Every year, thousands of pilgrims travel to Lourdes in search of prayer, comfort and meaning. More than just a spiritual place, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is committed to ensuring that everyone can enjoy this experience to the fullest, regardless of their physical or sensory abilities.
As soon as you arrive, you will notice our focus on making everything universally accessible. The main places of worship are easily accessible:
The Grotto of the Apparitions, the heart of the pilgrimage, is accessible to all pilgrims, with a route designed to facilitate all the essential gestures: touching the rock, lighting a candle, drinking the water of Lourdes.
The daily processions – Eucharistic and Marian torchlight processions – are designed to allow everyone to participate.
Access ramps, lifts and barrier-free paths ensure easy movement for people with reduced mobility.
Magnetic induction loops and screens with subtitles are also available in some basilicas to improve access to celebrations for people with hearing impairments.
The Sanctuary Information Centre is a real source of support for everyone: it offers a personalised welcome, accessible maps (paper and digital), as well as information adapted to all forms of disability, with wheelchairs available for loan.
The Christian Office for People with Disabilities (OCH) ensures that everyone can find a listening ear, support and guidance throughout their pilgrimage. In particular, you will find:
• Wheelchair (and Joëlette wheelchair) loan service…
• Volunteers available to accompany pilgrims
• Support and advice tailored to each situation.
Lourdes also provides practical services to help you organise your stay:
The Accueil Notre-Dame in Lourdes is designed to be a welcoming and inclusive place, especially for people who are sick, frail or disabled: it places these pilgrims at the heart of its mission, with the help of staff and numerous volunteers trained in providing support. It offers easy access to places of worship, direct access to the Grotto of the Apparitions, wheelchair loans, accessible toilets, accommodation with adapted rooms and personalised support for pilgrims with disabilities.
Numerous types of accessible accommodation (hotels, accessible rooms) designed to welcome pilgrims with or without assistance.
Accessible toilets and adapted facilities throughout the Sanctuary.
The Santavia service, which allows pilgrims requiring specific care to receive medical assistance directly at their accommodation: treatment, injections, help with washing, etc.
The Association of Presidents of French-speaking Hospitalities (APHF) offers specific support for sick people and their families, coordinated at diocesan level.
Accessibility does not stop at the Sanctuary: the transport infrastructure is also designed to facilitate your arrival:
Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport, located about ten minutes away, offers services adapted to people with reduced mobility, with assistance for boarding and disembarking.
By train, the Accès Plus service offers free assistance for people with disabilities to their seats in the carriage.
Reserved parking spaces are available free of charge for vehicles displaying a disabled parking permit.
Lourdes is a place where faith, hospitality and accessibility come together to offer a pilgrimage that is accessible to all, even those living with disabilities or reduced mobility. Thanks to infrastructure designed for accessibility, personalised support and adapted services, every pilgrim can enjoy a profound spiritual experience… with complete peace of mind.
* Rehaussement de la réduction d’impôt pour les dons effectués au profit des associations cultuelles entre le 2 juin 2021 et le 31 décembre 2022 : vote définitif de la mesure dans la loi de finance rectificative n° 2021-953 du 19 juillet 2021. L’article 18 prévoit que le taux de la réduction d’impôt prévue au 1 de l’article 200 du code général des impôts est porté à 75 % pour les dons et versements, y compris l’abandon exprès de revenus ou produits, effectués entre le 2 juin 2021 et le 31 décembre 2022, au profit d’associations cultuelles ou d’établissements publics des cultes reconnus d’Alsace-Moselle. Les versements réalisés en 2021 sont retenus dans la limite de 554 euros. Pour les versements réalisés en 2022, cette limite est relevée dans la même proportion que la limite supérieure de la première tranche du barème de l’impôt sur le revenu de l’année 2021. Le montant obtenu est arrondi, s’il y a lieu, à l’euro supérieur. Il n’est pas tenu compte de ces versements pour l’application de la limite de 20 % du revenu imposable. Précision : ce plafond de 554€ est bien distinct de celui dit “amendement Coluche” qui permet de bénéficier d’une réduction à 75% pour certaines associations caritatives et humanitaires dites « organismes d’aide aux personnes en difficulté ». Il est bien possible de cumuler ces deux avantages.
