<P> French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers> 1 km (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries . </P> <P> Lourdes (French: (luʀd); Lorda in Occitan) is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees . It is part of the Hautes - Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in south - western France . Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château fort de Lourdes, a fortified castle that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its center . </P> <P> In 1858 Lourdes rose to prominence in France and abroad due to the Marian apparitions claimed to have been seen by the peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous, who was later canonized . Shortly thereafter the city with the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes became one of the world's most important sites of pilgrimage and religious tourism . Today Lourdes hosts around six million visitors every year from all corners of the world . This constant stream of pilgrims and tourists transformed quiet Lourdes into the second most important center of tourism in France, second only to Paris, and the third most important site of international Catholic pilgrimage after Rome and the Holy Land . As of 2011, of French cities only Paris had more hotel capacity . </P> <P> According to believers, the Virgin Mary appeared to Marie - Bernadette Soubirous on a total of eighteen occasions at Lourdes . Lourdes has become a major place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage and of miraculous healings . The 150th Jubilee of the first apparition took place on 11 February 2008 with an outdoor Mass attended by approximately 45,000 pilgrims . </P>

Why did lourdes become a place of pilgrimage
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