LOURDES

pilgrimage town, southwestern France, Hautes-Pyrnes dpartement, Midi-Pyrnes region, southwest of Toulouse. Situated at the foot of the Pyrenees and now on both banks of a torrent, the Gave de Pau, the town and its fortress formed a strategic stronghold in medieval times. During the Hundred Years' War the French captured it from the English in 1406 after an 18-month siege. The medieval castle, on the right bank of the Gave de Pau, has an interesting 14th-century keep. From the reign of Louis XIV (16431715) to the beginning of the 19th century, the castle was used as a state prison. The contemporary importance of Lourdes dates from 1858. In that year, from February 11 to July 16, Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old girl, had numerous visions of the Virgin Mary in the nearby Massabielle grotto, on the left bank of the stream. The visions were declared authentic by Pope Pius IX in 1862, and veneration of Mary as Our Lady of Lourdes was authorized. The underground spring in the grotto, revealed to Bernadette, was declared to have miraculous qualities, and Lourdes has since become a major pilgrimage centre. More than 5,000,000 pilgrims, many of them sick or disabled, visit the site annually. The basilica, built above the grotto in 1876, eventually became overcrowded by the increasing number of pilgrims, and in 1958 an immense prestressed concrete underground church, seating 20,000, was dedicated. Pop. (1982) 17,619; (1990) 16,581.