Lourdes
Lourdes is a large town in the French [wiki=f237c3e52035bb7abeedb2d8ab8fff0f]Pyrenees[/wiki]. It is a global centre of Marian pilgrimage, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Catholics believe that the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, appeared 18 times at the Grotto to a young girl, St Bernadette Soubirous.