Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes

The Shrine of the Madonna of Lourdes is one of the main places of Marian worship in Verona, built in the 20th century on the north-eastern hills of the city in a dominant panoramic position. The shrine is dedicated to the Madonna of Lourdes, the Virgin Mary who according to Catholic tradition appeared in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous in the Massabielle grotto in Lourdes, France, becoming one of the most venerated Marian shrines in the world with millions of pilgrims who visit the place of the apparitions every year.

The complex includes the shrine church in modern style with a sober facade in light stone and bright interiors decorated with polychrome stained-glass windows depicting Marian scenes, the votive grotto that faithfully reproduces the Massabielle grotto with statues of the Immaculate Madonna and Saint Bernadette kneeling in prayer, and a wide spiritual park with tree-lined paths, benches for meditation, monumental Way of the Cross with bronze stations and panoramic terraces offering spectacular views over Verona, the Adige and the Po Valley.

The shrine is a destination of pilgrimages throughout the year, especially in the Marian months of May and October when processions and community rosaries involve hundreds of Veronese faithful. The most solemn celebrations take place on 11 February, feast of the Madonna of Lourdes, with sung masses, blessings of the sick that recall the healing miracles of Lourdes, and evening processions with torches through the illuminated park.

The shrine hosts spiritual retreats, prayer meetings, eucharistic adorations and sacred music concerts that attract parish communities, Catholic associations and individual faithful in search of spirituality and silence.

Lourdes apparitions and the construction of the Veronese Marian shrine

Devotion to the Madonna of Lourdes was born from the Marian apparitions that according to the Catholic Church took place in 1858 in Lourdes, France, when the Virgin Mary appeared 18 times to the fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous in the Massabielle grotto, revealing herself as "Immaculate Conception" and pointing out a water source considered miraculous. Lourdes quickly became one of the most venerated shrines in Christianity with millions of pilgrims who visit the grotto and the miraculous pools. The Shrine of the Madonna of Lourdes of Verona was built during the twentieth century by the Veronese Catholic community as a local replica of the French shrine, allowing the faithful to live Marian devotion without having to travel to France. The votive grotto was created faithfully replicating that of Massabielle with natural rocks, blessed statues and spring water that flows symbolically recalling the miraculous source.

The shrine became a point of reference for the sick, the disabled and the faithful who sought spiritual comfort and intense Marian prayer.

The shrine is managed by diocesan priests who celebrate daily masses, evening community rosaries, eucharistic adorations and sacraments of confession. During the Marian months of May (dedicated to the Madonna) and October (month of the Rosary), organised diocesan pilgrimages take place that bring hundreds of faithful to the shrine for evening processions with candles, Marian songs, Lauretan litanies and solemn eucharistic blessings under the starry sky. The feast of the Madonna of Lourdes (11 February) is celebrated with particular solemnity: pontifical mass presided over by the bishop of Verona, procession with statues of the Madonna and Bernadette carried on the shoulders of the faithful, blessing of the sick that recalls the healing miracles of Lourdes, and testimonies of faithful who have received spiritual graces. The shrine welcomes parish groups for spiritual retreats, Catholic associations such as UNITALSI which assists the sick and disabled in pilgrimages, Marian prayer movements and individual faithful in search of contemplative silence.

The shrine park extends over several hectares of wooded hill with pines, cypresses and cedars that create cool shade during the summer. Gravelled paths lead to the monumental Way of the Cross with 14 bronze stations that depict the Passion of Christ, installed along a hill route that invites meditation while walking. Shaded benches allow contemplative breaks admiring the panorama over Verona that extends from the plain to the Alpine horizon. The panoramic terraces overlooking the city offer spectacular views: the Roman Arena, the Scaliger towers, the Cathedral, the winding Adige, the Valpolicella hills and on clear days the snowy Lessini Pre-Alps.

During summer sacred music concerts the natural acoustics of the hill amplify organ, choir and orchestra creating heavenly atmospheres. The shrine is open free of charge every day from 7:00 to 19:00 allowing faithful and tourists to visit grotto, church and park according to the rhythms of personal and community prayer.