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Photos: Evans from Three Lions
One hundred years ago the beautiful French
town of Lourdes in the foothills of the
Pyrenees was the scene of several
miraculous visions of the Blessed Virgin that
appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, a humble
14-year-old shepherdess. Since then, millions
of ailing pilgrims have visited the
Shrine of Saint Bernadette, and this year's
centennial crowds are so huge that the town's
railway station is probably the busiest in Europe.
More than a dozen Masses are celebrated in the
huge basilica each day, and the walls
of the Grotto are covered with crutches mute
testimony of the curative power of religious faith.
Hundreds flock to the daily Masses offered in the Grotto. Collection of crutches were left by those cured by faith.
Family Weekly, September 21. 19i$