The Lady of Lourdes originated as a story dating back to 1858. At a young age, St. Bernadette was traveling with her sister and friend to gather firewood. The young child felt a holy presence and tried to make the sign of the cross, but couldn’t due to her nerves. A lady appeared before her and invited St. Bernadette to pray with her. Eventually, the young child told her mother but received punishment instead.
The saint returned to the sitting to make sure the lady appearing was not an evil presence and confirmed the lady was Mary, the mother of Jesus. From there Mary asked Bernadette to return over some time. Bernadette’s parents kept insisting she shouldn’t return, but she ignored their advice and continued. During her time with the mother Mary, each would pray and ask for penitence for the healing of sinners.
At the third visit, Mary asked Bernadette to dig in the ground where a spring would form and drink from it. At first muddy, the stream became clean. From there many visited, drinking the water and became miraculously cured. Several cures reported were filed as lacking medical reasons regarding patient improvement by professors. Since several of the healings were short-termed, the government fenced off the grotto. But St. Bernadette continued to visit several times more.
Eventually, the Catholic church became involved and a local bishop declared the site was visited by the Blessed Mother and the events tied together with the stories of Fátima and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The grotto became one of the few universal shrines honoring the Blessed Mother and brought many religious groups to travel and pray at the location.
Off U.S. 290, members of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church wished for a creation replicating the holy site in Houston, TX. They believed this replication would draw believers seeking healing just like the original location does for hundreds of thousands of believers each year. The structure mimicked in almost every detail gives many the chance to visit the shrine if they cannot travel to its original location. The shrine also includes a small chapel and a walking path showing the Stations of the Cross, a story of the death of Jesus.
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