Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes grew from the grotto of Massabielle, where in 1858 the fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous reported eighteen apparitions of the Virgin Mary, who identified herself as the Immaculate Conception. A spring uncovered during the apparitions became associated with reported miraculous cures, and the Catholic Church has officially recognized 72 healings as miraculous. The site rapidly became one of the most visited pilgrimage destinations in the Christian world.
The sanctuary complex centers on three basilicas. The upper Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, a Gothic Revival church consecrated in 1876, rises directly above the grotto. Beneath it, the neo-Byzantine Rosary Basilica, completed in 1899, is adorned with mosaics of the mysteries of the Rosary. The vast underground Basilica of St. Pius X, opened in 1958 for the apparitions' centenary, can hold around 25,000 people. Daily torchlight Marian processions and Eucharistic processions move across the broad esplanade.
Owned and administered by the Diocese of Tarbes and Lourdes under an appointed rector, the sanctuary welcomes roughly four to six million pilgrims and visitors each year, including large numbers of the sick and disabled who come to bathe in or be blessed with the spring water. Volunteers and hospitalite organizations assist pilgrims, and the shrine remains a global symbol of faith, healing, and Marian devotion more than a century and a half after Bernadette's visions.
- Annual visitors
- ≈ 5,000,000
- Location
- 43.0975, -0.0583
- Local time
- 00:39 (Europe/Paris)
🕘 Visiting hours
| Mon–Sun | 05:00–24:00 |
The sanctuary domain is open from early morning to around midnight daily; the grotto is accessible nearly around the clock. Individual basilica and bath hours vary by season.
✨ Saints & blessed venerated here
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Our Lady of Lourdes Saint
The shrine honors the Virgin Mary as she appeared to Bernadette, declaring herself the Immaculate Conception.
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Saint Bernadette Soubirous Saint
The local girl who reported the 1858 apparitions; canonized in 1933.
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Our Lady of the Rosary Saint
The Rosary Basilica is dedicated to Mary under this title, with mosaics of the Rosary's mysteries.
Care & donations
Diocese of Tarbes and Lourdes
Donations and pilgrimage offerings accepted online and on-site to support the sanctuary.
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