Massabielle: From the Grotto to the Sanctuary of Lourdes

Massabielle Grotto is the place, on the bank of the Gave de Pau, where Bernadette Soubirous saw — according to her own testimony, recognized by the Church in 1862 — the Virgin appear eighteen times between 11 February and 16 July 1858. Its name comes from the Gascon Massavièlha, “the old rock.” What was once just a rocky recess used by the poor of Lourdes — shepherds, wood gatherers, people living along the Gave — became, within a few decades, one of the most visited Marian sanctuaries in the world. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes welcomed 3.2 million pilgrims in 2024, according to the Sanctuary’s figures (Sanctuary of Lourdes, official magazine no. 2, February 2025).

On 11 February 1858, Bernadette Soubirous, 14 years old, is gathering firewood near the Gave de Pau with her sister and a friend when she notices, in a small opening in the rock, a young woman dressed in white. According to the testimony of the visionary of the eighteen apparitions gathered during the diocesan trial (1858-1862), she can at first only call her by the patois word “Aquéro,” “that.” The place itself, its history and how to visit it today are presented on the page devoted to the Grotto of Massabielle.

This hub presents the place as a whole: what happened there in 1858, what remains of it today, and how the Church has examined each of these elements — apparitions, spring, cures. Each linked article develops one of these aspects in detail.

In this collection

• Massabielle Grotto — The site of the apparitions: its history, its spring, how the site is laid out and how to visit it.
• Lourdes Water — Where the spring comes from and how to use it without superstition.
• Miracles of Lourdes — The 72 cures recognized by the Church, and how they are recognized.
• Sanctuary of Lourdes — The basilicas, the domain, and pilgrim life today.

The 18 Apparitions of 1858

Eighteen apparitions occurred in succession from 11 February to 16 July 1858, with specific requests: penance, procession, the building of a chapel.

As early as the eighth apparition, the Lady tells Bernadette: « Pénitence ! Pénitence ! Pénitence ! Priez Dieu pour les pécheurs ! » [Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners!] (Sanctuary of Lourdes, “Les Apparitions de Lourdes”, lourdes-france.com). The ninth, on 25 February, is that of the spring; the sixteenth, on 25 March, the one in which the Lady names herself the Immaculate Conception. Later in the night after the twelfth, Catherine Latapie dips her dislocated arm into the water of the newly formed spring and immediately regains its mobility: in 1862 the Church will recognize the first healing of Lourdes (lourdes-france.org).

To learn more → the account of the 18 apparitions.

The Spring and the Water of Massabielle

A spring welled up under Bernadette’s hands during the ninth apparition, on 25 February 1858; it still feeds the Sanctuary’s fountains and pools today.

Before that date, no spring existed at this precise spot in the grotto. Bernadette herself described the moment: « Elle me dit d’aller boire à la source (…). Je ne trouvai qu’un peu d’eau vaseuse. Au quatrième essai je pus boire » [She told me to go and drink from the spring (…). I found only a little muddy water. On the fourth attempt I managed to drink] (Sanctuary of Lourdes, “Les Apparitions de Lourdes”, lourdes-france.com). The flow then stabilized over the following days. This spring has since fed all the water points of the domain: drinking fountains, bathing pools, taps installed along the pilgrims’ route.

Pilgrims come to drink it, bathe in the pools set aside for that purpose, or take it home thanks to the taps located by the arcades (Sanctuary of Lourdes, “Boire l’eau et s’y laver”, lourdes-france.com). This gesture, very old in Lourdes popular piety, belongs to a long tradition of sacramental acts rather than a search for a remedy.

Bathing in the pools is assisted by volunteers, often members of the Hospitalité Notre-Dame de Lourdes, who help people who are sick or have reduced mobility. This organized setting sets the Lourdes practice apart from an isolated use of the water: it takes place as a collective gesture, supervised, and bound to prayer rather than to a care protocol.

To learn more → where the spring comes from and how it is used.

A Matter of Faith, Not a Remedy

The spring water has revealed no particular chemical property; the Sanctuary itself says so. Its value is spiritual and sacramental, not medical.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines this kind of sign precisely: « Les sacramentaux sont des signes sacrés par lesquels, selon une certaine imitation des sacrements, des effets surtout spirituels sont signifiés et sont obtenus par la prière de l’Église » [Sacramentals are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church] (CCC § 1667). They prepare a person to receive grace; they do not produce it mechanically. Bernadette herself warned against any magical reading of the gesture: Lourdes water is not taken like a medicine — its value comes only from the faith that accompanies it.

