The Sacred Heart Church is the parish church of Lourdes, built between 1875 and 1936 at the initiative of Father Peyramale, parish priest of Lourdes at the time of the Apparitions. Bernadette Soubirous was baptised there in 1844, in the building that preceded it. Eleven side chapels, a funerary chapel, a crypt and an adoration chapel make it a living place of memory and prayer.
In this section
- The parish of Lourdes — Mass times, parish life and practical information for visiting pilgrims.
- Father Peyramale — The parish priest of Lourdes at the time of the Apparitions, builder of this church.
A parish church at the heart of Lourdes’ history
The Sacred Heart Church replaces the former Saint-Pierre church, destroyed in 1904, where Bernadette was baptised. Built between 1875 and 1936 at Father Peyramale’s initiative, it remains the parish church of Lourdes today.
Before 1858, Lourdes was a modest Pyrenean market town whose only parish church, Saint-Pierre, had nearly a thousand years of history. According to Bernadette’s depositions, recognised by the Bishop of Tarbes in 1862, the Virgin appeared to her eighteen times between 11 February and 16 July 1858. These events upset the town’s balance: pilgrims flocked in. Father Dominique Peyramale, the parish priest, then judged his church too small to host the processions which, in his view, had to leave from the parish church before reaching the Grotto of Massabielle.
Construction of a new church began in 1875 and was completed in 1936, with the building of the bell tower. The building, in neo-Romanesque style, is built of banded Campan marble, quarried from the Espiadet quarry on the Payolle plateau. The old Saint-Pierre church was destroyed by fire in 1904; part of its furnishings went to the chapel of Lourdes castle, the rest to the new building.
On the forecourt, the statues of Father Peyramale and Saint Bernadette face each other — a sculptural tribute to their shared role in the history of Lourdes, one having carried the project for this church, the other having lived the Apparitions a few hundred metres away. Discover Father Peyramale’s story.
Bernadette and this church
Bernadette Soubirous was baptised on 9 January 1844 in the baptismal font of the former Saint-Pierre church, now kept in the present-day Sacred Heart Church.
Born on 7 January 1844, Bernadette was baptised two days later, on 9 January 1844, in the Saint-Pierre church. This was the former parish church of Lourdes, which she attended throughout her childhood and which preceded the present building. The baptismal font from this older church has been preserved and is now kept in the Sacred Heart Church. Generally dated to the 15th century, it has been listed as a historic monument since 1979. Its base bears four small carved heads, a motif some historians instead date to the 13th–14th centuries. The 16th-century cover of the basin, decorated with points, is kept in the bell tower’s attic.
A painted and gilded wooden statue of Saint John the Baptist, dated to the late 18th century, completes this baptismal ensemble; listed as a historic monument in 1979, it comes from the former Cagots’ chapel, once located on Quai Saint-Jean in Lourdes. To place this baptism in its context, discover the Apparitions and the life of Bernadette Soubirous.
The eleven side chapels
The side aisles and transept of the church house eleven chapels, each dedicated to a saint or a mystery of the Catholic faith. Each chapel is presented here with its dedication and, from 2026, its own prayer.
The side aisles and transept of the Sacred Heart Church are occupied by eleven chapels. The vault, supported by fourteen columns of banded Campan marble, frames this set of devotions that invites the visitor to a personal path of prayer, chapel after chapel.
Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes
This chapel associates the Marian title specific to Lourdes with the whole of the parish church’s devotions, directly echoing the Sanctuary of the Grotto of Massabielle. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that authentic Marian devotion is always ordered towards Christ and never replaces it (CCC § 971). [TO VERIFY: exact wording of § 971 to be checked word for word before publication — a paraphrase at this stage, not a literal quotation; the chapel’s construction date and precise iconography also need verification.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes — to be added in V2]
Chapel of Saint Bernadette
In the left transept, this chapel holds a 4 × 4 metre wall painting made in 1945 by Stanislas Bender, a painter born in Łódź (Poland) in 1882. Having fled to Paris in the 1930s to escape antisemitic persecution, he settled in Lourdes after the exodus of June 1940. He was arrested during the round-up of 26 August 1942: of the 58 people hunted down that day, 17 were deported. This work, completed after the war, thus links the memory of Saint Bernadette to a painful chapter of the 20th century that Lourdes itself went through. (Source: Wikipedia, “Église du Sacré-Cœur de Lourdes” — to be cross-checked with Quidarré. [TO VERIFY: Stanislas Bender’s precise fate after his arrest, not documented in the source consulted.])
