Today, on this Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, I shared with my parish, the Shrine of St. Jude Catholic Church in Rockville, MD, my reflection on visiting Lourdes for the first time last summer. It has been posted on my parish’s website and their Facebook page. It is still one of the most moving spiritual experiences of my life. St. Bernadette, pray for us.
Here are some photos from my pilgrimage to Lourdes, July of 2024.
The Sanctuary of Lourdes in the distance, view from my hotel room (author’s photo)The grotto where the water from the spring is visible behind a plexiglass screen (author’s photo)The niche with the statue of Mary looking down on the grotto, based upon Bernadette’s description of her apparition of the Blessed Mother (author’s photo)Inside the gates of the Sanctuary of Lourdes, view of the Upper Basilica (author’s photo)The fountains of Lourdes, where pilgrims may collect water from Bernadette’s spring to take home (author’s photo)Outside of the Upper Basilica of Lourdes, author in front of one of several large mosaic shrines (author’s photo)
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 
Comment here!