Introduction

Bernadette of Lourdes
Bernadette of Lourdes
Born	January 7, 1844(1844-01-07) [Lourdes, Southern France],
Died	April 16, 1879 (aged 35), [Nevers, France]
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Major shrine	Lourdes
Feast	February 18 (in France), April 16 (everywhere else)
Patronage	Sick people, poverty, Lourdes,shepherds
Saints Portal

Bernadette Soubirous

Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France.

Saint Bernadette, born Marie-Bernarde Soubirous (January 7, 1844 - April 16, 1879), was a miller's daughter from the town of Lourdes in southern France. Her real Occitan name is Maria Bernada Soubirous, aka Bernadeta (little Bernada). From February 11, to July 16, 1858, she reported eighteen apparitions of "a Lady." Despite initial skepticism from the Roman Catholic Church, these claims were eventually declared to be worthy of belief after a canonical investigation. After her death, Bernadette's body remained "incorruptible", and the shrine at Lourdes went on to become a major site for pilgrimage, attracting millions of Catholics each year. On December 8th, 1933 she was canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Image File history File links Bernadette_Soubirous. ... is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... This article is about the French pilgrimage location. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saints day. ... is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ... This article is about the French pilgrimage location. ... In a draw in a mountainous region, a shepherd guides a flock of about 20 sheep amidst scrub and olive trees. ... Image File history File links Gloriole. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (569x828, 75 KB) Bernadette Soubiroust - Project Gutenberg eText 18729 From The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lourdes, by Robert Hugh Benson http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (569x828, 75 KB) Bernadette Soubiroust - Project Gutenberg eText 18729 From The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lourdes, by Robert Hugh Benson http://www. ... Download high resolution version (1920x2560, 2459 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1920x2560, 2459 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... This article is about the French pilgrimage location. ... is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about the French pilgrimage location. ... Occitan, or langue doc is a Romance language characterized by its richness, variability, and by the intelligibility of its dialects. ... Year 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Apparition of The Virgin to St Bernard by Filippino Lippi (1486) Oil on panel, 210 x 195 cm Church of Badia, Florence Marian apparitions are events in which the Virgin Mary is purported to have supernaturally appeared to one or more persons, typically Catholics, in various settings. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... Canonical is an adjective derived from canon. ... St. ... This article is about the religious or spiritual journey. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the process of declaring saints. ... For other uses, see Saint (disambiguation). ... Catholic Church redirects here. ...

Bernadette's life

Bernadette (the sobriquet by which she was universally known) was the daughter of François Soubirous (1807-1871), a miller, and his wife Louise (nee Castérot) (1825-1866), a laundress, and was the eldest of six children who survived infancy. Louise actually gave birth to 9 children (Bernadette b. 1844 d. 1879, Jean b. 1845, d. 1845, Jean-Marie b. 1848, d. 1851, Toinette b. 1846, Jean-Marie b. 1851, Justin b. 1855, d. 1865, Bernard-Pierre b. 1859, Jean b. 1864 d. 1864 and an unnamed baby girl b. 1866, d. 1866. Bernadette was baptized at the local parish church, St. Pierre's, on January 9th, which was her parents' wedding anniversary. Bernadette's godmother was Bernarde Casterot, her mother's sister. Hard times had fallen on rural France and the family lived in extreme poverty. Neighbours reported that the family lived in unusual harmony, apparently relying on their love and support for one another and their religious devotion. A sobriquet is a nickname or a fancy name, usually a familiar name given by others as distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation. ... For other uses, see Miller (disambiguation). ... Italian street, with laundry hung to dry Laundry can be: items of clothing and other textiles that require washing the act of washing clothing and textiles the room of a house in which this is done // Man and woman washing linen in a brook, from William Henry Pynes Microcosm... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Bernadette's vision

