Visitors to Lourdes fall by a quarter

The number of pilgrims visiting the Marian shrine at Lourdes fell by 24 per cent between 2009 and 2014, influenced by rising costs, administrative problems and competition from the Medjugorje shrine in Bosnia-Herzegovina, writes Tom Heneghan.

Fr Jacky-Marie Lhermitte, head of a French association of pilgrimage directors, told the French daily La Croix that interest in the sanctuary remained strong, but many pilgrims had modest budgets and could no longer afford to come as often as before.

Train ticket prices have risen after the French railways improved rail links to the town, he said, and bureaucracy has made it more complicated to arrange for old people in nursing homes and hospitals to visit.

Although competition from the Medjugorje shrine has also played a role, Fr Lhermitte added that statistics compiled by local authorities only counted group pilgrimages, not individual visits, which were on the rise.