0
Lourdes is the place where, in 1858, a young girl, Bernadette Soubirous, supposedly saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Interestingly, when pious witnesses followed Bernadette when she returned to see Mary, they saw nothing but Bernadette said that she did see the vision once again. The Catholic Church soon saw the commercial possibilities of these apparitions and aggressively marketed Lourdes as a place of pilgrimage. At first, there was no suggestion that miracle cures could be expected at Lourdes, but people wanted miracle cures and the Catholic Church was willing to encourage that hope.
Lourdes receives over 80,000 Catholic pilgrims a year, of whom approximately 7000 people in more than a century have sought to have cures confirmed as miracles. Only 68 of these have been declared as scientifically inexplicable by both the Lourdes Medical Bureau and the Catholic Church, a number so small as to suggest that these cases were likely to have been cured or gone into remission anyway.
Lourdes is not important to Protestants because the evidence is that miracles do not happen there.
For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/catholicism/visions-of-the-virgin-mary
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Is Lourdes Hospital named after Our Lady of Lourdes?
Either after our Lady of Lourdes or after the town itself.
What is the capital of Lourdes?
Lourdes is a town, not a country, so it does not have a capital. Lourdes is in France. The capital of France is Paris.
What city is Lourdes in?
Lourdes is a town itself, so it is not in any other city.
When is the feast for St. Lourdes?
There is no saint named Lourdes. Lourdes is the name of a town in France near which the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Bernadette. The feast of the Our Lady of Lourdes is February 11.
Is there a McDonald's in Lourdes?
Yes there is a McDonalds in Lourdes in France. It is very close to the main square at the centre of the town.
Is Lourdes in Europe?
Yes, its a town in southwestern France.
Is Lourdes a large town in France?
Lourdes has a population of about 15,000 but receives about 5 million visitors each year.
Is Lourdes a place or a river?
Lourdes is a famous town in the south of France, where millions of Christian pilgrims go every year.
Do they drink wine at Lourdes?
Yes. Lourdes is a large French town with many tourists every year and so it has many hotels and restaurants. You can get wine at these and many other outlets in Lourdes.
Where is the religious place Lourdes?
Lourdes is located in South-Western France, close to the Spanish border. It is about halfway between the town of Toulouse and the Atlantic ocean, close to the town of Tarbes.
Did Bernadette live with her family in Lourdes?
Bernadette lived in a few places in Lourdes with her family, and also in Bartres, a village close to Lourdes. She also spent time living in Lourdes in different places to her family and she then left Lourdes to go to a town called Nevers, where she spent the rest of her life.
What else can do at Lourdes?
Outside of all of the things associated with the pilgrimages, there are many other things in and around of Lourdes. The town is at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains and they are a great attraction. People go skiing in them in winter. Gavarnie is a beautiful place near Lourdes. The river that flows through Lourdes is the river Gave, and it rises in Gavarnie. Many people visit Gavarnie. There is also the Lake of Lourdes that people visit, which is close to the town. There is a golf course close to Lourdes and also a rugby stadium.
