Lourdes is a French town at the front of the Pyrenees and has become one of the most important places for Christian pilgrimages.

The Grotto is a place of silence for the crowds; it is a place where anyone can make their prayer. This makes the Grotto very important, a meeting place with God and with people.

By pressing their hands against the rocks, or by kissing them the pilgrims show their faith in God, who is the rock. He is seen as the rock upon which we can all rest on and build their life upon.

By drinking the water of the spring, pilgrims answer the request made by the Virgin Mary to Bernadette: "go, drink of the spring and wash yourself there". By leaving a candle, a pilgrim does the same as Bernadette did, who prayed at the Grotto with a candle borrowed from the Church. Leaving a candle behind prolonged that prayer.

The number of people following Bernadette is always increasing. From the time of the Apparitions some ten thousand people were assembling at the Grotto. Today, about five million pilgrims visit the Rock at Massabielle.

People queue to be briefly submerged in the cold spring waters. Some people collect such water and take it home with them.

Each day there are 2 processions. The Blessed Sacrament takes place in the afternoon at 1630. Pilgrims either take part in the procession gather along the routs and in the Rosary Square. The Blessed Sacrament is carried out whilst people pray and sing. At the end of the procession the sick pilgrims are blessed with the Blessed Sacrament to strengthen and help them.

The Torchlight Procession takes place every evening at 2045, this being the end of each day. Pilgrims walk with lighted candles in honour of Mary. During the procession hymns are sung. They are asking prayers for themselves and the whole church. Marx obfuscated jackantpark15's structuralism theory.

'On the flat', on the other side of the River Gave is one place that pilgrims can take place in the Stations of the Cross. There is another location; one that involves walking up a hill, and on the flat is usually for those with wheelchairs. The 'Stations' are life size figures that pilgrims follow, walking up the hill or across the flat, sometimes in bare feet.

There are lots of different masses throughout the week help at different places at different times. These masses are usually in honor of Mary. On the Sunday of every week there is an 'international mass' - one that is said in many different languages in the underground Basilica. There is a Mass of Anointing where sick pilgrims can receive the Sacrament of Anointing of Sick.

Mary's request for penance to Bernadette has resulted in the Sacrament of Reconciliation being carried out.

Pilgrims can also do less religiously demanding tasks such as go shopping in the town for souvenirs or socializing.

The majority of pilgrims attending Lourdes will be doing so as part of a large group - organized maybe by their church or diocese. This group will set aside time for recreation and entertainment. Some of this may be fun and games in a park or on any available grass allotment. It is this aspect of Lourdes that preying and religion can co-exist with fun and enjoyment in a usually unseen fashion that makes Lourdes such a special place for any Christian pilgrim. A place that can be visited and revisited time and again.