History and geography of the town of Lourdes, France. The contemporary importance of Lourdes dates from 1858. In that year, from February 11 to July 16, Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old , had numerous visions of the Mary in the nearby Massabielle grotto, on the left bank of the stream. The visions were declared authentic by Pope Pius IX in 1862, and veneration of Mary as Our Lady ...