Flash flooding caused the temporary closure of the famous grotto at the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France on 7 September, though the quick action of authorities and workers at the site meant it managed to reopen on the same day.
During the enforced closure of the grotto, the main shrine complex remained open to visitors though a morning Mass was cancelled at one of Catholicism's most important and famous pilgrimage site, <em>OSV News</em> <a href="https://www.osvnews.com/2024/09/07/flash-flooding-temporarily-closes-lourdes-grottoby-maria-wiering-osv-news/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reported</mark></a>. The pilgrimage site has experienced several major floods in recent years.
“Sudden rise in the waters of the <em>Gave de Pau</em> flooded the Grotto and the Sanctuary,” the sanctuary stated in a post through its <a href="https://x.com/lourdes_france"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">account</mark></a> on the social media platform <em>X</em> on 7 September.
Staff at the sanctuary were quick to act. A berm was created in front of the grotto’s plaza as workers used machinery to clean the area.
Video footage from the grotto on the afternoon of 7 September shows the waters beginning to recede in the grotto as water from the adjacent Gave de Pau River continues to rush along outside the berm
“The Grotto at Lourdes is once again open to the public,” the Lourdes Sanctuary announced in the afternoon of 7 September on <em>X</em>. “Thanks to the mobilisation of Sanctuary teams, the Grotto was able to be cleaned following the floods that occurred today. The Grotto is now reopened to pilgrims."
At the same time, the sanctuary's website released a <a href="https://www.lourdes-france.com/en/grotto-lourdes-open-public/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">statement</mark></a> saying that the grotto had been cleaned and was reopened, adding that no pilgrimages had been cancelled.
“The emergency flood protection plan has proved its effectiveness,” the statement read. “Celebrations will resume at the usual times, in all the Shrine’s basilicas and places of worship.”
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a 130-acre complex that includes 22 places of worship, including three basilicas, <em>OSV News</em> reports, noting that the Gave de Pau bends sharply around the shrine, skirting the grotto on the sanctuary’s north side.
The Catholic wire service reports that according to <em>La Croix</em>, a French Catholic media outlet, hundreds of pilgrims were evacuated from their hotels due to the flash flooding.
“The city is frequently subject to flooding and has adopted procedures related to this risk,” La Croix reported in French.
The incident follows recent news that for the first time the relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous – the saint who as a young girl experienced the Marian apparitions that led her to find the healing spring waters of Lourdes – are being brought to the island of Ireland for a “once-in-lifetime” tour this autumn.
The relics of the saint will visit every diocese across the landmass of the island, thereby visiting both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The tour will run between 4 September – 5 November 2024.
<strong><em><a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/once-in-lifetime-tour-of-st-bernadettes-relics-will-bring-lourdes-to-all-of-ireland/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">RELATED: ‘Once-in-lifetime’ tour of St. Bernadette’s relics will bring Lourdes to all of Ireland</mark></a></em></strong>
<em>Photo: workers cleaning up the Lourdes Grotto following the flash flooding. (Image courtesy official Lourdes Sanctuary <a href="https://www.lourdes-france.com/en/grotto-lourdes-open-public/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">website</mark></a>.)</em>
