Lourdes: Making Money Off Mary

Lourdes fears priestly scandal will make profits dry up by Jason Burke The Guardian.UK The Observer

It is called the 'Zambelli Affair' and for the town of Lourdes, one of the world's most famous sites of pilgrimage, it could not have come at a worse time. Last week it was disclosed that Fr Raymond Zambelli, the priest in charge of the sanctuaries of Lourdes, was being investigated by financial police after a computer highlighted suspicious deposits in his personal account, amounting to £360,000.

Lourdes is in the spotlight like never before. It is the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous, a poor, illiterate local girl, in a cave beside the Gave de Pau river and a total of eight million pilgrims are expected at the shrine this year, a third more than usual: in September, Benedict XVI is coming. According to a leaked letter, prosecutors have even suggested soft-pedalling the investigation until after the pope's visit.

For those selling Lourdes water for €3(£2.50) a litre, the rosaries, the statuettes and the flashing plastic models of Bernadette , the fear is that the scandal will cost hard cash. 'It's like the Tour de France. One rider done for doping and the public think they are all on drugs,' said Anton Dupont, a taxi driver.

Church authorities have acted recently to restrain the souvenir sellers' commercial excesses. Bottles of wine with the Virgin Mary on the label and place mats picturing the shrine's famous cave were banned, though healing mints made with holy water from the Lourdes spring are still on the shelves.

PHOTO: Lourdes Water Mints, a wonderfully tasting mint with the benefit of being made with Lourdes water. The container has the image of Our Lady of Lourdes on the front. A unique gift guaranteed to have been made with the miraculous Lourdes water, brought to you direct from Lourdes.