Our Lady of Lourdes is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in honor of
the Marian apparitions in 1858 in the vicinity of Lourdes, France. The first of
these is the apparition of 11 February 1858, when Bernadette Soubirous, a
14-year-old peasant girl, admitted to her mother that a "lady" spoke
to her in the cave of Massabielle (a mile from the town) while she was
gathering firewood with her sister and a friend. Similar apparitions of the
alleged "Lady" were reported on seventeen occasions that year, until
the climax revelation of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception took place.
Bernadette Soubirous was later canonized as a saint, and some believe her
apparitions have been validated by the overwhelming popularity and testament of
healings claimed to have taken place at the Lourdes water spring.