised in 1978.

Delizia Cirolli (1976): An Italian girl of twelve who suffered from Ewing’s sarcoma in her right knee, a malignant bone cancer with metastasis. The doctors had planned to amputate her leg to save her life. On her return from a pilgrimage to Lourdes, the doctors confirmed the complete disappearance of the tumour. The miracle was recognised in 1982.

Jean-Pierre Bély (1987): A Frenchman of thirty-one who suffered from multiple sclerosis in an advanced stage, confined to a wheelchair. After immersing himself in the baths of Lourdes, he experienced an immediate and progressive improvement, until he completely recovered his mobility. The miracle was recognised in 1999.

Anna Santaniello (1952): An Italian woman of forty-one who suffered from a serious rheumatic heart disease, considered irreversible. After drinking water from Lourdes, she was completely cured. The miracle was recognised in 1964.

VIII. Illustrious pilgrims and papal visits

The Popes at Lourdes

Lourdes has received the visit of several Pontiffs, who have wished to demonstrate by their presence the importance of the shrine for the universal Church.

Pope Saint Pius X, a great devotee of Our Lady of Lourdes, extended the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes to the whole Church in 1907 and promulgated the Litany of Loreto. He also approved the statutes of the Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Pope Pius XII, who as Cardinal Secretary of State had visited Lourdes in 1935 as papal legate, proclaimed in 1958 the Jubilee Year of the Centenary of the Apparitions and promulgated the encyclical «Le pèlerinage de Lourdes». In his message, he recalled that Lourdes is «the shrine of penance, of prayer and of charity».

Pope Saint John Paul II, the Pontiff most devoted to Lourdes in recent history, visited the shrine on two occasions. The first, on 15 August 1983, on the occasion of the Holy Year of the Redemption, in a visit that left a profound mark upon the shrine. The second, on 14 and 15 August 2004, when he made his second pilgrimage to Lourdes, carrying the Cross of the Sick, already gravely afflicted by Parkinson’s disease. It was a deeply moving visit: the Pope, visibly ill, prostrated himself before the grotto and received the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament together with the other sick. It was the last great international pilgrimage of his pontificate, a testimony to his devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes and to his solidarity with those who suffer.

Pope Benedict XVI visited Lourdes on 14 and 15 September 2008, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions. He presided over the torchlight procession, celebrated Mass on the Rosary esplanade and visited the grotto in prayer. In his address, he recalled that «Lourdes is the place of humble and trusting love, the place where we all learn that the love of God knows no measure».

Pope Francis has not visited Lourdes in person, but he has expressed his devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes on repeated occasions and has sent his personal delegates to the great celebrations of the shrine. In 2013, on the occasion of World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, he recalled that «Lourdes teaches us that faith is not a theory, but an encounter with a Mother who accompanies us».

Other illustrious figures

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus) visited Lourdes with her father in 1887, during the French national pilgrimage. She was then fourteen years old, and her experience at Lourdes was spiritual and intense, although she herself would later confess that she had hoped for a miraculous cure for her father, which did not come to pass. Her time at Lourdes was, nonetheless, an important moment on her path to sainthood.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) visited Lourdes on several occasions. Her devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes was well known, and she used to refer to Lourdes as «the shrine where the love of God becomes visible in the faces of the poor and the sick». In 1993, during her last visit, she knelt for a long while before the grotto, absorbed in deep prayer.

The Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie de Montijo showed interest in the apparitions from the very beginning. The Empress, Spanish by birth and deeply Catholic, was a firm defender of Bernadette and of the cause of the shrine. Thanks to her influence, the Emperor authorised the purchase of the grounds of Massabielle by the Bishop of Tarbes in 1861, and the construction of the shrine was able to begin without administrative hindrance.

