Lourdes
Lourdes is a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées of France. It is a global centre of Marian pilgrimage, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
About Lourdes
Lourdes is a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées of France. It is a global centre of Marian pilgrimage, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Many Catholics believe that the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, appeared 18 times at the Grotto to a young girl, Saint Bernadette Soubirous.
Lourdes has grown a sleepy market town on the road to the spas of the Pyrenees into the largest Marian pilgrimage centre in the world. The town has two sections: the international portion by the river, consisting of the spiritual area containing the Grotto and churches (known as the Domaine or the Sanctuaries), and the "French" portion, centred around the marketplace & Hotel de Ville.