Which french saint is associated with the town of lourdes

There is much to see here, but it is perhaps useful to see things in chronological order : first see where the two places where the Soubirous family lived just prior to…and during…the apparitions.

Then the grotto, and move on to the other sites in Lourdes that were built after the apparitions. Unfortunately for the Soubirous family, water mills were slowly being phased out as other power sources became available, and financial problems came upon the family. By they were destitute and the parents, with their four children, were evicted from the Boly Mill.

They moved to a succession of houses, each place less expensive and smaller than the previous one, until finally they were given free accommodation in a tiny one-room dwelling called Le Cachot. The Soubirous family was able to live here rent free, and even though in squalor, they were grateful for what they had and never lost their inner joy. It was while living here that Bernadette went to the Grotto in search of firewood where the Blessed Mother appeared to her.

The final stage of her parents life they lived in the Maison Paternelle, which belonged to Monsieur lacade, the Mayor of Lourdes. There are no added decorations here, just a plain stone altar and lectern for Mass to be celebrated.

A large stand of candles next to the altar is kept burning throughout the year. During the pilgrimage season, 2 pilgrimage masses are usually celebrated each morning at the grotto. The spring can be seen at the rear of the grotto, protected by a glass cover. When Mass is not being celebrated, you can walk through the grotto and touch the rocks directly under the statue so many people have done so that the stones have become polished.

Also at the rear is a metal box into which written prayers or petitions may be deposited they are collected, offered in prayer daily and afterwards burnt. Rows of benches allow visitors to sit and pray or contemplate. Pilgrims are asked to remain silent while in the vicinity to create an atmosphere of devotion. One of the spots where Bernadette prayed to the Virgin is marked by a special paving slab.

Some of the rock walls around the grotto bear clear signs of deliberate alteration, presumably to improve access for pilgrims. It is therefore no longer clear what the original configuration of the grotto was. From there you may wish to visit The Crypt , the first—and smallest—of the churches to be built here, and is today among the smallest. You will notice enormous pillars inside, which actually help support the weight of the Upper Basilica. Of course the Gothic Upper Basilica The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception dominates the area and was completed only 10 years later, in The Sanctuary is directly above the grotto and the walls are lined with many ex voto plaques testifying to cures.

Above the entrance you will see. And as you enter you will see a plaque showing the statement of the Bishop who approved the apparitions. The Rosary Basilica is the third of the churches to be completed. It was consecrated in and has a capacity of 1, worshippers. Its style is influenced by Byzantine architecture. The nave is open and circular, surmounted by a dome. The exterior of the dome is surmounted by a dramatic gilded crown and cross, which were a gift from the people of Ireland in The exterior facade of the basilica was modified in to include a depiction of the Luminous Mysteries, which were added to the Rosary by Pope Saint John Paul II in The Basilica of St.

It can accommodate about 25, people and was built to hold the crowds expected for the centenary of the apparition in However, it is still a place of worship and its capacity makes it useful on special occasions such as the anniversary of the apparitions. The parish church of the Sacred Heart built between and , replacing an earlier one , was the church attended by Bernadette Soubirous and was destroyed by fire in Here you will find more of the story of Bernadette Soubirous: the baptismal font where she was baptized on January 9, and the tomb of Monsignor Peyramale , parish priest of Lourdes at the time of the Apparitions.

Take the baths as soon as possible after arriving to avoid disappointment. Find a great selection of Our Lady of Lourdes statues, medals and rosaries in our online store. Lourdes is about healing and hope , and the blessing of the sick in the afternoon with the procession of the Blessed Sacrament is one of the most moving events one can witness. Of course Mass at the Grotto is one of the highlights of a visit here. Another memorable event is the nighttime procession when pilgrims from all over the world gather together with lit candles and follow the statue of their Mother and Queen while singing songs of devotion to her.

There are many tours to Lourdes offering stays for varying length of time, based on the itinerary. We suggest you contact the information center for days and times. The information center is right on the grounds of the shrine and easy to find. Normally these tours start in the early afternoon and you will see the guides with signs in various languages so that you can find them quite easily. Or you may wish to consider a private two-day tour of Lourdes that will give you an even more-depth experience.

Every year since, for one weekend in May , Lourdes has become a place of prayer and healing for active-duty members and veterans representing more than 40 nations. Just across the river from the grotto and the churches is the Accueil Notre Dame, a modern facility built in to house sick pilgrims during their time in Lourdes. Special arrangements can be made for those needing to stay here. Typically, pilgrims arrive at the Accueil Notre Dame in specially adapted buses, either from Lourdes airport or train station, and will be welcomed in the transit lounge from where they are taken to their rooms.