IX. Devotional practices

The water of Lourdes

The water from the spring of Massabielle is the most visible and popular sign of devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. Since 1858, pilgrims have drunk the water, washed with it, carried it to their homes and distributed it among the sick. The water of Lourdes has no special medicinal properties —chemical analyses have demonstrated this repeatedly— but for believers it is a sacramental, a visible sign of the invisible grace of God. Millions of bottles and containers of Lourdes water are distributed every year throughout the world. Pilgrims usually take it home as a keepsake and as an object of devotion, to be used in times of illness or of spiritual need. The shrine provides public taps where pilgrims may fill their containers free of charge.

The Eucharistic procession

Every afternoon, at 17:00, the procession of the Blessed Sacrament takes place along the Rosary esplanade. It is the central act of the day at Lourdes. The Blessed Sacrament, carried by a priest beneath a canopy, moves slowly across the esplanade amid hymns and prayers, while the pilgrims kneel as it passes. The procession culminates in the blessing of the sick, the most moving moment of the day. The absolute silence that falls during the blessing, broken only by the wind and the murmur of the river, has a spiritual density that moves believers and non-believers alike.

The Way of the Cross at Espélugues

The monumental Way of the Cross at Lourdes was inaugurated in 1912 and winds its way up the hill of Espélugues, to the east of the shrine. It consists of fourteen stations represented in cast-bronze sculptural groups, the work of the sculptor Raffl, depicting the scenes of the Passion according to the classical tradition. The route, approximately 1.5 kilometres long, climbs the hill among the trees and offers panoramic views of the shrine and of the town of Lourdes. Many pilgrims make the Way of the Cross praying in silence, in an atmosphere of recollection that contrasts with the bustle of the esplanade. It is one of the most deeply rooted devotional practices of the shrine, especially during Lent and Holy Week.

The Rosary

Our Lady of Lourdes appeared with a rosary in her hands, and the prayer of the Rosary lies at the heart of the shrine’s spirituality. During the apparitions, Bernadette prayed the Rosary while the Virgin passed the beads of her own, joining her lips only at the Glory Be. Since then, the Rosary has been the prayer par excellence of the pilgrims of Lourdes. It is prayed at the grotto, in the basilicas, on the esplanade, in the processions. The shrine possesses the Rosary Basilica, whose fifteen side chapels are dedicated to the mysteries. Every day the Rosary is prayed in many languages, and the participation of the pilgrims is massive and fervent.

X. Cultural impact and worldwide expansion

The replica Lourdes grottoes around the world

Devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes has spread across every continent, and there are thousands of replica grottoes of Massabielle in parishes, shrines, convents and homes throughout the world. It is estimated that there are more than two thousand replicas in France alone, and several tens of thousands across the Catholic world. Many of them are faithful reproductions of the original grotto, with the statue of the Virgin in the same position, the spring and the candles. Among the most famous replicas are the Lourdes Grotto at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Bombay (India), the Lourdes Grotto at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles (United States), and the Lourdes Grotto at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in San Leopoldo (Brazil). In Spain there are numerous replicas, such as that of the Royal Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Madrid, that of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes at Torreciudad (Huesca), and that of the Basilica of La Merced in Barcelona.

The hymn «Ave Maria of Lourdes»

The best-known hymn of the shrine is the «Ave Maria of Lourdes», also known as «The Lourdes Prayer». Its words, composed by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the twelfth century, were set to music in their present version for the Lourdes pilgrimages. The melody, simple and deeply moving, is sung by the pilgrims at the torchlight procession and at all the ceremonies of the shrine. The best-known version runs: «Ave, ave, ave Maria. Ave, ave, ave Maria». The hymn has become a universal symbol of Marian devotion, recognisable even to those who have never visited Lourdes.

Cinema and literature about Bernadette

The story of Bernadette Soubirous has been brought to the cinema and to literature on many occasions. The most famous film is «The Song of Bernadette» (1943), directed by Henry King and starring Jennifer Jones, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Bernadette. The film, based on the novel of the same name by Franz Werfel (1941), is a classic of religious cinema and was honoured with four Academy Awards. Werfel, an exiled Austrian Jewish writer, wrote the novel in fulfilment of a promise he had made to Our Lady of Lourdes when he was saved from Nazi persecution.

