Grotta Madonna Lourdes - Sciacca

The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Sciacca is a place of pilgrimage for visitors from all parts of Sicily.

The foundation stone from Lourdes was laid and blessed on September 8, 1934 and consecrated on March 24, 1935 by the then Bishop Peruzzo of Agrigento. The Grotto of the Giummare of Sciacca is associated with the Archconfraternity of the Immaculate Conception of Lourdes in France.

Inside there is an altar decorated with shells.
The bronze crucifix on the tabernacle was donated by Madame Bourdier, the mother of a French officer who fell into the sea near Sciacca in the airship 'Dixmude'.
The White Madonna, at whose feet springs a water spring that flows into a pool like a waterfall , is surrounded by jasmine and is always visible , even at night, because it always remains illuminated.
Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated in this grotto twice a year, on February 11 and September 11. Every year on the night of September 10, a midnight mass is celebrated.
In summer, Holy Mass and Vespers are held in the Grotto and the faithful present enjoy the coolness in the shade of the large trees.
A reliquary in the shape of a cross containing a hair and clothing fragments of the little Seer is exhibited in the cave. This relic, bearing the seals of the Bishop of Nevers, was sent by Count du Plessis de Grenèdan.

Willem Vandenameele