The Grotto is the sacred place where Bernadette saw the Virgin in her 18 Apparitions. On the pedestal of the statue one can read
'Que soy era Immaculada Conceptiou'. 'I am the Immaculate Conception'
It was in this way, in the dialect of Lourdes, that, on 25th March 1858, the Virgin Mary identified herself to Bernadette.
At the back of the Grotto the flowing spring that Bernadette
discovered on 25th February 1858 can be seen. This water is
now channelled towards the taps and the baths.
At the time of the Apparitions as many as 10,000 people gathered at the Grotto. Today, about 5 million pilgrims and visitors come each year to the rock of Massabielle
It was in this way, in the dialect of Lourdes, that, on 25th March 1858, the Virgin Mary identified herself to Bernadette.
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