FILM 9 audio versions + subtitles
Français, Italiano, Español, English, Occitan Bigourdan, Deutsch, Nederlands, Polski, Português.
Original Soundtrack : OC et Lithurgie de Lourdes
Total runing time : 15 minutes
Six million people visit Lourdes every year. What do they hope to find? What do they come to see? A tourist destination? A pilgrimage site? Something else? Follow us as we show you around Lourdes and reveal what attracts so many people...
Located in France, at the foot of the Pyrenees, Lourdes developed around a rocky peak on which a castle had been built. One legend recounts that, long ago, the Saracen Mirat defended this very town against Charlemagne. After a long siege, an eagle dropped a trout at the chateau, fresh from the mountain stream of Pau. Mirat immediately offered the fish to Charlemagne. Seeing that the castle still had a supply of fresh food, Charlemagne offered Mirat a deal: he could keep the town, but had to agree to convert to Catholicism. As his baptismal name the Saracen chose Lorus, which would later give rise to 'Lourdes'.
In 1858, some very strange things happened in this small Pyrenean town. A Lady appeared eighteen times to a 14-year-old girl called Bernadette Soubirous. The visions took place in the Grotte de Massabielle. Bernadette was always the only one to see and hear her visions, but was never alone in the Grotto: more and more people would come to pray and observe.
This is the house where Bernadette was born in 1844: Le Moulin de Boly. Her father was a miller, but the family business was too rudimentary to survive the age of industrialisation. Ruined, the Soubirous family resorted to a damp, dark cell in the former prison, 'Le Cachot'. This is where Bernadette lived on 11 February 1858, the day she set off for the Grotte de Massabielle. Here is the parish church where Bernadette was baptised in this very baptismal font. The chapel of the former hospice is where Bernadette made her First Holy Communion, immediately prior to her last vision.
Bernadette related her visions and acted on them. One day, the Lady who spoke to her in Occitan revealed her identity: "I am the Immaculate Conception". Another day, the Virgin said: "Go and drink from the spring and wash in its waters. Eat the grass growing there." Bernadette could not see a spring so started to scratch at the earth. Her fingers uncovered a spring, hitherto unknown. She would go on to explain: "I only found a little muddy water. But on my fourth attempt, I could drink."
The public authorities and the clergy immediately became involved. The former started by closing the Grotto to the public, and Monsignor Laurence, the Bishop of Tarbes, declared the visions authentic. Astounding healings have regularly occurred since those days, attributed to the waters in sanctuaries erected to accommodate the pilgrims' prayers. Today, Lourdes is the second biggest Catholic pilgrimage destination in the world, after Rome.
Pilgrims and the ailing travel from every corner of the world in search of healing for body and soul. Volunteers assist those who suffer. This atmosphere of mutual help creates links of sharing and warmth between all generations. Lourdes exudes a unique aura, full of humanity and hope.
This new concept comprises an envelope, a mini-DVD and a postcard for sending a personal message. Simply stick a stamp on the envelope at the normal letter rate, then pop it in a post box. The postcard measures 10.5cm x 15cm.
The mini-DVD can be viewed on any DVD player,
gaming devices, PC or MAC.
