Plan of Lourdes Shrine
Southern France

Click on any number on the this map and go there now, or begin at the first site. Plan of Lourdes Shrine

  1. St. Michael's Gate
  2. St. Pius X Basilica
  3. Crowned Virgin
  4. The Rosary Basilica
  5. The Crypt
  6. Upper Basilica
  7. The Grotto & Miraculous Spring
  8. St. Bernadette's Chapel
  9. Reconciliation Chapel
  10. Way of the Cross



 

 

one
Pont St. Michel St. Michael's Gate

The Bridge of St. Michael offers a full view of the esplanade leading up to the magnificant Basilica of Lourdes; its tower (standing 70 meters high) seemingly extends higher than the Pyrenees Mountains seen here in the background.
"Come here in procession and build a Church", Our Lady said to Bernadette. The church is not the group or club of those who believe in Jesus. It is the poor and weak who are never chosen by the world but whom God mysteriously calls. We become the messengers of mercy.

Stay awake! We are already on the road to Lourdes, to take part in the processions. Let our whole life be a pilgrimage, a confident journey to the chapel, or church, the holy city God prepares for us and in which he waits for us. Our churches on this earth are only for us the sign and memory of this meeting of love.

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St. Pius X  WIDTH=St. Pius X BasilicaStain Glass depicting the Apparitions

This underground church is a contrast in style to all the other churches in the Shrine. St. Pius X Basilica is one of the largest buildings in the world (12,000M2). It has a capacity of about 20,000 people. The arrangement of 58 pillars joining together in 29 porticoes allows the greatest visibility. This work by the architect, Pierre Vago, was Stations by Denys de Solereconsecrated on the 25th of March, 1958 for the centenaryof the apparitions by Cardinal Roncali, future Pope John XXIII. A relicof St. Pius X is kept under the altar of the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament also called, The Chapel "Pax Christi". In the Basilica are a number of works of art by Gemmail. The Fifteen Stations of the Cross by Denys de Solere are on the ramps on the east side, and on the western side are the 15 mysteries of the Rosary by Robert Falcucci. At the bottom are the apparitions of Our Lady to Bernadette.

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Statue of the CrownStatue of the Crowned Virgin

This statue cast in bronze, stands 2,50 meters high, and is located at the center of the esplanade, facing the great Basilica. Each afternoon, Eucharistic Adoration is held in the Grotto. From there the Blessed Sacrament is processed to the esplanade, where the sick are prayed over and receive a blessing of the Eucharist. And in the evenings, a candle-lit Rosary procession takes place on the esplanade. The RosaryClose view of Statue prayers, little by little, seem to make a crown of roses offered to Mary who brings us progressively to the heart of God. God the most high has looked upon His little handmaid and loved her. "Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you." We recognize her as blessed, "blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." With her, the holy one, our prayer reaches God. "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
As a virtual pilgrim...Stop. Become quiet. Let God in, through love. Sometimes we feel good, other times we remain dry: the essential thing is to remain faithful and open our heart.

One day the disciples said to Jesus, "Teach us to pray". Jesus opened to them the secret of his heart: Eternally He is the Son of God, the little child whose life is turned towards His father. When you pray say: "Our Father who are in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil."

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St. Dominic Receiving the RosaryRosary Basilica

The Rosary Basilica was built under the following two places of worship, at the beginning of this century. On the facade are medallions of Leo XIII, the Pope of the Rosary and Pius XII, who proclaimed the Marian Year in 1954. Above the entrance Our Lady is seen offering a Rosary to St. Dominic, who started the Rosary. Right from the moment we enter the Basilica, a mosaic of Our Lady in the upper wall of the Sanctuary welcomes us as she stretches out her hands to us. There are 15 small chapels from left to right decorated with mosaics that help us to follow the journey and story of the Rosary.Rosary Basilica Internal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Entrance of
The Crypt

The Crypt is under the Upper Basilica. It was blessed on the day of Pentecost, 1866. It was on that day that the pilgrimage was started. Bernadette could leave Lourdes and go to Nevers, she had finished her task and passed it on to others to continue. At the entrance of the corridor we find a statue of St. Peter and another of Pius X, who favoured frequent communion.Altar of The Crypt

 

 

In the chapel one is invited to recollect oneself and adore the Blessed Sacrament, the real presence of Jesus in the Host: God gives us his life as food.

 

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Entrar Basilica The Upper Basilica

Mary said to Bernadette, "Tell the priests to come here in procession and build a chapel."
The Upper Basilica was opened in 1871. It is built on the rock of Massabielle. The Sanctuary is directly over the place of the apparitions. The tower is 70 meters high. The bells ring out, "Ave Maria". Above the entrance is a medallion of Pius IX, who was the Pope at the time of Bernadette. It was Pius IX who proclaimed in 1854 that Our Lady was "conceived without original sin" that is to say, immaculate, entirely filled with the love of God.

In Ineffabilis Deus, 8 December, 1854, he wrote, she was "replendent with such an abundance of heavenly gifts...that she is an Upper Basilica Internalunspeakable miracle of God - indeed the crown of all miracles and truly the worthy Mother of God; that she approaches as near to God Himself as is possible for a created being."