This distinction guards against two opposite errors: treating the water as a therapeutic product, or, conversely, seeing it as nothing but superstition with no real spiritual meaning. The site consistently notes that Lourdes water never replaces medical advice or an ongoing treatment; it belongs within the acts of prayer that accompany it, such as the rosary or the novena.

The Cures Recognized by the Church

Out of more than 7,000 healing case files submitted at Lourdes since the apparitions, the Church has recognized 72 cures as miraculous; the most recent recognition dates from 16 April 2025 (Sanctuary of Lourdes, “Les miracles de Lourdes”).

This figure of 72 does not cover every cure reported at Lourdes, only those that have passed through every stage of a very strict medical and then canonical examination. As early as his Episcopal Decree of 18 January 1862 recognizing the apparitions, Bishop Laurence of Tarbes had grounded his judgment on three criteria: « la fiabilité de la voyante — les fruits spirituels — les guérisons du corps » [the reliability of the visionary — the spiritual fruits — the bodily cures] (Episcopal Decree, 18 January 1862). The proportion — 72 recognitions out of several thousand case files submitted — illustrates the rigour of the procedure rather than an arbitrary scarcity or a figure inflated for communication purposes.

Each recognized case carries a name, a date, an initial diagnosis, and a date of proclamation by the bishop of the place concerned. The full list, the circumstances of each of these cures, and the procedure followed for each case are presented in the article devoted to the miracles.

To learn more → the 72 recognized cures in detail.

How the Church Authenticates a Cure

A case file first goes before the Sanctuary’s Medical Bureau, then before the International Medical Committee of Lourdes (CMIL), before any decision is made by the bishop of the diocese concerned.

The Medical Bureau was founded in 1883 by Dr Georges-Fernand Dunot de Saint-Maclou. He acted at the request of Fr Rémi Sempé, the Sanctuary’s first rector: no cure was to be declared without rigorous, collegial medical verification (lourdes-france.org). It gathers the initial case file: diagnoses, examinations, testimony from the treating physicians. Since it was founded, several thousand case files have been submitted to the Bureau. If a case appears solid, it is passed to the International Medical Committee of Lourdes (CMIL), a body created in 1947 and made international in 1954. The CMIL brings together around thirty specialists from several countries. It applies criteria inherited from Cardinal Lambertini in the eighteenth century: the cure must be sudden, complete, and lasting. It must also remain unexplained in the current state of medical knowledge, with no link to an ongoing treatment.

The CMIL’s role stops at this scientific finding: its members are tasked with certifying that the way the cure occurred is genuinely « inexpliqué dans l’état actuel des connaissances scientifiques » [unexplained in the current state of scientific knowledge] (lourdes-france.org), never with ruling on its miraculous character. Only the bishop of the diocese where the cured person lives can then, on the basis of that finding, declare it miraculous in the name of the Church — a distinction the site is careful to state clearly each time. The Bureau is today chaired by Dr Alessandro de Franciscis, its 15th president since 2009 (lourdes-france.org).

The Sanctuary Today: Basilicas and Domain

The Sanctuary’s domain, 52 hectares around the Grotto, brings together the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, the Basilica of the Rosary, and the underground Basilica of St Pius X.

Built successively between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, these three basilicas reflect how far the pilgrimage grew beyond the grotto of the apparitions alone. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, known as the “upper basilica,” was the first to be built. Constructed between 1862 and 1871 to the plans of architect Hippolyte Durand, it was blessed on 15 August 1871 and consecrated on 2 July 1876 (Lourdes Tourist Office). It answers the request made by the Lady to Bernadette during the thirteenth apparition: « Allez dire aux prêtres de faire bâtir ici une chapelle » [Go and tell the priests to have a chapel built here].

Soon too small, it was supplemented by the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, known as the “lower basilica.” Its foundation stone was laid on 16 July 1883, the 25th anniversary of the last apparition, to the plans of architect Léopold Amédée Hardy, in Romano-Byzantine style. The underground Basilica of St Pius X, the domain’s third building, was consecrated on 25 March 1958 for the centenary of the apparitions.

