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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name               = Lourdes
|native name        = {{native name|oc|Lorda}}
|commune status     = [[Communes of France|Commune]]
|image              = Lourdes city.jpg
|caption            = Lourdes with the [[Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes|Sanctuary of Our Lady]]
|image coat of arms = Blason de la ville de Lourdes (65).svg
|arrondissement     = Argelès-Gazost
|canton             = [[Canton of Lourdes-1|Lourdes-1]] and [[Canton of Lourdes-2|2]]
|INSEE              = 65286
|postal code        = 65100
|demonym            = {{lang|fr|Lourdais}}
|mayor              = Thierry Lavit<ref>{{cite web |title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires |url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503 |website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises |date=2 December 2020 |language=fr |access-date=22 April 2021 |archive-date=28 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628030259/https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|term               = 2020&ndash;2026
|intercommunality   = [[Communauté d'agglomération Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées|CA Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées]]
|coordinates        = {{coord|43|5|39|N|0|2|49|W|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m        = 
|elevation min m    = 343
|elevation max m    = 960
|area km2           = 36.94
|population         = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date    = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
|website            = {{URL|https://www.lourdes.fr/|lourdes.fr}}
}}

'''Lourdes''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ʊər|d}},<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Lourdes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322182524/https://www.lexico.com/definition/lourdes |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-03-22 |title=Lourdes |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> <small>also</small> {{IPAc-en|US|l|ʊər|d|z}},<ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Lourdes |access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Lourdes|access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|luʁd|lang|LL-Q150 (fra)-fleur (Beat Ruest)-Lourdes.wav}}; {{langx|oc|Lorda}} {{IPA|oc|ˈluɾðɔ|}}) is a [[market town]] situated in the [[Pyrenees]]. It is part of the [[Hautes-Pyrénées]] [[Departments of France|department]] in the [[Occitania (administrative region)|Occitanie]] region in southwestern [[France]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/geographie/commune/65286-lourdes |title=INSEE commune file |access-date=26 September 2024 |publisher=INSEE}}</ref> Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its [[Château fort de Lourdes|Château fort]], a fortified [[castle]] that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its center.

In 1858, Lourdes rose to prominence in France and abroad due to the [[Lourdes apparitions|Marian apparition]]s to the peasant girl [[Bernadette Soubirous]] (later [[Canonization|canonized]] a [[saint]] by the [[Catholic Church]] for her virtuous life). Shortly thereafter, the city and its [[Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes]] became among the world's most important sites for [[pilgrimage]] and [[religious tourism]].

==History==

===Antiquity===
The current municipal area of Lourdes was inhabited in [[prehistoric]] times. In [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times, from the first century BC, it was an [[oppidum]] hill on the site of the present-day [[fortress]], as shown by the numerous archaeological finds after the demolition of the parish of Saint-Pierre in the early twentieth century: remains of walls, fragments of a citadel, a pagan temple dedicated to the [[gods of water]], and three votive altars.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} In the fifth century, the temple was replaced by an early Christian church, which later burned down, with a [[necropolis]] nearby. A Roman road along with a possible crossing path connecting the [[Pyrenees|Pyrenean]] piedmont with [[Gallia Narbonensis|Narbonne]] suggest that the town could be the ''quell'oppidum novum'' fortress mentioned in the [[Antonine Itinerary]].{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

From 732 to 778, Lourdes was occupied by Muslims of [[Al-Andalus]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Hugh Ross Williamson |title=The Challenge of Bernadette |date=2006 |publisher=Gracewing Publishing |isbn=9780852446492 |edition=reprint |pages=19–20}}</ref> Mirat, the Muslim local leader, came under siege by [[Charlemagne]], King of the Franks, but the Moor refused to surrender.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} According to legend, a passing eagle dropped a huge trout at Mirat's feet. Dismayed by this omen, Mirat was urged to surrender to the [[Queen of Heaven]] by the local bishop. He visited the [[Black Madonna|Black Virgin]] of Puy, and was so astounded by the icon's exceptional beauty that he decided to surrender the fort and convert to [[Christianity]]. He was baptised with the name ''Lorus'', which was given to the town as Lourdes.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

