Catholics who visit the miracle shrine at Lourdes over the next year will receive "indulgences" which the Church teaches can reduce time spent in purgatory.
The Vatican said today that Pope Benedict is offering the indulgences to pilgrims from this weekend. The shrine in south western France is preparing to commemorate the 150th anniversary of when the Madonna was said to have appeared to a peasant girl at Lourdes in 1858.
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