Results of Her Visions
Among the reported visions of Jesus and Mary, Bernadette's visions can be viewed as being at a high level of significance.
Her request to the local priest to build a chapel at the site of her visions eventually gave rise to a number of chapels and churches at Lourdes. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is now one of the major Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world. One of the churches built at the site, the Basilica of St. Pius X, can itself accommodate 25,000 people and was dedicated by the future Pope John XXIII when he was the Papal Nuncio to France.
Close to 5 million pilgrims visit Lourdes (population of about 15,000) every year, with individuals and groups (such as the HCPT) coming from all over the world. Within France, only Paris has more hotels than Lourdes. In 2008, the 150th anniversary of the 1858 apparitions to Bernadette, it was expected that 8 million pilgrims would visit Lourdes during the year. Lourdes is now a major center where Catholic pilgrims from around the globe reaffirm their beliefs as they visit the sanctuary.
Read more about this topic: Bernadette Soubirous
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