A SHRINE is a sacred place of pilgrimage, usually dedicated to a particular deity or saint. Lourdes is a small town in France that is a major Catholic pilgrimage site, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a young girl in 1858. Mecca is a city in Saudi Arabia and the holiest site in Islam, where Muslims from all over the world travel to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.