FFC SAINTS AND MARY
SERAPHIM HOME . YOUTH . CATECHISM
. MASS . SAINTS
MHII.250210
American Catholic >>Saint
of the Day
A B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
April 16
St. Bernadette Soubirous
(1844-1879)
Bernadette Soubirous
was born in 1844, the first child of an extremely poor miller in the town of
Lourdes in southern France. The family was living in the basement of a
dilapidated building when on February 11,1858, the
Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette in a cave above the banks of the
Gave River near Lourdes. Bernadette, 14 years old, was known as a virtuous girl
though a dull student who had not even made her first Holy Communion. In poor
health, she had suffered from asthma from an early age.
There were 18 appearances in all, the
final one occurring on the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, July 16. Although
Bernadette's initial reports provoked skepticism, her
daily visions of "the Lady" brought great crowds of the curious. The
Lady, Bernadette explained, had instructed her to have a chapel built on the
spot of the visions. There the people were to come to wash in and drink of the
water of the spring that had welled up from the very spot where Bernadette had
been instructed to dig.
According to Bernadette, the Lady of
her visions was a girl of 16 or 17 who wore a white robe with a blue sash.
Yellow roses covered her feet, a large rosary was on
her right arm. In the vision on March 25 she told Bernadette, "I am the
Immaculate Conception." It was only when the words were explained to her
that Bernadette came to realize who the Lady was.
Few visions have ever undergone the
scrutiny that these appearances of the Immaculate Virgin were subject to.
Lourdes became one of the most popular Marian shrines in the world, attracting
millions of visitors. Miracles were reported at the shrine and in the waters of
the spring. After thorough investigation Church authorities confirmed the
authenticity of the apparitions in 1862.
During her life Bernadette suffered
much. She was hounded by the public as well as by civic officials until at last
she was protected in a convent of nuns. Five years later she petitioned to
enter the sisters of Notre Dame. After a period of illness she was able to make
the journey from Lourdes and enter the novitiate. But within four months of her
arrival she was given the last rites of the Church and allowed to profess her
vows. She recovered enough to become infirmarian and
then sacristan, but chronic health problems persisted. She died on April 16,
1879, at the age of 35.
She was canonized in 1933.
Comment:
Millions of people have come to the spring Bernadette
uncovered for healing of body and spirit, but she found no relief from ill
health there. Bernadette stumbled through life guided only by blind faith in
things she did not understand—as we all must do from time to time.
>>Saint
of the Day >>More Saints of the
Day
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>FFC >Youth >Catechism >Mass >Saints and Mary