Another accueil, the Accueil Marie St. Frai, is located a short distance outside the domain; it is similar in design and atmosphere to the Accueil Notre Dame.

Residents of the United Kingdom with serious health problems might want to check out Across , which offers special bus service for those with severe medical needs. The diversity of people was striking: nuns in long habits, elderly couples, young people traveling in groups, elegant Italian women in fur coats, and groups of men holding large banners aloft bearing the names of their cities and churches. After several more blocks, the commercial district ended and I reached the entrance to the shrine.

Just inside St. A few more steps and a huge basilica came into view, an imposing structure with a gilded crown set atop its lower level. Two ramps extended like arms from each side, ending in a huge square and esplanade capable of holding many thousands of people. Once I wandered around to the side of the basilica, I was relieved to see that the heart of the grotto remained essentially the same as it had been all those years before.

The large outcropping of stone known as Massabiele was still there, and in the niche where the lady had appeared to Bernadette stood a statue of the Virgin Mary, her hands joined in prayer as her eyes gazed heavenward. Below, a long line of people slowly wound into the area beneath the stone, where they reverently touched the rock and left photographs, flowers, and other tokens near the spring that had been uncovered by Bernadette.

A rack of candles burned brightly in front of the grotto, and nearby was a line of spigots where people collected water from the spring. While the grotto was the heart of the sanctuary, I found the rest of the complex intriguing as well.

Several huge churches welcome the hordes of pilgrims that throng here, each with many services throughout the day and evening. Scenes from my time there stand out sharp and clear in my memory.

I remember a young woman, her face open and vulnerable, kneeling on the cement before the grotto in the falling rain, and a friar wearing a brown cape who looked like he had stepped out of a tapestry from the Middle Ages. When I recall my trip to Lourdes I remember the grand drama of my experiences there, the processions and masses and the exultant feeling of being surrounded by so many pilgrims.

But I recall with special fondness something that may seem small and trivial in comparison—all those shops selling Virgin Mary souvenirs. I imagine the places where those trinkets are likely to end up, how they will find their way into nursing homes, hospital rooms and bedside tables, into the pockets of chemotherapy patients and the hands of soldiers going off to war. I recall with special fondness something that may seem small and trivial in comparison—all those shops selling Virgin Mary souvenirs.

Though small and inexpensive, those tokens carry a powerful message: they are a reminder that the broken and wounded will be the first to enter the Kingdom of God, that miracles are possible even when the darkness seems overwhelming, and that the most unlikely among us can receive a life-changing vision of light. Estrade recorded a conversation between the Chief of Police and Bernadette. During that meeting, M. Jacomet deliberately tried to confuse Bernadette to change her account of the apparitions.

When that attempt failed, the Chief of Police released Bernadette to the custody of her father with an admonition that he take her home and guarantee that there would be no further disturbances. But the interior call which was urging her on was stronger than any earthly admonition.

On Monday, February 22, , Bernadette returned to the Grotto after school. Two policemen saw her and followed her, and so did the usual crowd. The policemen stood at respectful attention as she knelt down in her accustomed place. But as she arose, they sprang forward and asked her if she still insisted that she had seen a Beautiful Lady. She was allowed to go home, but she was taunted and threatened. People said mockingly that the Beautiful Lady was afraid of the police and had found some safer place to go.

Approximately two hundred people were present at this apparition. When Bernadette's appearance was once more transformed, the men present removed their hats and fell to their knees. Bernadette appeared to be gravely serious and listening, and then joyful, and she would occasionally bow low. At the conclusion of the vision, which lasted an hour, Bernadette moved on her knees toward the rose bush and kissed the ground.

When asked what the Lady had said, Bernadette replied that the Lady had entrusted her with three secrets, which she never revealed. During the eighth apparition, Bernadette turned and faced the crowd of more than four hundred people, and three times she repeated, "penitence, penitence, penitence! During this apparition, the Beautiful Lady told Bernadette to, "drink from the fountain and bathe in it.

She began to scratch the loose gravel off the ground which encircled her. As she did so, she noticed that the ground beneath her was moist, and that a little pool was forming and bubbles were rising from it. She cupped her hands together and drank, and then washed her face. The next day, the pool was overflowing and water was dripping down over the rock. The following day, the trickle had become a real stream. Of course, it was immediately said -- and has been said by skeptics ever since -- that the spring was there all the time.