===Middle Ages===
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2023}}
Little is known of Lourdes in the period from the barbarian invasions to the [[Carolingian]] period when the town was part of the County of Bigorre. The fortress was at times the seat of counts and, during the [[Albigensian Crusade]], it was the subject of disputes between various local lords. Ultimately it came under the domination of the Counts of Champagne. In the fourteenth century Lourdes was first occupied by Philip the Fair, then, during the Hundred Years' War, by the English, who controlled it for nearly half a century, from 1360 to 1407, through local feudal lords such as Pierre Arnaud de Béarn and, later, his brother Jean de Béarn. The English were able to take advantage of the excellent strategic situation and the prosperity of an eleventh century market that had been increasingly consolidated thanks to its proximity and good communications with Toulouse and Spain, managing to secure important gains for those who held the town. In the town, which developed in the valley, east of the fort, there were 243 fires at the beginning of the fifteenth century, compared to 150 of the thirteenth century.

After being the residency of the [[Bigorre]] counts, Lourdes was given to England by the Treaty of Brétigny which bought a temporary peace to France during the course of the [[Hundred Years War]], with the French losing the town to the English in 1360. In 1405, [[Charles VI of France|Charles VI]] laid siege to the castle during the course of the war and eventually captured the town from the English after an 18-month siege.

===Modern Age===
[[File:Vue de Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées) - Fonds Ancely - B315556101 A MALBOS 2 005.jpg|thumb|[[Waggon]] pulled by two oxen in front of [[Château fort de Lourdes]] in 1843, by [[Eugène de Malbos]]]]
During the late 16th century, France was ravaged by the [[French Wars of Religion|Wars of Religion]] between Roman Catholics and [[Huguenots]]. In 1569, [[Count Gabriel de Montgomery]] attacked the nearby town of [[Tarbes]] when [[Queen Jeanne d'Albret of Navarre]] established Protestantism there. In 1592, the town was taken by forces of the Catholic League, and the Catholic faith was re-established. In 1607, Lourdes was incorporated into the Kingdom of France.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The castle became a jail under [[Louis XV]] but, in 1789, the Estates General ordered the liberation of prisoners. Following the rise of [[Napoleon]] in 1803, he again made the Castle a state jail.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} Towards the end of the [[Peninsular War]] between France, Spain, Portugal, and Britain in 1814, British and Allied forces under the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] entered France and took control of the region. They pursued [[Marshall Soult]]'s army, defeating the French near the adjoining town of Tarbes, before the final battle outside [[Toulouse]] on 10 April 1814 brought the war to an end.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Up until 1858, Lourdes was a sleepy country town with a population of around 4,000<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 February 2008 |title=Saint Bernadette's First Vision at Lourdes |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/saint-bernadette%E2%80%99s-first-vision-lourdes |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=History Today}}</ref> hosting an infantry garrison in the castle, a transit point to the waters at [[Barèges]], [[Cauterets]], [[Luz-Saint-Sauveur]] and [[Bagnères-de-Bigorre]], and for mountaineers on their way to Gavarnie.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Then on 11 February 1858, the 14-year-old local girl [[Bernadette Soubirous]] claimed a beautiful lady appeared to her in the remote grotto of Massabielle. The lady later identified herself as the [[Immaculate Conception]] and the faithful believed her to be the [[Blessed Virgin Mary]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Laurentin |first=René |title=Bernadette vous parle |date=April 15, 1999 |publisher=Médiaspaul |isbn=978-2712202897 |location=Paris |pages=98 |language=fr |trans-title=Bernadette Speaks: A Life of St. Bernadette Soubirous in Her Own Words |url=https://archive.org/details/bernadettespeaks0000laur/page/n7/mode/2up}}</ref> She appeared 18 times, and by 1859 thousands of pilgrims were visiting Lourdes. A statue of [[Our Lady of Lourdes]] was erected at the site in 1864.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

