Accueil Notre-Dame was designed and is seen as a kind of ‘big family home’.

Pilgrims and groups from all over the world stay in residential accommodation (dining rooms, bedrooms, chapels, corridors, various other rooms, tea rooms, etc.). It is the sick, disabled and frail who are always the glue that holds the pilgrimage together, along with the indispensable commitment of volunteer hospitaliers from all generations and all walks of life.

The uniqueness of the Accueil, classified as a ‘healthcare facility,’ is also embodied by the host community, which is made up of 50 employees, consecrated persons (Sisters of Charity of Nevers, Camillian Brothers, Salesian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception) and hundreds of volunteers from the Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes.

During the high season (March to October), the work is intense but very rewarding thanks to the bonds of friendship that are forged with the hospitaliers and pilgrims.The wide disparity in the size of pilgrimages means that some can bring several hundred sick people requiring remarkable organisational complexity, while others bring a few dozen people who enjoy an inclusive stay in the heart of the Sanctuary.

The Accueil Notre-Dame is a school of life in a world that needs missionaries of hope now more than ever.