Shrine left empty by bomb threat
Source: Agencies |
August 16, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THOUSANDS of people, many disabled or ailing, were evacuated yesterday from the shrine at Lourdes in southern France after a bomb threat on the Catholic holy day of Assumption.
Some 30,000 pilgrims were at the site in the foothills of the Pyrenees late yesterday morning when Lourdes police received a threat saying a bomb would hit the site in the afternoon, said shrine spokesman Pierre Adias.
Police ordered everyone evacuated, and explosives experts were sent to scour the area. The pilgrims were told to leave just as the midday Mass was meant to begin. "The shrine is currently empty," Adias told The Associated Press by telephone.
No information was available about the source or nature of the threat.
Live coverage of yesterday's services on the website of TV Lourdes was not available, for reasons "independent of our will," according to a message on its home page.
The holy day sees a particularly large influx of pilgrims at Lourdes, reputed for its healing powers. Some pilgrims came to this year's ceremonies in wheelchairs, others supported by loved ones, in images shown on French television.
Assumption marks the heavenly assumption of the Virgin Mary, and is a public holiday in France and several other countries.
The Roman Catholic shrine at Lourdes has a special meaning for the suffering, many of whom believe that its spring water has the power to heal and even work miracles.
The sick bathe in pools of the cool water and take it home in plastic jugs and vials in the shape of the Virgin Mary. Thousands of people have claimed to be cured there.
Some 30,000 pilgrims were at the site in the foothills of the Pyrenees late yesterday morning when Lourdes police received a threat saying a bomb would hit the site in the afternoon, said shrine spokesman Pierre Adias.
Police ordered everyone evacuated, and explosives experts were sent to scour the area. The pilgrims were told to leave just as the midday Mass was meant to begin. "The shrine is currently empty," Adias told The Associated Press by telephone.
No information was available about the source or nature of the threat.
Live coverage of yesterday's services on the website of TV Lourdes was not available, for reasons "independent of our will," according to a message on its home page.
The holy day sees a particularly large influx of pilgrims at Lourdes, reputed for its healing powers. Some pilgrims came to this year's ceremonies in wheelchairs, others supported by loved ones, in images shown on French television.
Assumption marks the heavenly assumption of the Virgin Mary, and is a public holiday in France and several other countries.
The Roman Catholic shrine at Lourdes has a special meaning for the suffering, many of whom believe that its spring water has the power to heal and even work miracles.
The sick bathe in pools of the cool water and take it home in plastic jugs and vials in the shape of the Virgin Mary. Thousands of people have claimed to be cured there.
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