During World War II, pilgrimage to Lourdes declined dramatically, but Lourdes became a focus for religious [[French Resistance|resistance]]. Refugees from [[Lorraine]] visited in 1941, led by their own exiled bishop Joseph Jean Heintz. Lourdes was the destination for a tour of the statue of Our Lady of [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]] (known as Le Grand Retour) which aimed to secure the spiritual salvation of France. In 1944, a peace pilgrimage to Lourdes took place. Even when war ended, pilgrimages took a while to return to their pre-war levels as the usual trains and pilgrimage ships were in use elsewhere, or destroyed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hurlock |first=Kathryn |date=2022-01-02 |title=Peace, Politics, and Piety: Catholic Pilgrimage in Wartime Europe, 1939–1945 |journal=War & Society |language=en |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=36–52 |doi=10.1080/07292473.2022.2021754 |s2cid=246695850 |issn=0729-2473 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Since the apparitions, Lourdes has become one of the world's leading Catholic [[Marian shrine]]s. [[Pope John Paul II]] visited twice, on 15 August 1983, and 14–15 August 2004. In 2007, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] authorized special [[indulgences]] to mark the 150th anniversary of Our Lady of Lourdes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pope approves Lourdes indulgences |work=BBC News |date=6 December 2007 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7131088.stm |access-date=6 December 2007 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115101025/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7131088.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Lourdes1994-1.jpg|thumb|Lourdes 1994]]

==Geography==
[[File:Lourdes la citadelle.jpg|thumb|The Château Fort in Lourdes|alt=]]
Lourdes is located in southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains near the [[prime meridian]]. It is overlooked from the south by the Pyrenean peaks of [[Aneto]], [[Montaigu (mountain)|Montaigu]], and [[Vignemale]] ({{cvt|3,298|m|ft|lk=out|disp=or}}), while around the town there are three summits reaching up to {{cvt|1000|m|ft|0}} which are known as the ''Béout'', the ''Petit Jer'' (with its three crosses) and the ''Grand Jer'' (with its single cross). The Grand Jer is accessible via the [[Funiculaire du Pic du Jer|funicular railway of the Pic du Jer]]. The Béout was once accessible by cable car, although this has fallen into disrepair. A pavilion is still visible on the summit.

Lourdes lies at an elevation of {{cvt|420|m|ft}} and in a central position through which runs the fast-flowing river [[Gave de Pau]] from the south, coming from its source at [[Gavarnie]]; into it flow several smaller rivers from [[Barèges]] and [[Cauterets]]. The Gave then branches off to the west towards the [[Béarn]], running past the banks of the Grotto and on downstream to [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] and then [[Biarritz]].

On land bordered by a loop of the Gave de Pau is an outcrop of rock called ''Massabielle'' (from ''masse vieille'': "old mass"). On the northern aspect of this rock, near the riverbank, is a naturally occurring, irregularly shaped shallow cave or grotto, in which the apparitions of 1858 took place.<ref>Ruth Harris, ''Lourdes: Body and Spirit in the Secular Age'', Penguin Books, 1999, p. 52.</ref>

===Climate===
The climate of Lourdes, due to the proximity of the city to the Atlantic, is [[oceanic climate|oceanic]] (''Cfb'' in the [[Köppen climate classification]]). It is quite mild for most of the year with moderate rainfall in summer and quite high rainfall in winter – about 120 rainy days and more than {{cvt|1000|mm}} of average annual precipitation. The summers are warm, the autumn and spring mild, while winter is cool. Because of the proximity of the city to the [[Pyrenees]], Lourdes, like other areas of the Pyrenean Piedmont, however, can be affected in winter by sporadic waves of frost: in January 1985 the thermometer marked -17° [[Fahrenheit]], -27&nbsp;°C (historical record from 1934 to the present). A summer temperature of 102&nbsp;°F, 39&nbsp;°C, was recorded in August 2003. The reference station of Lourdes is to Tarbes-Ossun-Lourdes, located approximately {{cvt|9|km}} from the town, in the airport area of Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées, 360 m.

