There are many big cities around the world that attract a large number of tourists each year. Places like New York, Paris, Sydney, California and Hong Kong are all swamped with visitors all year round. These big cities have amazing sites to see with skyscrapers, beautiful beaches, fancy restaurants and places that can make you shop till you drop; so you can see why these cities are popular with many tourists. However, there is one place that is very different than these cities and yet, boasts thousands of people visiting each year. The place? Lourdes.
Lourdes is a small village that is situated in the South of France in the Pyrenees Mountains. Since the late 1800’s, it has been a major tourism site and not because of its spectacular view of the mountains. The reason it attracts thousands upon thousands of people each year is because it is known to be a site of miracles, healing and prayer and it is where a young girl claimed she saw visions of Mary; and this is why thousands of people that travel there go on pilgrimage. But what is so special about Lourdes and why does it attract so many pilgrims? The answer stretches back to the 1850’s.
At the centre of the special things that were happening in Lourdes was the young girl. Her name was Bernadette Soubirous, who was born in Lourdes in 1844 and was the eldest of 9 siblings. The family were very poor and, after her father lost his job at a local mill, all 9 family members moved into a disused prison cell; known as the Cachot. They lived in considerably poverty and Bernadette was very poor in health nor was she the brightest pupil in her class. On the afternoon of Thursday February 11th 1958, Bernadette went to collect some firewood with her younger sister and a friend. They went to the Massabielle grotto, where a stream separated the grotto area and the forest. Bernadette, afraid she would get sick if she crossed the stream, decided to wait in the grotto for her sister and friend to return. It was there she heard a gust of wind and looked up to see a Lady standing there. She did not speak, but she was dressed in a white girdle and blue sash, had a yellow rose on each foot and wore a rosary around her neck. Bernadette then took out her own rosary and began to say it. Bernadette’s mother did not believe her, and told her to not visit the place again. Eventually, on the Sunday, Bernadette returned. The lady appeared to her again and once again, Bernadette said her rosary. On Thursday Bernadette went back to the grotto with her mother, sister, aunt and friend. It was here that the vision finally spoke to Bernadette asking her to return for 15 days. Bernadette agreed to do this and in return asked for the visions name. The lady only smiled back at her. Even though the description of the vision fitted that of Mary the mother of Jesus, Bernadette only ever called her ‘the lady’ and she was the only person to see her.
Bernadette went back to the grotto each time the lady asked her too. She received various messages from her vision, one time she was seen sobbing having been asked to ‘pray for sinners’ and another occasion kissed the ground and shouted ‘Penance!’ On the 9th apparition, Bernadette was asked by the lady to ‘dig at the ground, and drink from the water’. Bernadette began to dig and onlooker watched as she began uncovering some muddy water. She tried twice to drink it, but it wasn’t until the third time that water appeared. At first, the people watching though she was insane but it wasn’t until Bernadette told them that this is what the lady asked her to do; ‘drink and bath in the springs’. That night, the onlooker dug further and uncovered a spring. It was from here on, that people began to believe Bernadette, except for the local council and the local priest. On another apparition, the lady told Bernadette to go the priest and have a chapel build so that people can come in procession.
It wasn’t until the 16th apparition that the priest was convinced. He asked Bernadette to ask for her name one more time, and this time, the lady replied. She said ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’. The priest knew Bernadette would not know what this meant as she was an uneducated girl and was too young to understand what it meant. The Vatican later confirmed Lourdes to be a place of miracles and that the apparition Bernadette saw was that of Mary. After the last apparition, a big chapel was built for people to pray and taps and baths were put in for people to bathe in the springs. Bernadette later left Lourdes to join a convent in Nevers. She was never to return to Lourdes and died at the age of 35. Sixty years later, Bernadette was pronounced a saint, and her body was dug up. However, to everyone surprise, she had no decayed. She remained perfectly intact and to this day, can be seen in a glass coffin in a chapel in Nevers.
Now, thousands of pilgrims travel to Lourdes to see the site where Bernadette saw the lady. It can bring great comfort to many people, but one of the main reason people go is for healing; physically and mentally. The springs at Lourdes, where people can wash and bathe, and know to have miraculous power as thousands of people have claimed to have been cured. There have however, only been sixty-two cures that have been accepted as miraculous by The Church Commissions at Lourdes. The people who claim to have been cured by the waters of Lourdes, have to go through three stages before having it officially confirmed. First, they are examined by the Lourdes Medical Bureau and doctor from across the world are called to examine. Secondly, they must come back in a year’s time for another assessment and their illness could not have been cured and there is no explanation that can explain why they have healed. Finally, the Church declares that a miracle has happened to that person. These steps are put in place to prove that sometimes, there is no explanation and that science has to surrender to the unexplainable.
Even though only sixty-two miracles have been accepted officially, many people can experience their own miracle during their trip to Lourdes. This can be physically or even mentally. They can go to Lourdes to seek guidance, help and courage and find strength in the journey that they take during their pilgrimage.
A pilgrimage can last for however long you want. People travel to Lourdes for a day, a week or sometimes even longer. They usually travel in groups and one big Pilgrimage group is the HCPT. This is a group for disabled children across the world, but the groups that travel there are most notably from the United Kingdom. They travel in local groups and consist around 10 children and 15 helpers and there are many things to do during their pilgrimage. Not only can they visit the grotto, chapel and take part in mass; but they can also visit the local zoo and villages and do a bit of shopping. So not only is there the religious aspect of this pilgrimage, there is also fun for the children who get to take part and socialise. Plus, this also provides respite for the carers and parents of the sick children. Local churches also travel on Pilgrimage there, one being the Liverpool Archdiocese. Each year, around 500 youth across Merseyside travel to Lourdes by coach, to help with the elderly and sick. This gives the youth a chance to socialise with people their own age, as well as with the sick pilgrims.
A pilgrimage can therefore, mean differently for different people. It is about the journey that a person goes on to feel comfort, healing, peace and friendship. The same goes for miracles; they are different for everyone. Just because it has not been officially proven, doesn’t mean a miracle has occurred. To that person, a miracle can mean healing inside and out, to feel comfort, joy or happiness. To others, a miracle can be about the journey that take and the place they visit. Lourdes is therefore, not just know for miracles to happen there, but as a miracle itself.
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