Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes is the title given to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, who appeared to a young peasant girl in Lourdes, a small village in France. The girl, named Bernadette Soubirous, said that the Virgin Mary appeared to her in a cave near a stream and told her to drink and wash in the water of the stream. People began to believe that the water had special healing powers and the caves became a place of pilgrimage and prayer. People still travel to the area to pray and seek healing, believing that the Virgin Mary can help them.