Basilique de l'Immaculée Conception

The Basilique de l'Immaculée Conception is a neogothic minor basilica within the Lourdes sanctuary complex, the second-oldest sacred building on a site that draws millions of Catholic pilgrims each year. Completed in 1876, it was built in direct response to the 1858 apparitions in which Bernadette Soubirous reported seeing the Virgin Mary — visions that transformed this small Pyrenean town into one of the world's foremost Marian pilgrimage destinations. The church holds around 550 worshippers and forms part of a multi-basilica complex that also includes the Rosary Basilica and the vast underground Pius X Basilica. Daily processions and candlelight vigils make it a living centre of Catholic devotional practice rather than a mere historic monument.