The grotto of the Catholic pilgrimage site in Lourdes, France, is open and ready for visitors after being closed for two years due to Covid-19.
The apparition of the Virgin Mary, who reportedly appeared to shepherd child Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, is marked every year on 11 February.
In honour of the anniversary, the grotto officially opened after noon prayers on Friday, 11 February.
This means that pilgrims can now visit and will be able to "pass through the hollow of the Rock of Massabielle, under the feet of the Virgin Mary to touch the rock and approach the source,” according to a statement issued by the sanctuary on Tuesday.
- Lourdes: fewer pilgrims but equal fervour for Assumption Day celebrations
- Pope accepts Paris archbishop's resignation over 'ambiguous' relationship
The Catholic Church clams that since 1860, 70 of the thousands of reported cases of miracles stemming from touching the water are indeed miracles.
Les 1ers évangélisateurs du Sanctuaire sont les malades ...
— Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes (@lourdes_france) February 11, 2022
Lors de cette 30° Journée Mondiale du Malade, en ce jour de la solennité de ND de #Lourdes, le recteur du Sanctuaire, Monseigneur @ORDUMAS, a annoncé la réouverture de la Grotte de Lourdes aux pèlerins du monde entier. pic.twitter.com/ejubg05dCV
The tiny town of 14,000 people has been reeling since the closure, as 90 percent of its inhabitants are dependent on tourism.
Before Covid-19, the ill and the religious went to the site in the Hautes-Pyrénées region to try and get healed. Some 3.5 million annual visitors passed through the grotto before the pandemic.
