Episode 54 - A Pilgrimage to Lourdes

163 years ago, the Virgin Mary is said to have made a series of appearances before a young Bernadette Soubirous in a grotto in the French Pyrenean town of Lourdes. Some 200 million pilgrims and 70 "official" miracles later, Lourdes stands as one of the world's major Catholic pilgrimage sites, known in particular for that association with miraculous healing. This episode features stories from two different pilgrims to Lourdes. Marlene Watkins, the foundress of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers (lourdesvolunteers.org), has led many groups of volunteers and ill pilgrims to the town. Meanwhile, Lauren Selden visited Lourdes as a walking pilgrim, as part of a larger walk between Le Puy-en-Velay and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.