The mayor of Lourdes, France is pleading for help after the worst flooding in a century left the Shrine of Lourdes in ruins.
The Telegraph is reporting that the Shrine is buried beneath more than a meter of mud with the grotto looking more like a war zone than one of the most beloved Catholic shrines in the world.
The chapels and bathing pools used by pilgrims in search of a healing are in ruins. Only the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception has escaped the damage.
The flooding was caused by a combination of torrential rains and melting snow, which caused the Gave de Pau river to burst its banks. As a result, the government has declared parts of the region to be a “disaster zone.”
“It’s catastrophic. We cannot see how we could reopen in acceptable conditions in the weeks to come,” said Mathias Terrier, the sanctuary’s communications director.
“We cannot lie about the situation. Everything is broken, everything is destroyed. We do not know what to do.”
The flooding comes at a time when the town was just healing from similar floods which caused more than two million euros worth of damage.
The town has only just fully recovered from similar floods last year which caused more than two million euros ($2.6 million) in damages.
Jean-Pierre Artiganav, the mayor of Lourdes, described the floods as an “economic disaster” and said clean-up could take months.
This forced closure will take a heavy toll on both the town and the country as Lourdes, which attracts six million visitors a year, is the second biggest hotel site in France.
But the mayor has hope. “Lourdes is lucky as the world is generous with Lourdes,” he said. “When Lourdes is in distress – we saw this in October – people respond, they don’t let Lourdes down”.
The government has also pledged to help. French president Francois Hollande visited and promised that “everything will be done so that the sanctuaries will be accessible again as soon as possible.”
Click here for more information on how to help the Shrine recover from this disaster.
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