The exceptional collection of Lourdes banners presented for the first time in this book.

What would Lourdes be without its processions?

Since 1872, banners from every region of France, and then from all over the world, have made their way to the Grotto, presented as a sign of gratitude and fidelity. Today, they form an exceptional collection at the Shrine, as much for the diversity of their origins as for the unrivalled quality of some of them.

For decades, they hung in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, accessible to pilgrims, but their preservation led to their gradual removal.

This has enabled them to be photographed, inventoried and studied from a new perspective. For the first time, almost three hundred of these banners are highlighted in this book.

These magnificent banners, made of silk and velvet, embellished with paintings, sumptuous embroidery and gilded fringes, each tell the story of a locality, an era and a community sharing the same faith.

Edited by Pascale Leroy-Castillo, this book is a four-language catalogue illustrated with magnificent photographs.