The fact remains that Bernadette did find the spring as the result of a direct command. On this occasion, the Beautiful Lady told Bernadette to "kiss the ground on behalf of sinners. There were approximately two thousand spectators at the Grotto that morning. The Lady asked Bernadette to tell the clergy to build a chapel on the site of the Grotto. During this apparition, the Lady commented to Bernadette that she was not using her own Rosary, which was an accurate statement.

Bernadette arrived at the Grotto early in the morning, prayed the Rosary in the presence of the Lady, who remained silent except for the Gloria's. During this apparition, the Lady repeated that She wanted a chapel built by the clergy and, additionally, that She wanted people to come to this chapel in processional form.

Bernadette was terribly afraid of the parish priest, Abbe Peyramale. It had been difficult for her to go to him the first time about building a chapel, but it took a great deal of courage for her to present herself to him a second time about processions.

He dismissed her curtly, ordering her to tell the Beautiful Lady that the Cure of Lourdes was not in the habit of dealing with mysterious strangers; that if She wanted a chapel -- if She had a right to one -- She must reveal Her identity. By now, most everyone in France knew that March 4th was the last of the fifteen days that Bernadette had promised the Lady that she would be present at the Grotto.

Twenty thousand people were present that day, including an entire military garrison in full-dress uniform. As Bernadette approached the apparition site, a path was cleared for her, and the soldiers who accompanied her did so with respect. After the apparition, Bernadette told the crowd that she would continue coming to the Grotto because the Beautiful Lady had said nothing in the form of a farewell.

The crowd was disappointed and disillusioned. They had seen Bernadette transfigured with a strange radiance, but they had hoped to also share her vision, to hear the same voice that she did, and they expected that, at the very least, the rosebush would burst into a sudden miraculous bloom. During the sixteenth apparition, which occurred on the Feast of the Annunciation, the Beautiful Lady revealed her identity to Bernadette: "Que soy era Immaculado Conception", I am the Immaculate Conception.

Bernadette was not sure what this name meant, but people who needed no explanation flocked to Lourdes in greater numbers than ever before. Baron Massy, a local official, ordered Bernadette to be examined by three more physicians. They found her to be physically and mentally sound. Bernadette had never failed to bring a lighted candle to the Grotto since the first time she had been instructed to do so by the Beautiful Lady. During this apparition, she unconsciously placed one of her hands over the flame of the candle.

People witnessed the flame burning through her fingers. Bernadette did not even hear the cries of horror which arose from the crowd. She continued to pray for at least fifteen minutes while the flame burned through her hand.

She emerged quietly from prayer unscathed. Then Dr. Dozous took another candle and, without warning, touched the flame to her hand. Bernadette immediately cried out in pain. Shortly after this apparition, the Prefect took matters into his own hands and ordered the Grotto closed, and the rustic altar was dismantled.

Bernadette seemed relieved that she was becoming less of a public figure. Several months had passed, and after receiving communion on the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Bernadette felt an irresistible urge to return to the Grotto. Since the barricade was still in place, she and her aunt could not get as close to the sacred spot as they wanted, so they knelt in the grass, and the Beautiful Lady appeared to her one last time.

Bernadette joined the order of the Sisters of Charity. Throughout her life she remained sickly, but attended patiently to her duties as infirmarian and sacristan. She died a holy death on April 16, She was 34 years old. Bernadette was buried on the convent grounds in Nevers, France. Her body was exhumed thirty years later on September 22, , in the presence of two doctors, several appointed officials, and nuns from the local convent.

When Bernadette's coffin was opened, there was no odor, and her body was completely untouched by the laws of nature. A second exhumation took place on April 3, The body of the then declared Venerable was found in the same state of preservation as ten years earlier, except that the face was slightly discolored, due to the washing it had undergone during the first exhumation.

A worker in wax was entrusted with the task of coating the face of the Saint who had been dead forty years. The sacred relic Bernadette's body was placed in a coffin of gold and glass and can be viewed to this very day in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the motherhouse in Nevers, France. Lourdes as a Shrine and miraculous place. Today, around the grotto, a neo-Byzantine, three-level basilica was built.

Underground is another basilica, which holds 7, people and has a ramp for wheelchairs. The baths, the real focal point of the shrine, are small cubicles full of ice-cold water from the spring, in which the sick, some terminally ill, immerse themselves in hopes of being healed.