The sacred grotto at Massabieille, near the town of Lourdes in southern France, appeals to Catholics like no other place. This is the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, the place where Mary appeared to a humble peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 and spoke words of comfort and simple faith. At Mary’s behest, Bernadette dug in the rocky soil of the grotto and struck water. A puddle soon became a spring that gushed forth waters that were recognized to have documented healing properties, baffling physicians and scientific experts. Some six million pilgrims visit Lourdes each year, making it the most popular place of pilgrimage in the world.

One of these recent pilgrims was Fr. James Martin, an American Jesuit who went to Lourdes as chaplain for a group of pilgrims sponsored by the Order of Malta. Fr. Martin’s illuminating account of seven busy and gratifying days at Massabieille–at turns touching, humorous, reverent, and self-effacing–is a vivid description of a place with a special, mysterious spiritual presence.