Pope Leo heads to Lourdes: What to know about one of Catholicism’s most famous pilgrimage sites
Tourists walk in the streets of Lourdes, southwestern France, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Fred Scheiber)
PARIS (AP) — Pope Leo XIV will visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes this weekend as part of his four-day apostolic journey to France, which is the first official papal state visit to the country in 18 years.
The site near the Spanish border draws millions of pilgrims annually, including sick and disabled believers hoping for a cure from the famed spring water in the Lourdes grotto. Here is what to know about Lourdes, one of Catholicism’s most important pilgrimage sites.
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