The church walls are hung with banners which witness to pilgrimages that came from all over the world. The history of Our Lady of Lourdes is retold in the stained glass windows in the side chapels, and in those above the nave--the biblical history of Eve and Mary.

 

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The Grotto

& Miraculous Spring

View of Basilica from Grotto
The Rock of Massabielle acts as the foundation for the Basilica of Lourdes. The Grotto is located directly below the Sanctuary of the Upper Basilica. The Grotto was a simple hole in the rock, where pigs used to come to find shelter. On the 11th of February, 1858 there was a sound of wind and a light: Mary appeared... in an alcove in the rock, Bernadette saw a young and small girl dressed in white, with a blue cincture, a yellow rose on each foot, and carrying a Rosary on her arm. The statue you see today, which marks the place where Our Lady stood during the Apparitions, was made from white marble in 1864 by the Sculptor Fabisch. "It is like that and yet it is not like that", Bernadette said when shown the statue. Although it is considered a poor representation of the beautiful lady who appeared to Bernadette, the statue invites us to pray...


"Would you do me the favour of coming here for two weeks?"  Bernadette said, "yes."

Later she said, "The Grotto was my heaven."
The Grotto and Statue marking the place where Our Lady stood
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.."Mary the purest of all women, mother of Christ and mother of all people, we come before you as Bernadette did and we pray to you full of confidence. Help us to have hearts free and open to the poor, to experience in prayer the tenderness of God and be able to undertake our part in the building of the Church. Through you we pray to Jesus your Son that by his grace He may free us from sin and strengthen us in Faith, Hope, and Love, making us joyful witnesses of His Gospel. He who lives for ever.  Amen".

"Go and drink at the spring and wash yourself there...Eat some grass which grows there."
The Spring at the back of the Grotto on the left side of the altar was discovered by Bernadette on the 25th of February, 1858. The spring water of Massabielle is not magic water: analysis of the water shows it to be ordinary drinkable water without any special properties. The flow varies like any mountain spring, according to the changing seasons. To the right of the Grotto are bath houses for the sick and anyone else who wishes to bathe - to do so is only an exterior sign of what God asks of us, which is that we bathe our hearts in the spring of His Love.

The Miraculous Spring

Pilgrim drinking at the Spring Taps


Over 70,000 sick and handicapped come to Lourdes each year. To the left of the Grotto, are taps where pilgrims drink, wash and fill their bottles with this spring water. To drink or take water home are signs of our trust in God. If we trust Him, He may give us a bodily healing or some particular grace we have been  asking for. God however, wishes to give us much more than this; the purification and healing of our souls, sick with sin.

"If anyone thirts, let him come to me. Let the one come and drink who believes in me." (John 7:37)

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The Church of St. Bernadette
Church of St. Bernadette Internal
-Bernadette

Located on the opposite side of the River Gave, the Church of St. Bernadette was built on the spot where Bernadette stood for the last apparition, facing the Grotto.  Despite the distance Bernadette said,
"I saw her just as if I was in the Grotto."

This church was blessed on the 25th of March, 1988.  There are a number of small meeting rooms within this church. On the right is the "Hemicycle". It is here that the Conference of Bishops of France meets each autumn. Across from St. Bernadette's Church used to be the rivulet which Bernadette crossed on the day of the first apparition. A bridge has since replaced the rivulet which was simply a tail-race that joined the River Gave at this spot.

 

Bridge crossing the River Gave

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nine
Chapel of ReconciliationThe Chapel of Reconciliation

Our Lady asks, "Penance, Penance, Penance.  Pray for the conversion of Sinners."
Reconciliation is an important part of the message of Lourdes. To do penance is to let oneself be drawn along the way of solidarity. We let Jesus change our hearts of stone to let Him graft on a heart of flesh, that could suffer from the poverty of the world, and so enter into the dynamic of love. The statue of the Cure d'Ars welcomes pilgirms coming to this chapel. The Cure d'Ars spent 15 hours a day confessing the crowds of people that came to his little village from all over the world. Today, our examination of conscience helps us to recognize the Love of God in our lives and the sins which are obstacles to this love. The priest who welcomes us is the sign of mercy of our Heavenly Father. Let us rediscover the grace of the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation. It is like a new birth for us.

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ten
Way of the CrossWay of the Cross

"I do not promise to make you happy in this world but the other."
We are not asked to suffer on the earth with resignation to finally get happiness beyond death. The other world begins here and now: It is already hell for those who sink into egoism. For those who open their hearts to love, paradise has already begun. In the extreme poverty of the Cachot where she lived in 1958, Bernadette knew the true joy of family love. Later on she said:
"I am happy on my bed of pain with my cruxifix more than a queen on her throne."
The secret of happiness is to welcome little by little, even through disappointments, failures and suffering, the look and call of the one who loved us until the end.

The Way of the Cross in Lourdes consists of 15 large stations depicted in life size bronze statues, and winds approximately 1600 meters up the Mount of Espelugues, called Mount Calvary. One cannot make the stations without beging struck by the natural beauty of the site and reliving the journey Christ made up to Calvary, 2,000 years ago. You can make the Way of the Cross at Lourdes by taking our 'Virtual' Calvary Tour Now.

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Take a Side Trip to Nevers, France
(the resting place of Saint Bernadette)

Return to 'Virtual' Lourdes Home

 


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