{| class="wikitable" align="center"
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" height="17" | Stat. of Tarbes (1982–2013)
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Jan
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Feb
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Mar
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Apr
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | May
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Jun
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Jul
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Aug
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Sep
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Oct
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Nov
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Dec
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Year
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Tp. min. avg (°C)
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 1,0
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 1,5
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 3,6
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 5,7
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 9,6
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 12,9
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 15,0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 15,0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 12,0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 8,7
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 4,4
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 1,8
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 7,7
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Tp. avg (°C)
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 5,7
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 6,4
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 8,9
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 10,8
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 14,6
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 17,9
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 20,1
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 20,2
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 17,5
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 14,0
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 9,1
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 6,5
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 12,7
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Tp. max. avg (°C)
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 10,3
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 11,2
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 14,2
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 15,9
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 19,6
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 22,8
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 25,2
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 25,3
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 22,9
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 19,2
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 13,7
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 11,1
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 17,7
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Frost days
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 10,88
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 9,69
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 4,78
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 1,06
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0,31
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 4,1
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 9,74
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 40,34
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;" | Precipitation (mm)
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 95.3
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 83.0
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 85.3
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 110.7
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 114.2
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 78.4
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 57.7
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 66.0
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 72.3
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 84.3
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 103.5
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 92.0
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 1041.8
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;" | Rainy days
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 10,59
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 9,5
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 10,16
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 12,53
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 12,91
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 9,75
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 7,19
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 8,47
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 8,53
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 10,28
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 10,16
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 10,29
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 120,35
|}
{{Weather box|width=auto
|location = Lourdes (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1881−2011)
|single line = Y
|metric first = Y
|Jan record high C = 24.7
|Feb record high C = 27.0
|Mar record high C = 30.0
|Apr record high C = 32.0
|May record high C = 34.6
|Jun record high C = 41.0
|Jul record high C = 39.9
|Aug record high C = 40.5
|Sep record high C = 37.0
|Oct record high C = 34.0
|Nov record high C = 28.0
|Dec record high C = 26.0
|Jan record low C = -18.2
|Feb record low C = -16.5
|Mar record low C = -12.0
|Apr record low C = -4.9
|May record low C = -3.8
|Jun record low C = 1.0
|Jul record low C = 0.5
|Aug record low C = 1.5
|Sep record low C = -0.1
|Oct record low C = -4.0
|Nov record low C = -9.9
|Dec record low C = -17.0
|Jan high C = 11.0
|Feb high C = 12.3
|Mar high C = 15.4
|Apr high C = 17.1
|May high C = 20.7
|Jun high C = 23.8
|Jul high C = 26.1
|Aug high C = 26.3
|Sep high C = 23.7
|Oct high C = 19.8
|Nov high C = 14.4
|Dec high C = 11.6
|year high C = 18.5
|Jan mean C = 6.3
|Feb mean C = 7.3
|Mar mean C = 10.0
|Apr mean C = 11.7
|May mean C = 15.3
|Jun mean C = 18.4
|Jul mean C = 20.6
|Aug mean C = 20.7
|Sep mean C = 18.0
|Oct mean C = 14.6
|Nov mean C = 9.6
|Dec mean C = 7.0
|year mean C = 13.3
|Jan low C = 1.5
|Feb low C = 2.3
|Mar low C = 4.5
|Apr low C = 6.3
|May low C = 9.9
|Jun low C = 13.1
|Jul low C = 15.1
|Aug low C = 15.2
|Sep low C = 12.4
|Oct low C = 9.4
|Nov low C = 4.8
|Dec low C = 2.3
|year low C = 8.1
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 135.1
|Feb precipitation mm = 109.5
|Mar precipitation mm = 120.7
|Apr precipitation mm = 149.9
|May precipitation mm = 139.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 103.9
|Jul precipitation mm = 82.5
|Aug precipitation mm = 87.1
|Sep precipitation mm = 94.9
|Oct precipitation mm = 121.9
|Nov precipitation mm = 145.5
|Dec precipitation mm = 136.1
|year precipitation mm = 1426.7
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 12.4
|Feb precipitation days = 11.6
|Mar precipitation days = 12.0
|Apr precipitation days = 14.3
|May precipitation days = 15.0
|Jun precipitation days = 11.9
|Jul precipitation days = 10.8
|Aug precipitation days = 10.7
|Sep precipitation days = 10.3
|Oct precipitation days = 12.3
|Nov precipitation days = 12.4
|Dec precipitation days = 12.2
|year precipitation days = 146.1
|source 1 = [[Météo-France]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_65286003.pdf |title=Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1981-2010 et records |language=fr |publisher=[[Météo-France]] |access-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-date=12 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912022652/https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_65286003.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