[PRAYER — Chapel of Saint Bernadette — to be added in V2]
Chapel of Saint James the Greater
An apostle and brother of Saint John, James the Greater is venerated as the patron of pilgrims, notably those on the Camino de Santiago. His presence in a church so marked by pilgrimage as the Sacred Heart of Lourdes is not without resonance. [TO VERIFY: the chapel’s iconography and date.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of Saint James the Greater — to be added in V2]
Chapel of Saint Anne
Mother of the Virgin Mary according to Christian tradition, Saint Anne is particularly invoked by families and grandparents. Her presence in the parish church of Lourdes makes it a favoured place of prayer for passing on the faith between generations. [TO VERIFY: the chapel’s iconography and date.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of Saint Anne — to be added in V2]
Chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua
A 13th-century Franciscan and Doctor of the Church, Saint Anthony of Padua is one of the most popular saints in Catholic devotion, notably invoked for lost causes and lost objects. [TO VERIFY: the chapel’s iconography and date.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua — to be added in V2]
Chapel of the Pietà
This chapel is dedicated to the Virgin holding the body of Christ taken down from the cross — the Pietà, one of the oldest and most universal motifs in Christian art, calling for silent compassion in the face of suffering and death. [TO VERIFY: the exact artwork present in this chapel; not to be confused with the painting “Après la bataille” by Lucien Gros, documented in the right transept without certain attribution to this specific chapel.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of the Pietà — to be added in V2]
Chapel of Our Lady of Graces
A traditional Marian title, linked to the intercession of Mary, greeted by the angel as “full of grace” (Lk 1:28 — AELF). [TO VERIFY: exact text as published on aelf.org before publication — this wording is given from memory at this stage, not verified word for word. The chapel’s origin and date also need verification.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of Our Lady of Graces — to be added in V2]
Chapel of Saint Joseph
Husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus, Saint Joseph is the patron of the universal Church and of workers. His chapel is traditionally a place of prayer for families and for those going through a period of professional uncertainty. [TO VERIFY: the chapel’s iconography and date.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of Saint Joseph — to be added in V2]
Chapel of the Holy Family
Dedicated to Jesus, Mary and Joseph living in Nazareth, this chapel offers a model of simple family life, marked by work and daily prayer. [TO VERIFY: the chapel’s iconography and date.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of the Holy Family — to be added in V2]
Chapel of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus
A 19th-century French Carmelite and Doctor of the Church, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux developed a spirituality of the “little way”, grounded in simple trust in God rather than great deeds. [TO VERIFY: the chapel’s iconography and date.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus — to be added in V2]
Chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi
Founder of the Franciscan order in the 13th century, Saint Francis is associated with evangelical poverty, peace and respect for creation. [TO VERIFY: the chapel’s iconography and date.]
[PRAYER — Chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi — to be added in V2]
Discover Father Peyramale’s story
The funerary chapel
Located near the portal, the funerary chapel of the Sacred Heart Church has recently been restored, in symmetry with the Saint Bernadette chapel.
The church’s funerary chapel has recently undergone restoration work, with the support of a local heritage preservation association. [TO VERIFY: exact name of the association, precise reopening date — a ceremony in late August was mentioned by a local press source, to be confirmed before publication.] According to the available sources, this space occupies a position symmetrical to the Saint Bernadette chapel within the building’s architecture.
[PRAYER FOR THE DEPARTED — Funerary chapel — to be added in V2]
The crypt and Father Peyramale’s tomb
The church’s crypt houses, according to local tradition, the tomb of Father Dominique Peyramale, parish priest of Lourdes at the time of the Apparitions and builder of the present church.
Father Dominique Peyramale died in 1877, without seeing the full completion of the church whose project he had carried forward from the years following the Apparitions. According to local tradition, his tomb lies in the crypt of the Sacred Heart Church — a way for the parish to keep the memory of the priest who wanted pilgrim processions to leave from his church before reaching the Grotto. [TO VERIFY: the exact location of the tomb and description of the crypt — information to be confirmed by Quidarré or by the parish before publication, as the online sources consulted do not allow independent confirmation.] To learn more, read our full profile of Father Peyramale.
[PRAYER — Crypt / Father Peyramale’s tomb — to be added in V2]
The adoration chapel and the call to vocations
Opened in July 2026 and seating nineteen, this adoration chapel is dedicated to prayer for the call to priestly and religious vocations.
Opened in July 2026 in the Sacred Heart Church, the adoration chapel offers nineteen seats for a time of silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. It is specifically dedicated to the call to vocations: praying that men and women may answer the Lord’s call to the priesthood or to religious life.
This gesture is part of a tradition already present in the Diocese of Tarbes-Lourdes, where times of adoration for vocations already punctuate parish and diocesan life. In Lourdes, a city of international pilgrimage, this new chapel offers visitors and residents alike a place of recollection suited to this kind of intention, continuing the Sanctuary’s eucharistic adoration.
[PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS — to be added in V2]
You can also leave a prayer intention for vocations, which will be carried by the community of Lourdes.
Practical information
The Sacred Heart Church can be freely visited on Place de l’Église, in Lourdes, less than ten minutes’ walk from the train station.
The Sacred Heart Church stands on Place de l’Église, in Lourdes, in the upper town — unlike the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, located near the Gave de Pau, in the lower town. It is less than ten minutes’ walk from Lourdes railway station and from the regional coach stops. Find our tips to prepare your visit to Lourdes. [TO VERIFY: up-to-date opening hours, Mass times, wheelchair accessibility — to be confirmed by the parish before publication; full detail is developed in the dedicated child page.]
For detailed times, see the parish Mass schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Where was Bernadette Soubirous baptised?
What is the difference between the Sacred Heart Church and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes?
How many chapels does the Sacred Heart Church have?
Who is buried in the church's crypt?
Can you pray for vocations in this church?
What are the Mass times at the Sacred Heart Church?
Sources and references
Bernadettine corpus (to verify before publication)
- Quidarré, L’Église du Sacré-Cœur de Lourdes — reference source for the exact list of chapels, not yet directly consulted in this draft
- Bourgeois, La Nouvelle Église paroissiale de Lourdes
- Monseigneur Peyramale, curé de Lourdes (1877 ed.)
Magisterium
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 971 (Marian devotion)
Online sources
- City of Lourdes, heritage page — lourdes.fr
- Wikipedia FR, “Église du Sacré-Cœur de Lourdes” (factual entry, to cross-check with Quidarré)
- Diocese of Tarbes-Lourdes — catholique65.fr