Bernadette's impoverished family lived in a tiny room shared between a whole family. On 11 February 1858, then aged 14, she was out gathering firewood with her sister and a friend at the grotto of Massabielle outside Lourdes, Bernadette had an experience that completely changed her life and the town of Lourdes where she had lived. It was on this day that Bernadette had the first of 18 visions of what she termed "a small young lady" standing in a niche in the rock. Her sister and her friend stated that they had seen nothing. She said that the "beautiful lady" asked her to return to the grotto every day for fifteen days. At first her mother had forbidden her from going but Bernadette persuaded her mother to allow her to go. The apparition supposedly did not identify herself until the 17th vision, and Bernadette never claimed it to be anything other than this, but the townspeople all assumed it to be the Virgin Mary and until then Bernadette called her simply 'Aquerò' (or rather "the lady"), aquerò being Gascon Occitan for that. Bernadette described the lady as wearing a white veil, a blue girdle and had a golden rose on each foot as well as "holding" a string of Rosary beads. Bernadette's story caused a sensation with the townspeople, who were divided in their opinions on whether or not Bernadette was telling the truth. She soon had a large number of people following her on her daily journey, some out of curiosity and others who firmly believed that they were witnessing a miracle. is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Gascon language is an Occitan dialect mostly spoken in Gascony (in the French départements of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Landes, Gers, Gironde, a part of Lot-et-Garonne, a part of Haute-Garonne, and a part of Ariège), and in the small Spanish... Occitan, or langue doc is a Romance language characterized by its richness, variability, and by the intelligibility of its dialects. ...

The other contents of Bernadette's visions were simple, and focused on the need for prayer and penance. However, at the supposed 13th apparition on March 2, Bernadette told her family that the lady had said "Please go to the priests and tell them that a chapel is to be built here. Let processions come hither." Accompanied by two of her aunts, Bernadette duly went to parish priest Father Dominique Peyramale with the request. A brilliant but often roughspoken man with little belief in claims of visions and miracles, Peyramale told Bernadette that the lady must identify herself. Bernadette said that on her next visitation she repeated the priest's words to the lady, but that the lady bowed a little, smiled and said nothing. Then Father Peyramale told Bernadette to prove that the "lady" actually was "real" to ask her to perform a miracle, that was to make the rose bush beneath the niche of which she appeared to Bernadette bud and flower in the middle of February. Abbé Dominique Peyramale, (1811-1877) was a Catholic priest in the town of Lourdes in France during the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to the peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. ...

As Bernadette later reported to her family and to church and civil investigators, at the 9th visitation the lady supposedly told Bernadette to drink from the spring that flowed under the rock, and eat the plants that grew freely there,and although there was no known spring there, and the ground was hard and dry, Bernadette assumed the "lady" meant that the spring was underground. She did as she was told and dug into the dirt, but when nothing happened this caused much skepticism among the onlookers. However, the water began to flow a day or so later. Some devout people followed Bernadette's example by drinking and washing in the water, which was soon reported to have healing properties.

In the 145 years since Bernadette dug up the spring, 67 cures have been "verified" by the Lourdes Medical Bureau as "inexplicable" (not "miraculous"), but only after what the Church claims are "extremely rigorous scientific and medical examinations" fail to find any other explanation. The Lourdes Commission which examined Bernadette after the visions also ran an intensive analysis on the water, and found that while it has a high mineral content, it contains nothing out of the ordinary that would account for the cures attributed to it. Bernadette herself said that it was faith and prayer that cured the sick. The Lourdes Medical Bureau is a medical organisation based in Lourdes in France. ...

Her 16th vision, which she stated went for over an hour, was on March 25. During this vision, the second of two "miracles of the candle" is reported to have occurred. Bernadette was holding a lighted candle; during the vision it burned down, and the flame was said to be in direct contact with her skin for over 15 minutes but she apparently showed no sign of experiencing any pain or injury. This was said to be witnessed by many people present, including the town physician, Dr. Pierre Romaine Dozous, who timed and later documented it. According to his report, there was no sign that her skin was in any way affected, so he monitored Bernadette closely but did not intervene. After her "vision" ended, the doctor said that he examined her hand but found no evidence of any burning, and that she was completely unaware of what had been happening. The doctor then said that he briefly applied a lighted candle to her hand, and she reacted immediately. It is unclear if observers other than Dozous were sufficiently close to witness if the candle was continuously in contact with Bernadette’s skin. is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