== Apparitions and pilgrimages ==
{{Main|Lourdes apparitions}}

[[File:VirgendeLourdes.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Statue of [[Our Lady of Lourdes]] in the Grotto]]
[[File:Mosaic in the in the Rosary Basilica, Lourdes 2.JPG|thumb|[[Mosaic]] in the Rosary Basilica]]
In 1858, the [[Virgin Mary]] allegedly appeared to [[Bernadette Soubirous]] (Maria Bernada Sobirós in her native [[Occitan language]]) on a total of eighteen occasions at Lourdes (Lorda in her local Occitan language). Lourdes has become a major place of [[Roman Catholic]] [[pilgrimage]] and of [[Lourdes Medical Bureau|miraculous healings]]. The 150th [[Jubilee (Christianity)|Jubilee]] of the first apparition took place on 11 February 2008 with an outdoor Mass attended by approximately 45,000 pilgrims.

In 2020, Lourdes had a population of around 15,000. In 2012, 715,000 pilgrims attended Our Lady of Lourdes-related events, falling to 570,000 in 2016.<ref>Statistica.com [https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117729/number-pilgrims-lourdes/ Number of pilgrims in Lourdes each year] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416011834/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117729/number-pilgrims-lourdes/ |date=16 April 2023 }}</ref> In 2011, Lourdes contained about 270 hotels, the second-greatest number of hotels per square kilometer in France after [[Paris]].<ref name="skepdic.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.skepdic.com/lourdes.html |title=Lourdes - The Skeptic's Dictionary |publisher=Skepdic.com |access-date=2011-09-15 |archive-date=21 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221022152/http://skepdic.com/lourdes.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Its deluxe hotels include [[Grand Hotel Moderne]], Hotel Grand de la Grotte, Hotel St. Étienne, Hotel Majestic, and Hotel Roissy.

===Marian apparitions===
On the evening of February 11, 1858, a young Roman Catholic girl, Bernadette Soubirous, reported that she went to fetch some firewood with her sister and another companion when a lady who was indescribably beautiful appeared to her at the Massabielle grotto. Although the lady did not tell Bernadette her name when asked at first, she told her to return to the grotto. On subsequent visits, the lady revealed herself to be the "[[Immaculate Conception]]". This was a reference to the [[Roman Catholic dogma|dogma]] of the Immaculate Conception which had been defined only four years earlier in 1854 by [[Pope Pius IX]], stating that the Virgin Mary herself had been conceived free from the consequences of original sin. Bernadette, having only a rudimentary knowledge of the Catholic faith, did not understand what this meant, but she reported it to her parish priest, Father Peyremale. Peyremale, though initially very skeptical of Bernadette's claims, became convinced by hearing this because he knew that the young girl had no knowledge of the doctrine.

