Aglipay, Quirino (19 February) -- Thousands of parishioners of St. Lourdes here and the nearby parishes welcomed the replica of Our Lady of Piat from Piat Basilica Minore in the Aquero Festival from February 11-14, 2010.

Aquero in Lourdes dialect pertains to the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. It can be recalled that after 18 appearances of the Lady to the peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, Fance, the Lady finally told her that she is the Immaculate Concepcion.

Director Diwa in her invitation said that the parishioners will be able to experience a local replica of the Our Lady of Lourdes in Paris because the parish in Aglipay is situated beside the Cagayan river tributaries.

In Paris, the location of the spring was described to Bernadette Soubirous by an apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes on 25 February 1858. Since that time many thousands of pilgrims to Lourdes have followed the instruction of Our Lady of Lourdes to "drink at the spring and wash in it".

Although never formally encouraged by the Church, Lourdes water has become a focus of devotion to the Virgin Mary at Lourdes. Since the apparitions, many people have claimed to have been cured by drinking or bathing in it and the Lourdes authorities provide it free of charge to any who ask for it.