Other notable films include «Bernadette» (1988), a French production directed by Jean Delannoy and starring Sydney Penny, which recounts the life of the saint with great fidelity; and «Lourdes» (2009), a film by the Austrian director Jessica Hausner, which approaches the phenomenon of the pilgrimages from a contemporary perspective. Numerous documentaries and television series have also been produced about the apparitions, the miracles and the life of the shrine.

Lourdes in popular culture

Lourdes has transcended the strictly religious sphere to become a universal cultural phenomenon. The name of Lourdes is known throughout the world, even by those who are not Catholic, as a byword for pilgrimage, for popular faith and for the search for healing. The image of the grotto of Massabielle, with the statue of the Virgin in its niche and the thousands of lighted candles, is one of the most recognisable icons of Catholicism. The word «Lourdes» appears in songs, novels, films and works of art all over the world. The shrine also welcomes numerous non-Catholic and non-believing visitors, who come drawn by the beauty of the place, the atmosphere of peace and the human phenomenon of pilgrimage.

XI. Chronology of Lourdes

• 11 February 1858: First apparition of the Virgin to Bernadette Soubirous in the grotto of Massabielle.
• 25 February 1858: The Virgin instructs Bernadette to dig in the earth and uncover the spring.
• 25 March 1858: The Virgin identifies herself as «the Immaculate Conception».
• 16 July 1858: Eighteenth and final apparition.
• 18 January 1862: Bishop Laurence officially approves the apparitions.
• 1862-1871: Construction of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
• 15 May 1866: Blessing of the Crypt of the shrine.
• 1866: Bernadette enters the convent at Nevers.
• 1871: Consecration of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
• 16 April 1879: Death of Saint Bernadette at Nevers.
• 1883-1901: Construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.
• 1883: Creation of the Lourdes Medical Bureau.
• 1907: Saint Pius X extends the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes to the whole Church.
• 8 December 1933: Canonisation of Saint Bernadette by Pope Pius XI.
• 1958: Construction and inauguration of the Underground Basilica of Saint Pius X for the centenary of the apparitions.
• 15 August 1983: First visit of Pope Saint John Paul II to Lourdes.
• 14-15 August 2004: Second pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II to Lourdes, already gravely ill.
• 14-15 September 2008: Visit of Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions.
• 11 February 2008: Opening of the Jubilee Year of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions.
• 2018: Celebration of the 160th anniversary of the apparitions, with extraordinary pilgrimages from all over the world.
• 11 February 2024: World Day of the Sick, instituted by Saint John Paul II in 1992, commemorated in a special way at Lourdes.

Official sources: Lourdes Sanctuary: recognised cures; recognition procedure.

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XII. The message of Lourdes: prayer, penance and conversion

The message that the Virgin delivered at Lourdes is of a simplicity and a depth that have lost none of their relevance. The Virgin gave no long discourses and revealed no great secrets: she asked for prayer, penance and conversion. «Penance, penance, penance», she repeated in several apparitions. «Pray to God for sinners». «Go and kiss the ground in penance for sinners». She also asked for a chapel to be built and for the faithful to come in procession to the place of the apparitions.

The message of Lourdes is, in essence, a call to conversion of heart, to humility, to trusting prayer and to solidarity with those who suffer. Lourdes is not a place of spectacle but of encounter: encounter with the Virgin, encounter with the sick, encounter with oneself and with God. The shrine is, above all, a school of charity. The care of the sick, the welcome given to pilgrims, communal prayer, participation in the sacraments —especially confession and the Eucharist— are the concrete expressions of this message.

The permanent miracle of Lourdes is not only the physical cures —striking, but exceptional— but the spiritual transformation experienced by the millions of people who come to the shrine. Pilgrims who arrive burdened with doubts, with sufferings, with despair, and who depart with a peace and a joy that cannot be explained by natural causes. That is, perhaps, the greatest miracle of Lourdes: the certainty, palpable in the atmosphere of the Domaine, that the Virgin is truly present in that place, as she promised, and that her maternal love continues to accompany her pilgrim children on earth.