Editing Lourdes (section)

== Apparitions and pilgrimages ==
{{Main|Lourdes apparitions}}

[[File:VirgendeLourdes.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Statue of [[Our Lady of Lourdes]] in the Grotto]]
[[File:Mosaic in the in the Rosary Basilica, Lourdes 2.JPG|thumb|[[Mosaic]] in the Rosary Basilica]]
In 1858, the [[Virgin Mary]] allegedly appeared to [[Bernadette Soubirous]] (Maria Bernada Sobirós in her native [[Occitan language]]) on a total of eighteen occasions at Lourdes (Lorda in her local Occitan language). Lourdes has become a major place of [[Roman Catholic]] [[pilgrimage]] and of [[Lourdes Medical Bureau|miraculous healings]]. The 150th [[Jubilee (Christianity)|Jubilee]] of the first apparition took place on 11 February 2008 with an outdoor Mass attended by approximately 45,000 pilgrims.

In 2020, Lourdes had a population of around 15,000. In 2012, 715,000 pilgrims attended Our Lady of Lourdes-related events, falling to 570,000 in 2016.<ref>Statistica.com [https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117729/number-pilgrims-lourdes/ Number of pilgrims in Lourdes each year] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416011834/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117729/number-pilgrims-lourdes/ |date=16 April 2023 }}</ref> In 2011, Lourdes contained about 270 hotels, the second-greatest number of hotels per square kilometer in France after [[Paris]].<ref name="skepdic.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.skepdic.com/lourdes.html |title=Lourdes - The Skeptic's Dictionary |publisher=Skepdic.com |access-date=2011-09-15 |archive-date=21 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221022152/http://skepdic.com/lourdes.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Its deluxe hotels include [[Grand Hotel Moderne]], Hotel Grand de la Grotte, Hotel St. Étienne, Hotel Majestic, and Hotel Roissy.

===Marian apparitions===
On the evening of February 11, 1858, a young Roman Catholic girl, Bernadette Soubirous, reported that she went to fetch some firewood with her sister and another companion when a lady who was indescribably beautiful appeared to her at the Massabielle grotto. Although the lady did not tell Bernadette her name when asked at first, she told her to return to the grotto. On subsequent visits, the lady revealed herself to be the "[[Immaculate Conception]]". This was a reference to the [[Roman Catholic dogma|dogma]] of the Immaculate Conception which had been defined only four years earlier in 1854 by [[Pope Pius IX]], stating that the Virgin Mary herself had been conceived free from the consequences of original sin. Bernadette, having only a rudimentary knowledge of the Catholic faith, did not understand what this meant, but she reported it to her parish priest, Father Peyremale. Peyremale, though initially very skeptical of Bernadette's claims, became convinced by hearing this because he knew that the young girl had no knowledge of the doctrine.

The lady also told Bernadette to dig in the ground at a certain spot and to drink from the small spring of water that began to bubble up. Almost immediately, cures were reported from the water. Today thousands of gallons of water gush from the source of the spring, and pilgrims are able to bathe in it. Countless purported miracle cures have been documented there, from the healing of nervous disorders and cancers to cases of paralysis and even of blindness. During the apparitions, Bernadette Soubirous prayed the [[Rosary]]. Pope John Paul II wrote: "The Rosary of the Virgin Mary [is] a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/2002/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae.html |title=Rosarium Virginis Mariae on the Most Holy Rosary (October 16, 2002) - John Paul II |website=w2.vatican.va |access-date=20 August 2018 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222065756/http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/2002/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Messages===
The words spoken by Our Lady to Saint Bernadette include:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/messages/lourdes_messages.html |title=Miracle Hunter: Messages of Lourdes |access-date=1 May 2023 |archive-date=1 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501214924/https://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/messages/lourdes_messages.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Feb 18, 1858 (Ash Wednesday)
:It is not necessary [to write down my name]. Would you be kind enough to come here for 15 days? I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next.

Feb 21, 1858
:(Sorrowful tone of voice) Pray for sinners.

Feb 24, 1858
:Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners.

Feb 25, 1858
:Go, drink of the spring and wash yourself there. You will eat the grass that is there.

Feb 27, 1858
:Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners. Go, kiss the ground for the conversion of sinners. Go and tell the priests to have a chapel built here.

Feb 28, 1858
:Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners. Go, kiss the ground for the conversion of sinners.

March 2, 1858
:Go, tell the priests to bring people here in procession and have a Chapel built here.

March 25, 1858
:I am the Immaculate Conception.