Kerry Crawford

Touching the rock face, contemplating the grotto of more than 150 years ago and offering a prayer—these actions help visitors connect to that point in time when Bernadette hurried to this obscure cave. More importantly, they connect pilgrims to the spoken and unspoken messages that Our Lady conveyed to the young girl. As Mary bore the Son of God in her womb, she carries with her his message of love, which knows no obstacles and overcomes all shortcomings. Our lives, much like the grotto in Bernadette’s time, may be disordered, but God nonetheless comes calling.

The Blessed Virgin taught Bernadette with what she could see, touch and experience. “Bernadette is invited to enter a grotto, to drink spring water, to wash from it and to carry the light,” says Father de La Teyssonnière. “Rock, water and light are parts of the human experience, of the religious experience and of Christian revelation.

Drawn by faith or curiosity, people from all parts of the world go on pilgrimage to Lourdes, the most visited Marian shrine in Europe. When all is said and done, many pilgrims will measure their experience not by how far they travel but by how close they come to God.