According to Bernadette's account, during that same visitation she again asked the lady her name but the lady just smiled back. She repeated the question a further three times, and finally heard the lady say, in Occitan, "I am the Immaculate Conception" (Qué soï l'immaculé councepcioũ, a phonetic transcription of Que soi er'immaculada concepcion by someone not literate in Occitan). Four years earlier, Pope Pius IX had promulgated the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception; that, alone of all human beings who have ever lived, the Virgin Mary was born without the stain of original sin. However this was not well known to Catholics at large at that time, being generally confined to discussion amongst the clergy. It certainly was not an expression known to a simple under-educated peasant girl who could barely read. Her parents, teachers and priests all later testified that she had never previously heard the words 'immaculate conception' from them. Occitan, or langue doc is a Romance language characterized by its richness, variability, and by the intelligibility of its dialects. ... Pope Pius IX (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from his election in June 16, 1846, until his death more than 31 years later in 1878. ... Look up Promulgation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Mary, mother of Jesus as the Immaculate Conception. ... The term Virgin Mary has several different meanings: Mary, the mother of Jesus, the historical and multi-denominational concept of Mary Blessed Virgin Mary, the Roman Catholic theological and doctrinal concept of Mary Marian apparitions shrines to the Virgin Mary Virgin Mary in Islam, the Islamic theological and doctrinal concept... “Original Sin” redirects here. ...

Bernadette was a sickly child; she had cholera in infancy and suffered most of her life from asthma, and some of the people who interviewed her following her revelation of the visions thought her simple-minded. However, despite being rigorously interviewed by officials of both the Catholic Church and the French government, she stuck consistently to her story. Her behavior during this period is said to set the example by which all who claim visions and mystical experiences are now judged by Church authorities.

Impact of her visions

Among the reported visions of Jesus and Mary the impact of her visions can be viewed as being proportionally of a high level of significance. Since the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Calvary until today, a number of people have claimed to have had visions (and indeed personal conversations) with Him and with Saint Mary in person. ...

Her request to the local priests to build a chapel at that site of her visions eventually gave rise to a number of chapels and churches at Lourdes. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is now one of the major Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world. One of the churches built at the site, the Basilica of St. Pius X can itself accommodate 25,000 people and was dedicated by the future Pope John XXIII when he was the Papal Nuncio to France. There is another Lourdes with a different pronunciation, see Lourdes, Brazil Our Lady of Lourdes Basilica Lourdes (Lorda in Occitan) is a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées département in France. ... The Basilica of St. ... See also: 15th-century Antipope John XXIII. Pope John XXIII (Latin: ; Italian: ), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. ...

Close to 5,000,000 pilgrims visit Lourdes (population of about 15,000) every year with individuals and groups coming from all over the world. Within France, only Paris has more hotels than Lourdes. Lourdes is now a major center where Catholic pilgrims from across the globe reinforce their beliefs as they visit the sanctuary, hence strengthening the Catholic Church as a whole. This article is about the French pilgrimage location. ... The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ...

Bernadette's later years

Disliking the attention she was attracting, Bernadette went to the hospice school run by the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction, where she finally learned to read and write. She then joined the Sisters of Charity of Nevers convent moving into their motherhouse at Nevers at the age of 22. She spent the rest of her brief life there, working as an assistant in the infirmary and later as a sacristan, creating beautiful embroidery for altar cloths and vestments. During a severe asthma attack, she asked for water from the Lourdes spring, and her symptoms subsided, never to return ^{[citation needed]}. However, she did not seek healing in this way when she later contracted tuberculosis of the bone in the right knee. She had followed the development of Lourdes as a pilgrimage shrine while she still lived at Lourdes, but was not present for the consecration of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception there in 1876. She eventually died of her long-term illness at the age of 35 on April 16, 1879. Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of the symptoms of a disease or slows its progress rather than providing a cure. ... Bold textTHIS IS THE PAGE THAT A.S. REALLY NEEDS!! THIS IS NOW MARKED!!! ] ps i like A.O. This article is about an abbey as a Christian monastic community. ... Palais Ducal Nevers is a commune of central France, the préfecture (capital) of the Nièvre département, in the former province of Nivernais. ... A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments (such as the cassock and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels and church treasures. ... Embroidery in silk thread on linen, 19th century Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with designs stitched in strands of thread or yarn using a needle. ... Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religions, especially the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican Churches. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or Tuberculosis) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... There is another Lourdes with a different pronunciation, see Lourdes, Brazil Our Lady of Lourdes Basilica Lourdes (Lorda in Occitan) is a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées département in France. ... Year 1876 Pick up Sticks(MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Bernadette's body exhumed

St. Bernadette Soubirous at Nevers was exhumed in 1909 after thirty years in a damp grave. She is pictured here with a light wax mask.

