Leap of Faith

The Grotto, built on the exact spot where Bernadette had her visions. The candles represent the burning bush and to the left are fountains from the spring where you can wash your face, hands or feet or fill containers to take with you. There are stone baths to the right of the Grotto that accommodate  nearly 400,000 people each year. Since the first healing, as many as 7000 healings have been claimed but only 68 are recognized as miracles. The grounds contain a huge hospital and other medical facilities and hundreds of nurses can be seen in starch white uniforms. Several times a day, they bring the patients/pilgrims in special wheelchairs to visit the Grotto. Although mostly older patients, there were young patients and we saw many paraplegics which of course made us think of our wounded warriors.