Lourdes

Besides sanctuary, a great central hub for all your cycling adventures in the Pyrénées

The world-famous Marian pilgrimage site of Lourdes is located in the French Pyrenees and is visited by many people every year, including many sick people who hope for a cure. The devotional image of the Mother of God has become widespread - not only in France - and believers have built Lourdes chapels and grottos everywhere.
The church's memorial day "Our Lady of Lourdes" is on February 11th, the anniversary of the Marian apparition (1858), when the Mother of God appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous in a rock grotto very close to Lourdes. Bernadette later became a nun and died at the age of just 35. On December 8th (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary) 1933, she was canonized by Pope Pius XI.
The memorial day of the Lourdes Madonna is also World Day of the Sick.