Bishop Gauthey of Nevers and the church exhumed the body of Bernadette Soubirous on September 2, 1909, in the presence of representatives appointed by the postulators of the cause, two doctors, and a sister of the community. They found that although the crucifix in her hand and the rosary had both oxidized, her body appeared "incorrupt" — preserved from decomposition. This was cited as one of the miracles to support her canonization. They washed and reclothed her body before burial in a new double casket. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 287 KB)Gustavia Harbor, St. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 287 KB)Gustavia Harbor, St. ... By other animals Humans are not the only species to bury their dead. ... is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Crucifix, a cross with corpus, a symbol used in Catholicism in contrast with some other Christian communions, which use only a cross. ... Our Lady of Lourdes - Mary appearing at Lourdes with Rosary beads. ... Illustration of a redox reaction Redox (shorthand for oxidation/reduction reaction) describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number (oxidation state) changed. ... St. ... “Spoilage” redirects here. ...

The church exhumed the corpse a second time on April 3, 1919. The body still appeared preserved, however, her face was slightly discolored possibly due to the washing process of the first exhumation. is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

In 1925, the church exhumed the body for a third time. They took relics, which were sent to Rome. A precise imprint of the face was molded so that the firm of Pierre Imans in Paris could make a light wax mask based on the imprints and on some genuine photos. This was common practice for relics in France, as it was feared that although the body was mummified, the blackish tinge to the face and the sunken eyes and nose would make an unpleasant impression on the public. Imprints of the hands were also taken for the presentation of the body. The remains were then placed in a gold and glass reliquary in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the motherhouse in Nevers. The site is visited by many pilgrims and the body of Saint Bernadette to this day remains in-tact despite being nearly one hundred and thirty years old.^{[citation needed]} Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A relic is an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial, Relics are an important aspect of Buddhism, some denominations of Christianity, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other personal belief systems. ... Palais Ducal Nevers is a commune of central France, the préfecture (capital) of the Nièvre département, in the former province of Nivernais. ...

Canonization as a Catholic saint

She was beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1933 by Pope Pius XI, not so much for the content of her visions, but rather for her simplicity, humility and holiness of life. She is the patron saint of sick persons and of Lourdes. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the process of declaring saints. ... Pope Pius XI (Latin: ; Italian: Pio XI; May 31, 1857 – February 10, 1939), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, reigned as Pope from February 6, 1922 and as sovereign of Vatican City from 1929 until his death on February 10, 1939. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ...

Fictional treatment

Her life was given a fictionalised treatment in Franz Werfel's novel The Song of Bernadette, which was later adapted into a 1943 film of the same name starring Jennifer Jones as Bernadette (and the uncredited Linda Darnell as the Immaculate Conception). Jones won her only Best Actress Oscar for this portrayal. A more recent version of Bernadette's life is presented in the 1988 film by Jean Delannoy, and starring Sydney Penny in the lead role. Franz Werfel, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1940 Werfels grave in the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna Franz Werfel (September 10, 1890 – August 26, 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet who wrote in German. ... Categories: Movie stubs | 1942 books | Books starting with S | 1943 films | Best Picture Oscar Nominee | Best Actress Oscar (film) | Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nominee (film) | Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nominee (film) ... DVD cover for the film The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported eighteen visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. ... Jennifer Jones (born as Phylis Lee Isley on March 2, 1919) is an Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning American actress. ... Linda Darnell Monetta Eloyse Darnell, better known as Linda Darnell (born October 16, 1923; died April 10, 1965), was a American film actress. ... Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Jean Delannoy (born January 12, 1908 in Noisy-le-Sec, Île-de-France) is a French, actor, film editor, screenwriter and film director. ... Sydney Penny (born August 7, 1971 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American Daytime Emmy nominated actress best known for the roles of Julia Santos Keefer on the soap opera All My Children and Samantha Sam Kelly on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. ...

References

• The Miracle Joint at Lourdes From "Essays " by Woolsey Teller, Copyright 1945 by The Truth Seeker Company, Inc. Critique of the Lourdes story.
• Lourdes: In Bernadette's Footsteps, by Father Joseph Bordes, Copyright 2005 by MSM Company - Tells Bernadette's story, and describes the tourism at Lourdes.
• The Song of Bernadette Franz Werfel's classic abridged by John Martin

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bernadette Soubirous

• Lourdes and Bernadette Detailed chronology of the apparitions, with many pictures.
• Bernadette as she is today
• Biography of Bernadette Soubirous Includes referenced quotes by Bernadette
• The Body of St. Bernadette--Includes reports of her exhumation and photographs of her body and tomb.
• The Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction
• Life and Background to Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes
• Notes on the Investigation, including facsimile of notes taken during an interview with Bernadette