Pope Benedict is expected to visit Lourdes this year as part of the shrine's 150th anniversary celebrations. A special youth pilgrimage, to coincide with World Youth Day in Sydney, will take place there this year from July 15th to 20th. It is thought the date of the pope's visit would most likely be September 8th.
It will be part of an official visit by the pontiff to France, a press conference was told in Dublin yesterday. It was also told that between seven and eight million pilgrims are expected to visit Lourdes this year, at least 80,000 of whom are likely to be Irish.
Franck Delahaye, director of the tourist office in Lourdes, also said that to mark the anniversary this year, its pilgrimage season would continue until December 8th.
He suggested that likely pilgrims should best avoid the period from February 11th-14th, as well as Easter and August 15th. The apparitions to St Bernadette at Lourdes are believed to have taken place from February 11th to July 16th, 1858.
Only Italians visited Lourdes in greater numbers than the Irish, he said, recalling that the number from this island to fly to the shrine last year was 72,000.
Pilgrim numbers were also high from Britain, Germany, Belgium and Europe's major cities. Numbers from Asia, in particular Japan, Korea, and the Philippines, were also on the increase as were those from the Americas.
In all an estimated six million pilgrims visited Lourdes last year. The town has a population of 15,800 who provide 14,000 rooms, making it second only to Paris when it comes to providing accommodation in France.