The lady also told Bernadette to dig in the ground at a certain spot and to drink from the small spring of water that began to bubble up. Almost immediately, cures were reported from the water. Today thousands of gallons of water gush from the source of the spring, and pilgrims are able to bathe in it. Countless purported miracle cures have been documented there, from the healing of nervous disorders and cancers to cases of paralysis and even of blindness. During the apparitions, Bernadette Soubirous prayed the [[Rosary]]. Pope John Paul II wrote: "The Rosary of the Virgin Mary [is] a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/2002/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae.html |title=Rosarium Virginis Mariae on the Most Holy Rosary (October 16, 2002) - John Paul II |website=w2.vatican.va |access-date=20 August 2018 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222065756/http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/2002/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Messages===
The words spoken by Our Lady to Saint Bernadette include:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/messages/lourdes_messages.html |title=Miracle Hunter: Messages of Lourdes |access-date=1 May 2023 |archive-date=1 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501214924/https://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/messages/lourdes_messages.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Feb 18, 1858 (Ash Wednesday)
:It is not necessary [to write down my name]. Would you be kind enough to come here for 15 days? I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next.

Feb 21, 1858
:(Sorrowful tone of voice) Pray for sinners.

Feb 24, 1858
:Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners.

Feb 25, 1858
:Go, drink of the spring and wash yourself there. You will eat the grass that is there.

Feb 27, 1858
:Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners. Go, kiss the ground for the conversion of sinners. Go and tell the priests to have a chapel built here.

Feb 28, 1858
:Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners. Go, kiss the ground for the conversion of sinners.

March 2, 1858
:Go, tell the priests to bring people here in procession and have a Chapel built here.

March 25, 1858
:I am the Immaculate Conception.

==Religious sites==
===Sanctuary of Lourdes===
{{Main|Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes}}
[[File:Lourdes cathedral cave side 1.jpg|thumb|The majority of visitors are [[pilgrim]]s who fill the public spaces of the Domain.]]
Yearly from March to October the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a place of mass pilgrimage from Europe and other parts of the world. The [[Lourdes water|spring water from the grotto]] is believed by some Catholics to possess [[Lourdes Medical Bureau|healing properties]].

An estimated 200 million people have visited the shrine since 1860,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacredsites.com/europe/france/lourdes.html |title=The Basilica of Lourdes, France |publisher=Sacredsites.com |access-date=5 May 2009 |archive-date=28 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428194416/http://www.sacredsites.com/europe/france/lourdes.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Roman Catholic Church]] has officially recognized 72 [[Lourdes Medical Bureau|healings]] considered miraculous, as of April 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Miraculous Healings |url=https://www.lourdes-france.com/en/miraculous-healings/ |website=Lourdes Sanctuaire |access-date=27 April 2025}}</ref> Cures are examined using Church criteria for authenticity and authentic miracle healing with no physical or psychological basis other than the healing power of the water.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lourdes-france.org/index.php?goto_centre=ru&contexte=en&id=687 |title=Lourdes France, le site officiel des Sanctuaires vous accueille |publisher=Lourdes-france.org |date=21 October 2003 |access-date=5 May 2009 |archive-date=16 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116125100/http://www.lourdes-france.org/index.php?goto_centre=ru&contexte=en&id=687 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Tours from all over the world are organized to visit the Sanctuary. Connected with this pilgrimage is often the consumption of or bathing in the [[Lourdes water]] which wells out of the Grotto.

