Lourdes: Opening of the Shrines of Europe photo exhibition

This Wednesday, September 21 at 11:30 a.m., at the Art Gallery of the Media Library, the opening of the traveling photographic exhibition of Shrines of Europe took place in the presence of the Mayors and representatives of the 7 Marian towns: Altötting in Germany, Częstochowa in Poland, Einsiedeln in Switzerland, Loreto in Italy, Mariazell in Austria, Ourém-Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France.

The Deputy Mayor for Culture Sylvie MAZUREK gave her welcoming speech, followed by the intervention of the current President of the Shrines of Europe association.

She first greeted the Mayors and said she was very happy to welcome them, then gave some explanations about the exhibition and the choice of installation by an artist from Lourdes.

“This exhibition was inaugurated at the beginning of July 2022 in Altötting in Germany, continued at the beginning of September in Loreto in Italy, to now stop at the Lourdes media library until October 15. This presentation is part of the exhibition . The works were selected under the expertise of Mr. Alain-Jacques Lévrier Mussat, painter. He created the scenography for our exhibition on the theme of Fraternity – being yourself among others. The coherent selection does not in any way distort the exhibition as a whole, but in a constrained space, no detail escapes the trained eye of the artist who allows us to fully enter the dimension of the Fraternal Cities that are our Sanctuary Cities. I thank him…

The accompaniment of the artist was essential in order to bring out all the riches of our territories through these photographs and thus to inspire visitors, at least I hope so, to continue their cultural journey in the 6 other member cities of the Shrines of Europe association.
You will find at the entrance the presentation booklet of your different cities, giving the necessary information to understand the origins of each of our Marian cities.

The city of Lourdes is particularly proud to belong to Shrines of Europe, an association of European Sanctuary Cities. Spirituality is an important part of its DNA, which reinforces its historical foundation of the Middle Ages. If Lourdes is the heart and door of the Pyrenees, our Marian Cities represent for many people in the world a door to Peace.

Working with Altötting, Czestochowa, Einsiedeln, Mariazell, Ourém-Fatima and Loreto is a guarantee of cultural cooperation for the benefit of all, residents and visitors. This exhibition is an example.
Let us now turn to the future of the association and develop a spiritual and cultural journey that we wish to offer to all. One of our biggest projects is to be able to apply for the “Cultural Route” label issued by the Council of Europe. On behalf of the Mayor of Lourdes, Mr. Thierry Lavit, we are delighted to be able to participate actively in obtaining this prestigious label.

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to discover the exhibition now!
Thank you ! »

This exhibition will be visible from September 21 to October 15 at the Media Library.

Come attend the conference “The life of the Virgin through the great works of the History of Art” by Alain-Jacques Lévrier-MussatThursday, September 29 at 7 p.m.

Lourdes: Opening of the Shrines of Europe photo exhibition