Lourdes: The History and Legacy of France's Most Famous Christian Pilgrimage Site

They say that judgment does not exist in Lourdes. Once one sets foot on this hallowed soil, all barriers of race, social status, background, and religious differences cease to exist. One is no more than a humble soul in search of a renewal of one's connection to God. In a statement released to the French press in mid-August of 2008, Father Jacques Nieuviarts guaranteed the following: "Those who touch the rock at the grotto in Lourdes.... Perhaps they are praying to be imbued with the strength of this rock. Those who drink the water from the fountain feel that their inner thirst is being quenched, that they have been changed, and that the water has purified them.... In lighting the candle, they open themselves up to the clarity that comes from God, and when they depart leaving a burning candle, their prayer continues in union with the prayers of all the other people who have placed their lighted candles at the grotto...."