The Vatican’s recent excommunication of followers of a Catholic splinter sect, the Society of Saint Pius X, has revived a longstanding feud within the Roman Catholic Church ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s state visit to France. The ultra-conservative group has established an extensive network of schools and has attracted thousands of followers in France.
Nestled in the foothills of the Pyrénées, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is one of Catholicism’s most important pilgrimage sites, drawing millions of visitors each year, including sick and disabled believers hoping for a cure from its famed spring waters.
