Lourdes is a large town in the French Pyrenees. It is a global centre of Marian pilgrimage, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Roman Catholics believe that Mary, the Mother of God, appeared 18 times at the Grotto to a young girl, Bernadette Soubirous.
Originally a sleepy market town on the road to the spas of the Pyrenees, Lourdes has grown into the largest...