A 'Virtual' Pilgrimage to Lourdes

What happened in this little town at the foot of the Pyrenees? Why is it that for more than 130 years crowds of people have visited Lourdes on pilgrimage? An estimated 5 million people from 150 countries come each year.

Simply, because one day Our Lady appeared to a 14 year old girl called Bernadette Soubirous, and also because Mary, the Mother of God and the mother of all people, came here to this hole in the rock to remind us of the secret of happiness: The gospel - The poverty of an unencumbered heart; The prayer which opens us to God; The conversion which changes our Life; The Church which gathers us together as brothers and sisters.

The Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette eighteen times between February 11 and July 16, 1858.  On March 25, 1858, on the feast of the Annunciation, she revealed to Bernadette, "I am the Immaculate Conception."  This account was an affirmation from Heaven of the truth of the 'Immaculate Conception' dogma, proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church just fours years earlier.

Lourdes holds special blessings and graces of all kinds; it is perhaps especially known for its numerous recorded miracles of physical healings. But it is the awesome presence of Our Mother in the Grotto of Lourdes that truly makes it a unique Marian Shrine.  Simply, Lourdes is the closest place to heaven here on earth!

We hope you enjoy your 'Virtual' Pilgrimage to Lourdes!


Stop back after your tour of Lourdes, and let us know what you think by signing our guestbook.

Also included in our Itinerary:
Virtual Calvary - 'Way of the Cross' in Lourdes
Side Trip to Saint-Gildard's Convent, Nevers, France