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Lourdes Grotto has two elements making it a worthwhile stop while in the south of Aruba. The first is the history, constructed as a shrine to St. Bernadette, the Lady of Lourdes on the site where she had a spiritual vision of the Blessed Mother in the past. The second are the natural caves in the stone on both sides of the road in which the shrine is built.
Built in the late 1950's, the shrine is operated by the St. Theresita Church in San Nicolas. The church still holds an annual pilgrimage on February 11th to the site to commemorate St. Bernadette. Otherwise, the sense of quiet the settles on the shrine tends to prevail. A neighborhood road runs right down the center of the two cliffs, however there is little traffic on it.
Flights of stairs on either side lead to the religious iconography and altars with offering candles. A 1500 pound statue of the Virgin Mary stands over stone benches on the larger side. More recently than during St. Bernadette's lifetime, visitors to the site have reported having their own visions of the Virgin here.
The cactus growing from the aird landscape above the stone makes for a surreal scene. Lourdes Grotto is worth a visit for the meditative sense of quiet that hangs over the area.
There are no amenities of any kind located here. Lourdes Grotto is open daily from dawn to dusk.
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