Our Lady of Lourdes

On February 11th, 1858, Mary appeared to a young girl named Bernadette.  Bernadette and her family lived near the town of Lourdes in France.  They were very poor and so Bernadette wasn't able to go to school all the time and sometimes they weren't able to go to Church.  One day when her father had sent Bernadette out to collect wood for the fire, Mary, the Mother of Jesus appeared to Bernadette.  She would appear to Bernadette 18 times, each time Bernadette would pray the rosary.  One day Mary told Bernadette to wash in the spring of water, but there was no spring.  Bernadette started digging in the dirt and some water started coming up out of the dirt, until there was a stream of water flowing out.  Today this spring fills the baths at the Shrine of our Lady in Lourdes.  Many people make the pilgrimage to Lourdes to bath in the water and be healed.  There have been more than 60 miracles approved by the church, although many more people have claimed to have been healed.  On one of the last visits with Bernadette, Mary told Bernadette that she was the Immaculate Conception, which means that she never had any sin from the moment her life started in St. Anne's womb.