Lourdes

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Lourdes. In SW France, site of a shrine of the Virgin Mary. In 1858 the 14-year-old peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, had visions of the Virgin Mary who told her that she was the Immaculate Conception (a dogma then recently defined). A spring appeared and miraculous healings began to be reported, with the result that increasing numbers began to visit Lourdes. In 1862, the pilgrimage was officially recognized, and the first of a succession of churches was begun. A recent building has been the vast underground basilica of St Pius X, dedicated by the future Pope John XXIII in 1958. Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, 11 Feb.

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