The Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated because of her appearing in 1858 in the vicinity of Lourdes in France. The first of these is the apparition of 11 February 1858.

When 14-year old Bernadette told her mother that a "lady" spoke to her in the cave of Massabielle while she was gathering firewood with her sister and a friend. There were 18 apparitions of the "Lady". The Lady Revealed that she was the Immaculate Conception. In 18 January 1862, the local Bishop of Tarbes Bertrand-Sévère Laurence endorsed the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes. On 3 July 1876, Pope Pius IX officially granted a Canonical Coronation to the image that used to be in the courtyard of what is now part of the Rosary Basilica. The image of Our Lady of Lourdes has been widely copied and reproduced in shrines and homes, often in garden landscapes. Bernadette Soubirous was later canonized as a Catholic saint by Pope Pius XI in 1933. Church investigations sanctioned her visions, and a large Basilica was built in her honour. And Lourdes is now a major place of Marian pilgrimage and devotion God is always present. Nothing happens without His permission or outside of His will. Anything we do to others we do to Him. All kindness and goodness are in Him.

For the greater glory of God, the important thing is not to do many things, but to do all things well.