At the time of the apparitions, the grotto was on common land which was used by the villagers variously for pasturing animals and collecting firewood, and it possessed a reputation for being an unpleasant place.<ref>Ruth Harris, ''Lourdes: Body and Spirit in the Secular Age'', Penguin Books, 1999, p. 53.</ref>

===Ukrainian Church===
The five-domed St. Mary's [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Ukrainian Catholic Church]] in Lourdes was designed by Myroslav Nimciv, while its [[Byzantine art|Byzantine]] interior [[polychrome]] decorations were executed by artist [[Jerzy Nowosielski]] and the [[iconostasis]] by Petro Kholodny. The church was consecrated in 1982. It is about a 10-minute walk from the basilica and the grotto, on a street named in honour of Ukraine, 8 Rue de l'Ukraine, situated on a narrow piece of property close to the railroad station. Visible from the basilica, the height of the building makes up for its narrow breadth.<ref name=ukrweekly>{{cite news |url=http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/2006/190643.shtml |title=Travelogue: a flight to the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lourdes |author=Chrystia Shashkewych-Oryshkevych |work=The Ukrainian Weekly |date=May 7, 2006 |volume=LXXIV |issue=19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710045654/http://www.ukrweekly.com/old/archive/2006/190643.shtml |archive-date=2017-07-10}}</ref>

==Population==
{{Historical populations
|source = INSEE<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-65286#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721144555/https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-65286#ancre-POP_T1 |date=21 July 2022 }}, INSEE</ref>
|percentages = pagr
|align = none
|graph-pos = right
|1968 |17939
|1975 |17870
|1982 |17425
|1990 |16300
|1999 |15203
|2007 |15254
|2012 |14466
|2017 |13389
}}

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}

Lourdes is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref name="Europe Prize">{{cite web |url=http://www.czestochowa.um.gov.pl/europeprize/altotting.htm |title=Association of Towns awarded The Europe Prize |publisher=www.czestochowa.um.gov.pl |access-date=10 October 2009 |archive-date=21 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821103518/http://www.czestochowa.um.gov.pl/europeprize/altotting.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|IND}} [[File:British Raj Red Ensign.svg|20px|British Raj]] [[Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health]] in [[Vailankanni]], Tamil Nadu, India
* {{flagicon|POL}} [[Częstochowa]] in Poland<ref name="Europe Prize"/>
* {{flagicon|POR}} [[Fátima, Portugal|Fátima]] in Portugal<ref name="Europe Prize"/>
* {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Loreto (AN)|Loreto]] in Italy<ref name="Europe Prize"/>
* {{flagicon|GER}} [[Altötting]] in Germany<ref name="Europe Prize"/>
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Cheyenne, Wyoming|Cheyenne]] in Wyoming, United States
* {{flagicon|AUT}} [[Mariazell]] in Austria
* {{flagicon|Palestine}} [[Bethlehem]] in Palestine

==Sport==
Although most famous for its shrines, the town is also notable for its [[Rugby union]] team, [[FC Lourdes]], which was one of the most successful teams in France during the mid-twentieth century, winning the national championship eight times from 1948 to 1968. Their most famous player was [[Jean Prat]], who represented his country 51 times.

There is also an amateur [[football (soccer)|association football]] team in the town.

Since 2015, the local mountain biking course has been home to a [[Union Cycliste Internationale|UCI]] [[Downhill mountain biking|Downhill World Cup]] round each season.

== In arts and fiction ==
[[File:Triant Forever.jpg|thumb|right|The apparition at Lourdes, represented in a cave]]
* [[Émile Zola]] (1840–1902) wrote the 1884 novel ''Lourdes'' that deals with faith and healing, particularly of Marie de Guersaint.
* The 1943 film ''[[The Song of Bernadette (film)|Song of Bernadette]]'', based on [[The Song of Bernadette (novel)|the 1941 novel]] by [[Franz Werfel]] which tells of the occurrences at Lourdes, won four [[Academy Awards]] in 1944. Producer [[William Perlberg]] carefully re-created the appearance of the town and outlying rural areas using a golf course.
* In 1960, [[Andy Williams]] released his album ''[[The Village of St. Bernadette]]'', which featured the 1959 song "[[The Village of St. Bernadette (song)|The Village of St. Bernadette]]".
* The film ''[[Behold a Pale Horse (film)|Behold a Pale Horse]]'' (1963), directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, and Omar Sharif, includes a scene in Lourdes that is crucial to the plot. The scene was shot on location and includes actual pilgrims visiting the basilica.
* The 1984 book ''[[The Miracle (novel)|The Miracle]]'' by [[Irving Wallace]] is speculative fiction based on the story of Saint Bernadette.
* The 2007 film [[The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)|''The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'']] features a flashback in which Jean-Dominique Bauby travels to Lourdes with a girlfriend and walks through the streets of the town.
*The 2019 [[César Awards|César Award]]-nominated documentary film ''[[Lourdes (2019 film)|Lourdes]]'' directed by [[Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai]] provides an intimate portrait of different individuals and families in their struggles and journey to the Lourdes site. 
* The 2023 film ''[[The Miracle Club]]'' is about a pilgrimage from Dublin to Lourdes.

