Close Modal

Lourdes

A Modern Pilgrimage

Look inside
Paperback
5.5"W x 8.5"H x 0.75"D   | 13 oz | 24 per carton
On sale Aug 17, 1982 | 272 Pages | 9780385182522
The most popular pilgrimage site in the world

That is Lourdes, a small town in the French Pyrenees, where in 1858 Our Lady appeared to the young peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous. Curiosity and fascination grew steadily, a shrine was erected at the grotto where Bernadette experienced these visions, and Lourdes became a worldwide attraction. Today, more than 4 million people visit the shrine each year. Many come out of desperate hope; and countless "miracles" and healings have been claimed by visitors during the past century.

What is behind the phenomenal growth of Lourdes? Who are the pilgrims who visit Lourdes in such record numbers? What really happens there? Patrick Marnham had asked himself these very questions many times. Finally, in search of some answers, he joined a pilgrimage from England to Lourdes and his revelations are at once astounding and absorbing. LOURDES: A MODERN PILGRIMAGE is an objective account -- based on his own experience -- of both sides of Lourdes: the town of high prices and low commercialism; and the other Lourdes, the domain of Our Lady, where the tourist industry gives way to Christian prayer and fellowship. He tells what it is like to go on a pilgrimage and how the famous miracle cures and authenticated. He sees both horrors and wonders there, as well as mysteries of faith at work in an age of doubt.

For anyone who has been there, or for anyone planning to travel there someday, this book offers a fascinating overview of the paradox that is Lourdes.
PATRICK MARNHAM is an English writer, known for his biographies of Diego Rivera and Georges Simenon. He has served as literary editor of The Spectator and Paris correspondent for The Independent. He is the recipient of the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Marsh Biography Award. View titles by Patrick Marnham
Available for sale exclusive:
•     Afghanistan
•     Aland Islands
•     Albania
•     Algeria
•     Andorra
•     Angola
•     Anguilla
•     Antarctica
•     Antigua/Barbuda
•     Argentina
•     Armenia
•     Aruba
•     Australia
•     Austria
•     Azerbaijan
•     Bahamas
•     Bahrain
•     Bangladesh
•     Barbados
•     Belarus
•     Belgium
•     Belize
•     Benin
•     Bermuda
•     Bhutan
•     Bolivia
•     Bonaire, Saba
•     Bosnia Herzeg.
•     Botswana
•     Bouvet Island
•     Brazil
•     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
•     Brit.Virgin Is.
•     Brunei
•     Bulgaria
•     Burkina Faso
•     Burundi
•     Cambodia
•     Cameroon
•     Canada
•     Cape Verde
•     Cayman Islands
•     Centr.Afr.Rep.
•     Chad
•     Chile
•     China
•     Christmas Islnd
•     Cocos Islands
•     Colombia
•     Comoro Is.
•     Congo
•     Cook Islands
•     Costa Rica
•     Croatia
•     Cuba
•     Curacao
•     Cyprus
•     Czech Republic
•     Dem. Rep. Congo
•     Denmark
•     Djibouti
•     Dominica
•     Dominican Rep.
•     Ecuador
•     Egypt
•     El Salvador
•     Equatorial Gui.
•     Eritrea
•     Estonia
•     Ethiopia
•     Falkland Islnds
•     Faroe Islands
•     Fiji
•     Finland
•     France
•     Fren.Polynesia
•     French Guinea
•     Gabon
•     Gambia
•     Georgia
•     Germany
•     Ghana
•     Gibraltar
•     Greece
•     Greenland
•     Grenada
•     Guadeloupe
•     Guam
•     Guatemala
•     Guernsey
•     Guinea Republic
•     Guinea-Bissau
•     Guyana
•     Haiti
•     Heard/McDon.Isl
•     Honduras
•     Hong Kong
•     Hungary
•     Iceland
•     India
•     Indonesia
•     Iran
•     Iraq
•     Ireland
•     Isle of Man
•     Israel
•     Italy
•     Ivory Coast
•     Jamaica
•     Japan
•     Jersey
•     Jordan
•     Kazakhstan
•     Kenya
•     Kiribati
•     Kuwait
•     Kyrgyzstan
•     Laos
•     Latvia
•     Lebanon
•     Lesotho
•     Liberia
•     Libya
•     Liechtenstein
•     Lithuania
•     Luxembourg
•     Macau
•     Macedonia
•     Madagascar
•     Malawi
•     Malaysia
•     Maldives
•     Mali
•     Malta
•     Marshall island
•     Martinique
•     Mauritania
•     Mauritius
•     Mayotte
•     Mexico
•     Micronesia
•     Minor Outl.Ins.
•     Moldavia
•     Monaco
•     Mongolia
•     Montenegro
•     Montserrat
•     Morocco
•     Mozambique
•     Myanmar
•     Namibia
•     Nauru
•     Nepal
•     Netherlands
•     New Caledonia
•     New Zealand
•     Nicaragua
•     Niger
•     Nigeria
•     Niue
•     Norfolk Island
•     North Korea
•     North Mariana
•     Norway
•     Oman
•     Pakistan
•     Palau
•     Palestinian Ter
•     Panama
•     PapuaNewGuinea
•     Paraguay
•     Peru
•     Philippines
•     Pitcairn Islnds
•     Poland
•     Portugal
•     Puerto Rico
•     Qatar
•     Reunion Island
•     Romania
•     Russian Fed.
•     Rwanda
•     S. Sandwich Ins
•     Saint Martin
•     Samoa,American
•     San Marino
•     SaoTome Princip
•     Saudi Arabia
•     Senegal
•     Serbia
•     Seychelles
•     Sierra Leone
•     Singapore
•     Sint Maarten
•     Slovakia
•     Slovenia
•     Solomon Islands
•     Somalia
•     South Africa
•     South Korea
•     South Sudan
•     Spain
•     Sri Lanka
•     St Barthelemy
•     St. Helena
•     St. Lucia
•     St. Vincent
•     St.Chr.,Nevis
•     St.Pier,Miquel.
•     Sth Terr. Franc
•     Sudan
•     Suriname
•     Svalbard
•     Swaziland
•     Sweden
•     Switzerland
•     Syria
•     Tadschikistan
•     Taiwan
•     Tanzania
•     Thailand
•     Timor-Leste
•     Togo
•     Tokelau Islands
•     Tonga
•     Trinidad,Tobago
•     Tunisia
•     Turkey
•     Turkmenistan
•     Turks&Caicos Is
•     Tuvalu
•     US Virgin Is.
•     USA
•     Uganda
•     Ukraine
•     Unit.Arab Emir.
•     United Kingdom
•     Uruguay
•     Uzbekistan
•     Vanuatu
•     Vatican City
•     Venezuela
•     Vietnam
•     Wallis,Futuna
•     West Saharan
•     Western Samoa
•     Yemen
•     Zambia
•     Zimbabwe