The domain today covers 52 hectares crossed by the Gave de Pau and includes 22 places of worship (Lourdes Tourist Office). The torchlight procession, which has taken place since 1872, is held in the evening, according to the programme published on the Sanctuary’s hours page: pilgrims, candle in hand, walk while singing from the Grotto of the Apparitions to the esplanade of the Basilica of the Rosary.

The domain also includes the pools, the esplanade, and several facilities dedicated to the sick and their companions, a large part of whose organization is carried out by the Hospitalité Notre-Dame de Lourdes. The Sanctuary’s leadership is entrusted to a rector, a post held since 1 September 2022 by Fr Michel Daubanes.

The Sanctuary also pays particular attention to welcoming deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors, with a dedicated interpreting service, and to visitors with reduced mobility. This attention to accessibility extends, in the material organization of the site, the care for the sick that has marked its history since 1858.

To learn more → the basilicas and the domain today.

Visiting Massabielle: Welcoming Pilgrims

In 2024, 3.2 million pilgrims came to the Sanctuary, according to the Sanctuary’s figures (Sanctuary of Lourdes, official magazine no. 2, February 2025), individual pilgrims or organized groups, often accompanied by the sick.

Welcoming the sick and people with disabilities remains a historic priority of the Sanctuary, reflected in particular in the large national pilgrimages that gather thousands of sick people and volunteers every year. This care for the sick finds a particular echo on 11 February, the anniversary of the first apparition. In his letter of 13 May 1992 to Cardinal Angelini, John Paul II writes that he had « décidé d’établir la “Journée mondiale des malades”, qui sera célébrée le 11 février de chaque année, mémorial liturgique de la Bienheureuse Vierge Marie de Lourdes » [decided to establish the “World Day of the Sick,” to be celebrated on 11 February each year, the liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes] (John Paul II, letter of 13 May 1992). This alignment of dates is no coincidence, but an explicit papal choice.

Beyond the large organized gatherings, most visitors come individually or in small groups, for a visit of a few hours or a stay of several days including Mass, procession, and a visit to the pools. To plan a pilgrimage to Lourdes in practical terms, a dedicated practical guide sets out the steps of organizing the stay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources and References

Magisterium

• CCC, editio typica, 1997 — § 1667 (sacramentals), § 67 (private revelations)
• Bishop Laurence, Episcopal Decree of recognition of the apparitions, 18 January 1862
• John Paul II, letter to Cardinal Angelini establishing the World Day of the Sick, 13 May 1992

Lourdes sources

• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes — lourdes-france.org / lourdes-france.com (history of the Medical Bureau; CMIL criterion; 72nd cure, 16 April 2025)
• Sanctuary of Lourdes, “Les Apparitions de Lourdes”, lourdes-france.com/les-apparitions-de-lourdes/ (accessed 19 October 2026) — official account of the apparitions and Bernadette’s reported words (eighth and ninth apparitions)
• Sanctuary of Lourdes, “Boire l’eau et s’y laver”, lourdes-france.com/pelerin-dun-jour/l-eau/ (accessed 19 October 2026) — fountains, baths, taps by the arcades
• Lourdes Tourist Office — lourdes-infotourisme.com (basilica construction dates; surface area and torchlight procession)
• Sanctuary of Lourdes, “Les miracles de Lourdes”, lourdes-france.com/miracles-et-guerisons/ (accessed 19 October 2026) — more than 7,000 case files submitted since the apparitions, 72 recognized cures
• Sanctuary of Lourdes, “Horaires du Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes”, lourdes-france.org/horaires/ (accessed 19 October 2026) — Torchlight Marian Procession on the day’s programme, no season indicated
• Sanctuary of Lourdes, “La Grotte”, lourdes-france.com/pelerin-dun-jour/la-grotte/ (accessed 19 October 2026) — access hours from April to November and from November to April
• Sanctuary of Lourdes, official magazine no. 2, February 2025, p. 6 — lourdes-france.com/uploads/revue/FR/N2_FR.pdf (accessed 19 October 2026) — “Au total, 3,2 millions de pèlerins ont franchi les portes du Sanctuaire pour se rendre à la Grotte de Massabielle” [In total, 3.2 million pilgrims passed through the gates of the Sanctuary to go to the Grotto of Massabielle] (figures for the year 2024)

Bernadettine corpus

• Laurentin, Logia de Bernadette (vol. I-III)
• Theillier, Lourdes, terre de guérisons