Hundreds evacuated from Lourdes due to flooding

October 22, 2012 - Severe flooding in southwestern France has forced hundreds of pilgrims to evacuate the famous Marian shrine of Lourdes. Busloads of pilgrims were taken to a nearby conference hall and a sports hall while about 40 people were evacuated from their homes on Saturday, Radio France International reported. The Gave River, which runs through the city where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared several times to the peasant girl St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, burst its banks after days of heavy rain invaded the region. A spokesperson for the Marian Sanctuary said the grotto itself is under about 3 feet of water and more rain is expected. Only the basilica, which is built on higher ground than the grotto, is still accessible. Local officials said that the flooding is the worst the region has seen in 25 years. Some 8,000 homes in the region were without power. Six million tourists and pilgrims flocked to Lourdes in 2011. Pope Benedict XVI recalled the flooding in Lourdes at the end of a Mass in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, during which he declared seven new saints for the Catholic Church. "Let us turn to the Virgin Mary with a thought for Lourdes, the victim of flash floods which inundated the grotto where the Madonna had appeared."