In
the heart of the Pyrenees, more than 5 million visitors from all over the world
every year. Spirituality, whether belonging to history, is part of the present
through the depth and beauty of the sight, the marks of the past, the serenity
of the Sanctuaries. Lourdes was just a small market town on the 11 February, when
Bernadette Soubirous met, along the Gave, the “Lady” that made the town a Marian
city, Lourdes Pilgrimages have become a sought after experience.. Today
Lourdes has the second greatest number of hotels in France with 230 establishments.
Its geographical position, at the foot of the mountains makes it an ideal starting-point
of excursions to the Pyrenees. |  |
Pilgrimages: Coming
Alone or as a Family Group There is a possibility of attending (free of charge)
a showing of the 30-minute video on the Story of the Apparitions Obtain a map
and list of events Possibility of hiring a digital MP3 player complete with earphones
and a map to follow a circuit: The Footsteps of Bernadette . The commentaries
are available in French, Italian, Spanish, English, German and Dutch. The digital
players – hired at a nominal charge – can be obtained from a kiosk situated near
St. Joseph'gate. To listen During the Months of July, August and September the
Daily Pilgrimage Service can accompany pilgrims on a pilgrimage
experience. Pilgrims gather each morning by the Crowned Statue at 08.30. (There
is no need to book) The programme is as follows: - Mass on the Chapel of St. Cosmas
and St. Damian - Way of the Cross - The Footsteps
of Bernadette. Pilgrimage : Young Service
Introduction The Youth Service is available through the year and can help:
Accompany groups Celebrate Liturgies, Provide times and places for prayer, Organise
where groups can be of assistance, Understand needs Organise a pilgrimage programme
Encounter other young people. CELEBRATING LITURGY
In all the liturgies, the active participation of young people is greatly encouraged.
Each Wednesday during the month of June Children's Mass (in French). The Sacrament
of Reconciliation International Youth Mass in July and August. Liturgy of Water
Way of the Cross Prayer Vigils on the pastoral theme The International Masses…
SERVICE: to give a lending hand in the Sanctuary for a pre-arranged period. For
Scouts and Guides To be a volunteer helper For all your needs, accommodation,
meeting rooms, chapels, animation, etc the Youth Service team is available to
help you with their experience and support. All requests for reservations and
support should be sent, in writing, to the following address. The story of Lourdes
is well known. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary
appeared eighteen times to fourteen year old Bernadette Soubirous in that small
town located in the foothills of the Pyrenee mountains of southern France. Bernadette
was born on January 7, 1844, the eldest of six children of Francis Soubirous and
Louise Caserot. She was a delicate girl who suffered from asthma and cholera.
She could neither read nor write and spoke only the Burgundian dialect of her
area. Her family was sinking into poverty and the day the first apparition took
place she went to gather firewood along the bank of the River Gave to help her
mother. The Apparition-Lourdes Her attention was drawn to the noise of rustling
bushes near the Grotto of Massabielle, from the French "vieille masse" meaning
ancient mass. Then Bernadette saw a beautiful
young girl of sixteen or seventeen. She described this girl as "dressed in a white
robe, girded at the waist with a blue ribbon. She wore upon her head a white veil
which gave just a glimpse of hair. Her feet were bare but covered by the last
folds of her robe and a yellow rose was upon each of them. She held on her right
arm a rosary of white beads with a chain of gold shining like the two roses on
her feet." Bernadette knelt and began to pray the rosary. At the end of the five
decades the woman smiled and disappeared. The young visionary returned and on
February 18 Our Lady began her message telling young Bernadette, "I do not promise
to make you happy in this life but in the next." On February 24, Mary asked for
penance and prayer for the conversion of sinners and the following day, she instructed
Bernadette to dig the ground near the grotto. From that a spring came forth which
to this day is used for the bath by pilgrims to Lourdes.
The Basilica was consecrated in 1876 and the faithful, countless in number, flock
in pious pilgrimage to the holy grotto. It is there that their faith and devotion
are aroused and they recommit themselves to conform their lives to the Christian
message. There, as well, miraculous favors are granted and healings, both physical
and spiritual, have taken place. Great emphasis is placed on devotion to the Eucharist
and just as at the wedding feast of Cana, Mary points to her Son. search
terms. pilgrimage to Lourdes, pilgrimage, lourdes tour, trip, flight, hotel, travel,
Bernadette, grotto, grotto of Lourdes, France | 