About

The most popular pilgrimage site in the world

That is Lourdes, a small town in the French Pyrenees, where in 1858 Our Lady appeared to the young peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous. Curiosity and fascination grew steadily, a shrine was erected at the grotto where Bernadette experienced these visions, and Lourdes became a worldwide attraction. Today, more than 4 million people visit the shrine each year. Many come out of desperate hope; and countless "miracles" and healings have been claimed by visitors during the past century.

What is behind the phenomenal growth of Lourdes? Who are the pilgrims who visit Lourdes in such record numbers? What really happens there? Patrick Marnham had asked himself these very questions many times. Finally, in search of some answers, he joined a pilgrimage from England to Lourdes and his revelations are at once astounding and absorbing. LOURDES: A MODERN PILGRIMAGE is an objective account -- based on his own experience -- of both sides of Lourdes: the town of high prices and low commercialism; and the other Lourdes, the domain of Our Lady, where the tourist industry gives way to Christian prayer and fellowship. He tells what it is like to go on a pilgrimage and how the famous miracle cures and authenticated. He sees both horrors and wonders there, as well as mysteries of faith at work in an age of doubt.

For anyone who has been there, or for anyone planning to travel there someday, this book offers a fascinating overview of the paradox that is Lourdes.

Creators

PATRICK MARNHAM is an English writer, known for his biographies of Diego Rivera and Georges Simenon. He has served as literary editor of The Spectator and Paris correspondent for The Independent. He is the recipient of the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Marsh Biography Award. View titles by Patrick Marnham
Penguin Random House Comics Retail