Our Lady of Lourdes — Title of Mary, mother of Jesus, related to her alleged apparitions in Lourdes
Bernadette Soubirous's reported apparitions at Lourdes in 1858 established the site as one of Catholicism's most visited pilgrimage destinations.
Key Facts
- Number of apparitions reported
- 18
- Date of first apparition
- 11 February 1858
- Age of Bernadette Soubirous
- 14 years old
- Episcopal endorsement
- 18 January 1862, Bishop of Tarbes
- Canonical coronation decree
- 1 February 1876, Pope Pius IX
- Bernadette canonized
- 1933, by Pope Pius XI
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In February 1858, fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous was gathering firewood near the cave of Massabielle, about 1.5 kilometres from Lourdes, France, when she claimed to witness an apparition of a luminous 'Lady'. Her account prompted repeated visits to the cave over subsequent weeks.
Between 11 February and later in 1858, Bernadette reported a total of 18 apparitions at the cave of Massabielle. In the final apparition, the 'Lady' identified herself as 'the Immaculate Conception'. The local Bishop of Tarbes officially endorsed the Marian veneration in 1862, and Pope Pius IX granted a canonical coronation to the image in 1876.
The site at Lourdes developed into a major Catholic pilgrimage destination, with a large basilica constructed there. Marian devotion associated with Lourdes spread worldwide, with the image widely reproduced in shrines and homes. Bernadette Soubirous was canonized as a saint in 1933 by Pope Pius XI.