Our Lady of Lourdes/Lourdes Grotto

Our Lady of Lourdes, is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, venerated in honour of the Marian apparitions that occurred in 1858, in the vicinity of Lourdes in France, when the Virgin Mary appeared to the 14 year old, Bernadette Soubirous. Lourdes is now a major Marian pilgrimage site. Father McGrath built a replica in Onchan, in the 1960’s,  next to Chibbyr-y-Wurra or Mary’s Well. The water from which, is reported to have healing powers, in common with many sacred streams on the Island. It is no longer a drinking well.

To the left of the Grotto, are a Cotoneaster and Ash tree with a small plaque stating that the seeds were taken, by Nicole Stott, (who is married to a Manxman), to the International Space Station, in 2009.