In terms of population size more Irish pilgrims visit Lourdes each year above any other nationality, and the influence of the Irish can be seen all around the town, from the statues of St Patrick in the shops, to the tablet, as Gaelige, on the wall of the grotto saying ''Teigh agus ol ag an tobar'' (Come and drink in the spring).
Lourdes is a small town in southern France with a population of 17,000, yet the town has become an annual pilgrimage site for millions each year.
The immense size of the facilities within the sanctuary is almost as impressive as the beauty of his holy site, from the immense hospital complex staffed by pilgrim volunteers, to the numerous chapels and basilicas that host the individual pilgrimage groups from across the world. In fact the underground Basilica of Pius X, one of the largest churches in the world, was specifically built to facilitate the large numbers now coming to Lourdes.
However, the Rosary Basilica is really the building most associated with Lourdes in people's minds because of the beautiful mosaics depicting the mysteries of light which were installed for the Jubilee year in 2008. (Perhaps a not well-known fact is that the golden cross and crown that tops the dome was originally donated by Irish pilgrims in 1921, and was refurbished by the United Irish Pilgrimages Ltd (UIPL), the tour operator run by the diocesan pilgrimage directors, for the Jubilee celebrations.)
18 apparitions
Yet the story of Lourdes is one of simple and humble origins. Bernadette Soubirous was a sickly peasant girl studying for her First Holy Communion, but this was the girl chosen to receive 18 apparitions from the Mother of God in 1858 and the spring she dug up on Our Lady's instructions has been credited with 67 miraculous cures.
The Irish were amongst the first pilgrims to come to Lourdes when the news of this miraculous site began to spread, and 66 planeloads of Irish people now make the annual trip on the diocesan pilgrimages alone.
Msgr Kevin O'Callaghan, who has been organising pilgrimages for 17 years, says most people who come to Lourdes are in need of some sort of healing. ''It may not be a physical cure but most people do find something in Lourdes. They see other people here who are worse off than themselves and they realise they are not as bad as off as they thought. The attraction of Lourdes is not just one thing in isolation. It is the Grotto, it is the blessing of the sick and it is the torchlight procession. It is a combination of all these things that brings people back each year.''
The one thing that is undeniable is that there is a great sense of Catholic solidarity in Lourdes, from the voices booming in different languages from each Mass celebration; the old and young queuing together patiently at the baths; the pilgrimage groups greeting each other at the candlelight procession to the amicable sing songs and fond farewells when the pilgrimage comes to an end.
