Basilica of St. Pius X

About

The Basilica Saint-Pie-X de Lourdes, in the French department of the Hautes-Pyrénées, is a Catholic basilica inaugurated in 1958 during the centenary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous. It is dedicated to Pope Pius X. Built under the esplanade of the shrines, it is the newest and largest of the three basilicas intended to receive pilgrims.

Consecrated in 1958, it is also designated as the "underground basilica" to distinguish it from the basilicas "upper" (basilica of the Immaculate Conception) and "lower" (basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire), all of which are part of the complex of the shrines of Lourdes which still includes the church of Sainte-Bernadette, the last of its places of worship and number of chapels. It should also be noted that Lourdes also has in the city centre a parish church, the Church of the Sacred Heart, the construction of which was initiated by Abbé Dominique Peyramale, parish priest of Lourdes at the time of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous.