Day 1: First Tours of Our Lady of Lourdes!

I arrived in Lourdes one day ago, however, today marks the first day of my pilgrimage. In the morning, our tour guide explained that our pilgrimage and tour shall consist of visits to both the Basilica of the Rosary and the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Basilica of the Rosary in Lourdes

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

Throughout this tour, I have been enlightened to the full story of how this beautiful and small village became such a well-known pilgrimage site…

On the 11^th of February in 1858, a young 14-year-old girl by the name of Bernadette Soubirous witnessed a magnificently beautiful apparition in a small village known as Lourdes, located in France. It was whilst she was gathering wood in a small grotto, known as the Massabielle, that Bernadette first saw a vision of Our Lady, surrounded by a brilliantly bright light. Bernadette was too afraid to approach Our Lady, so, instead, she prayed the Rosary, and throughout her prayers, Our Lady watched on in quiet approval before disappearing. It was not until her third visit to the grotto that Our Lady spoke, and when she did, she asked that Bernadette come to the grotto for fifteen days. Bernadette did as requested and listened to the messages that were delivered to her by Our Lady, but were from God – throughout these messages, he asked that his children should pray for sinners and repent. During the apparitions, Our Lady had given Bernadette a mission – she had requested that Bernadette tell the priests to build a chapel and come in procession to Lourdes.

During Our Lady’s 9^th apparition, the discovery of the miraculous spring in the grotto was made by Bernadette – its water are said to have healing powers and many miraculous healings, and, to this day, are attributed to it. Bernadette was scrutinised and questioned by hundreds of people on a daily basis; even the local pastor had accused Bernadette of lying, and that the apparitions were fake, and demanded that she ask Our Lady to show herself to prove she was not lying! It was on the feast of Annunciation that Our Lady declared to Bernadette “I am the Immaculate Conception”. It was after this statement made by Our Lady that caused the local people of Lourdes to cease their accusations of Bernadette’s faith in Our Lady.

The apparitions lasted until the 16^th of July in 1858. There were a total of 18 apparitions, and the year of 2008 marked the 150^th anniversary of the year of Lourdes. 

Throughout this journey, I would like to reflect on both how these tours will help me in strengthening my faith as a Catholic, and how this is influenced through my knowledge of the Catholic Church's teachings on Mary

I personally find that this site will help me strengthen my personal faith in God as the story of Bernadette and the apparitions of Our Lady shows that it does not matter who you are in the world, if you believe in God and truly believe that you can find inner peace through doing so, then you will be able to share that light and wisdom through prayer with God, and pass it on to friends, family and the world. 

The Catholic Church’s teachings on Mary tells us that she was conceived with the son of Christ without any sin – Bernadette not only believed in the Holy Spirit, but she embraced it through her soul through praying the Rosary and visiting the grotto where Our Lady appeared. And, on another note, not only does immaculate conception relate to someone without sin, but it also means beginning – Bernadette was only 14 at the time of Our Lady’s first apparition, and already her faith was strong – it was the beginning of her memory being remembered forever within the Catholic Church and worldwide community.