St. Bernadette of Lourdes

Q: Who is St. Bernadette of Lourdes?

St. Bernadette of Lourdes was a French Roman Catholic nun born in 1844 in the village of Lourdes s. As a teenager she had a series of visions of the Virgin Mary in the village’s Massabielle grotto, ultimately leading to the founding of the shrine of Lourdes. The shrine became a major pilgrimage center for those seeking healing. Bernadette died in 1879 and was canonized (declared a saint ) in 1933.

Q: What is St. Bernadette of Lourdes the patron saint of?

St. Bernadette of Lourdes is the patron saint of the sick and poor and of those suffering from bodily illness. She is also an intercessor for people ridiculed because of their piety or faith. In addition, Bernadette is a patron of shepherds and of Lourdes , France.

Q: What was the miracle of St. Bernadette of Lourdes?

St. Bernadette of Lourdes received a series of visions of the Virgin Mary at the Massabielle cave in her home village of Lourdes , France, between February and July in 1858. During the ninth apparition, Mary told Bernadette to drink and wash in a spring , even though there was no visible spring in the cave. Bernadette dug into the soil in a spot that was completely dry, and water suddenly flowed forth. Eventually, a chapel was built at the site of her visions, and many miraculous healings were reported by people who had visited the shrine or come into contact with the water of the spring. A number of these healings have been authenticated by the Roman Catholic Church , as were Bernadette’s visions . Bernadette’s body was exhumed several times after her death in 1879 for examination for her beatification (the second step in declaring someone a saint ), and it was found to be incorrupt (free from decay). Her body lies in the main chapel of the Convent of St. Gildard in Nevers , France, for public viewing.

Q: How did St. Bernadette of Lourdes influence the world?

Despite skepticism, St. Bernadette of Lourdes staunchly defended her claim that she had received visions of Mary . Pope Pius IX authenticated her visions in 1862. The veneration of Mary as Our Lady of Lourdes and reports of miracles of healing experienced at the site of Bernadette’s visions transformed the shrine of Lourdes into a major site of Roman Catholic pilgrimage , attracting thousands of people each year.

Q: What was St. Bernadette of Lourdes’s childhood like?

St. Bernadette of Lourdes (born in Lourdes , France, in 1844) was the eldest of nine children from an impoverished family. Frail in health, she survived cholera at age 10 and suffered from asthma and other ailments throughout her life. To escape public attention after her miraculous visions of the Virgin Mary at age 14, she became a boarder in the local school run by the Sisters of Charity .

Q: How did St. Bernadette of Lourdes die?

St. Bernadette of Lourdes died of tuberculosis on April 16, 1879, in Nevers , France. She was 35 years old.

French saint

Also known as: Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, Saint Bernadette Soubirous(Show More)

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History

Who is St. Bernadette of Lourdes?

What is St. Bernadette of Lourdes the patron saint of?

What was the miracle of St. Bernadette of Lourdes?

How did St. Bernadette of Lourdes influence the world?

What was St. Bernadette of Lourdes’s childhood like?

How did St. Bernadette of Lourdes die?

St. Bernadette of Lourdes (born January 7, 1844, Lourdes, France—died April 16, 1879, Nevers; canonized December 8, 1933; feast day April 16, but sometimes February 18 in France) is a French saint whose visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858 led to the founding of the Marian shrine of Lourdes, which became a major Roman Catholic pilgrimage center. She is venerated as the city’s patron saint, as well as a patron of the poor and sick, of shepherds, and of people ridiculed for their piety or faith.

Frail in health, Bernadette was the eldest of nine children from an impoverished family; her father was a miller. She contracted cholera in the epidemic of 1854 and suffered from asthma and other ailments throughout her life. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, at the age of 14, she had a series of visions of the Virgin Mary in the Massabielle Grotto in Lourdes. Mary revealed her identity with the words “I am the Immaculate Conception” and, among other messages and affirmations, told Bernadette that a chapel should be built there. Bernadette steadfastly defended the genuineness of these visions despite strong opposition and skepticism from her parents, the local clergy, and civil authorities, and she faithfully transmitted Mary’s messages.

To escape public attention, she became a boarder in the local school run by the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. In 1866 she was granted admission into the novitiate in the motherhouse at Nevers. There she completed her religious instruction and passed her remaining years in prayer and seclusion, happy and loved for her kindliness, holiness, and wit, despite almost constant sickness and pain. She died in agony, willingly accepting her great sufferings in faithful fulfillment of her “Lady’s” request for penance.

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Bernadette was canonized (officially declared a saint) by Pope Pius XI, who approved her visions and the veneration of Mary as Our Lady of Lourdes. Celebration of Bernadette’s feast is optional in the Roman Catholic calendar, though Lourdes remains a major pilgrimage center for those seeking healing. The chapel of the St. Gildard convent in Nevers contains her body, which is said to be incorrupt.

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