In 1858, 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous and her sister and friend were out collecting firewood outside the village of Lourdes in the French Pyrenees. They wandered into a grotto where they claim a “a tiny maiden” wearing a flowing white robe spoke to them. The tiny maiden appeared 18 times that year in the area and during one visit declared to Bernadette “que soy era immaculada concepciou” – I am the Immaculate Conception.

In 1862, the local bishop endorsed the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes and in February 1876, Pope Pius IX officially granted a pontifical decree of canonical coronation.

A basilica was built above the grotto and now the tiny village of Lourdes attracts up to five million visitors and pilgrims a year.

Lourdes was kind of on our travel path but I was reluctant to visit after hearing tales of mobs of pilgrims and ugly scenes of commercialisation. But it was a lovely day so Padma and I took a detour and much to our delight we found no mobs.

We were able to leisurely explore the ‘Domain’ and enter the grotto even without queuing up. Padma’s mother joined us virtually and had Padma pass through the grotto twice so she could get a second look at the Virgin Mary. As we drove out of Lourdes we had to share a narrow street with a convoy of wheelchairs … people hoping for a miracle.

Whether you believe in the healing powers of Lourdes or not shouldn’t be a requirement for a visit. The story of Lourdes is a fascinating tale set in a picturesque village in the Pyrenees and was well worth the 90 minutes we spent there.