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A grotto, a shepherdess, apparitions... This is the story of a great Marian pilgrimage site known throughout the world.
This site is truly unique. It's not a retreat in the strict sense of the word, but rather a place of pilgrimage, faith, mission and international gathering. Here, the city's spiritual and religious spaces are known as the Sanctuaires Notre-Dame de Lourdes. This 52-hectare private territory surrounds the grotto of Massabielle, where the Virgin is said to have appeared to Bernadette Soubirous eighteen times in 1858. Nestled in a loop of the tumultuous Gave, at the foot of the upper town and its castle, the sanctuaries are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, even if the group pilgrimage season is concentrated from April to October. Lourdes is alive. The stores, lined up at the edge of the sanctuaries, overflow to the sidewalks with medals for a few cents, statuettes of the Virgin, rosaries, key-rings, pretty little bottles to fill with holy water... Converging on the sanctuary gates, you watch or mingle with the procession of groups, behind their pilgrimage banners, and the parade of volunteer hospitaliers, in their uniforms with colored headdresses (at least for the women) pushing the sick in those typical Lourdes blue carts. You'll remember the good-natured, cosmopolitan atmosphere, like an atypical interlude in an age of uniformity. With almost 200 hotels and 33,000 beds, Lourdes is France's second-largest hotel town.
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Members' reviews on NOTRE-DAME-DE-LOURDES SHRINE
The ratings and reviews below reflect the subjective opinions of members and not the opinion of The Little Witty.
Tout est à proximité, le sanctuaire, les bains, et les cierges.
L’ambiance là-bas est remplie de paix, de respect et de bienveillance.
Que l’on soit croyant ou juste curieux, on se sent accueilli et touché par l’atmosphère du lieu.
La grotte où la Vierge serait apparue est très émouvante à voir, surtout quand on prend le temps de s’y recueillir. Il y a aussi les processions aux flambeaux le soir : c’est à la fois beau, émouvant et apaisant, un moment qui reste dans le cœur ????.
Et puis il y a les gens. Des personnes de tous les horizons, avec leurs histoires, leurs espoirs. On sent une vraie solidarité, beaucoup de douceur, et même si on vient avec ses doutes ou ses blessures, on repart souvent plus léger✨
C’est un lieu qui fait du bien, à l’esprit comme au cœur.