==Transport==
{{see also|Gare de Lourdes}}
Lourdes is served by [[Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport]] situated {{convert|10|km}} from the town centre. (Many visitors also fly to [[Pau Pyrénées Airport]].) The town's railway station [[Gare de Lourdes]] is served by [[SNCF]] and [[TGV]] trains, including a high-speed TGV service from Paris which takes four-and-a-half hours. Many pilgrims also arrive via bus service from France and Spain.

==Education==
Lourdes has two main schools, one public and one private. The private school, the "Lycée Peyramale St Joseph", was founded by two monks just two years before the apparitions; it is named after [[Dominique Peyramale|the priest Dominique Peyramale]], who was present during the apparitions. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2007. The newer public school is called the "Lycée de Sarsan".

==Museums==
* Wax Museum
* Pyrenean Museum
* Museum of the Nativity
* Museum of small Lourdes

==See also==
* [[Château fort de Lourdes]]
* [[Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department]]
* [[Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes]]
* [[Lourdes apparitions]]
* [[Lourdes effect]]
* [[Shrines to the Virgin Mary]]
* "[[The Village of St. Bernadette (song)|The Village of Saint Bernadette]]" (1959 song)
* [[Rosary]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Bibliography==
* Collectif, ''Lourdes de la Préhistoire à nos jours'', Musée Pyrénéen, 1987.
* Laurence Catinot-Crost, ''Autrefois Lourdes'', Éditions Atlantica, 2005.
* Sébastien Barrère, ''Petite histoire de Lourdes'', Cairn, 2014.

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{wikivoyage|Lourdes}}
* [https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/ Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes] – Official website
* [https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/tv-lourdes The Grotto of the Apparitions] – Online transmissions
* [https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/healings-and-miracles The cures at Lourdes recognised as miraculous by the Church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703055101/https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/healings-and-miracles |date=3 July 2017 }}
* [https://en.lourdes-infotourisme.com Lourdes Tourist Office]
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18729/18729-h/18729-h.htm Lourdes], by Robert Hugh Benson, 1914, from [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [http://www.catholicassociation.co.uk Catholic Association UK], details more information on Lourdes.
* [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7t149h Documentary Film about Lourdes]
* [http://www.musees-lourdes.com/le-petit-lourdes.html ''Museum of Lourdes/Le-Petit-Lourdes Museum''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313120603/http://www.musees-lourdes.com/le-petit-lourdes.html |date=13 March 2012 }} (in French)
* {{YouTube|WZ2OlfJJ-7c|"The Village of St. Bernadette"}}, video of [[Andy Williams]]' performance
* {{YouTube|vVMsyFb_H3c|"Lourdes"}}, A one-hour film about the town

{{Hautes-Pyrénées communes}}
{{Our Lady of Lourdes}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lourdes| ]]
[[Category:Catholic pilgrimage sites]]
[[Category:Communes of Hautes-Pyrénées]]
[[Category:Shrines to the Virgin Mary]]
[[Category:Our Lady of Lourdes]]
[[Category:Catholic Church in France]]
[[Category:Cities in Occitania (administrative region)]]