From February 11 to July 16 in the year 1858, for a total of eighteen times, “a small maiden” of great beauty appeared to Bernadette Soubirous at the cave-grotto in Massabielle. This lady of extraordinary beauty would later identify herself as “The Immaculate Conception” (see related post). The young girl Bernadette was later to become a Saint of the Catholic Church and is most recognized for those Marian Apparitions, which is known as Our Lady of Lourdes. See post on The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes for a recollection of events.
One of the popular messages of the Blessed Virgin directed to Bernadette was the promise of making her happy not in this world, but in the other, which is Heaven. This is why her initial feast day was set on February 18, the day that personal message was spoken to the young Saint. It has now been moved and commemorated on the day of her death, April 16.
But who is this young peasant girl, of simple beauty with dark eyes and a rounded face, that Our Lady appeared to? Saint Bernadette was born Maria Bernada (Bernadeta) Sobirós on 7 January 1844 in Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. She was the eldest of nine children of François, a miller, and Louise, a laundress. Her baptism took place in their local parish, St. Pierre’s, on January 9, her parents’ wedding anniversary. Amidst the difficult times all over France, her family lived in extreme poverty. Early on in life, Bernadette had her own share of pains as she was a sickly child, which affected her stature, possibly stood only at 4ft. 7in., contracting cholera as a toddler and suffering from severe asthma all her life. It is for this reason that she is considered a Patron Saint of Illness. Her poor health also affected her learning. She could only attend a day school on Catholic teaching run by the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction. As she was frequently ill, Saint Bernadette was a slow learner and could read and write only minimally. Due to this, her knowledge on French was also very little, unlike the depiction of her in movies. She rather spoke mostly Occitan, the local language of the Pyrénées region.
The times surrounding the events of the Apparitions at the Grotto saw her family’s economic and social decline. At that point, they had to live in a place called le cachot or the dungeon, which was a one-room basement formerly a jail, freely rented to them. But poverty and illness did not prevent the good-natured Bernadette from answering Our Lady’s call and showing such a deep faith in rising up to holiness. She was poor and frail, but willing in body and spirit to be humble and holy.
February 11, 1858 Saint Bernadette experienced her first ever vision of the Our Lady of Lourdes. Then 14 years of age, she was out gathering wood with her sister Marie and a friend at Massabielle. While the other two were already on the other side of the stream, Bernadette was still preparing to cross the water when she heard a rustling sound and from the dark niche in the grotto came a “white figure in dazzling light”. The Blessed Mother, dressed in pure white with a blue belt fastened around her waist, appeared to the young saint, and with Our Lady’s lead, they recited the Holy Rosary. On February 14, she saw the Blessed Virgin a second time.
The visions immediately came to the knowledge of Bernadette’s family and her parents’ initial reaction, particularly her mother’s, was that of embarrassment. They would not let her go back to the grotto. Despite attempts to stop her, they were unable to do so. Even though at that time the Virgin Mary had not yet introduced herself and it would only happen by the sixteenth apparition, Bernadette’s persistence and dedication to Our Lady was much stronger. Very soon, the townspeople also learned of her visions and their opinions were divided. Many believed it to be true and thought that the “small maiden” she was seeing was no other than the Blessed Virgin Mary. The others were unkind in their judgment and thought she was mentally ill who must be put in an asylum. This is why St. Bernadette’s Patronage also includes being a Patron Saint of those who are ridiculed for their faith and piety. It was something that this young saint endured with devotion in her life. How truly blessed she was for her firm belief in the words of Our Lady!
Her vision of Our Lady on February 25 was described by Saint Bernadette to be a life-changing one. At the grotto, she said that the Blessed Mother instructed her as an act of penance “to drink of the water of the spring, to wash in it and to eat the herb that grew there.” But that seemed unlikely to do given that the area had all been dry. Upon Our Lady’s instruction of the exact location, she started digging a hole in the ground. Then, some muddy water started to appear, which Bernadette drank, washed her face with, and ate some herb there. The people gathered around could not understand why she did that. Some even thought she was getting mad. In this apparition, Bernadette truly demonstrated obedience and trust in Our Lady. The following day, the crowd was surprised to see water continuously flowing from the ground. Many believers knew right away that the origin of this water spring was miraculous. The Lourdes water from the Grotto of Massabielle, considered as a non-liturgical holy water, remain abundantly flowing today, with many stories of cure from those who drank of it or bathe in it.
God’s mercy and the Blessed Mother’s love proved to be faithful to her. In 1862, after a thorough canonical investigation by the Church, the authorities confirmed the Marian Apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes as “worthy of belief” and authentic. The French government for their part also conducted several interviews with Bernadette. In all of them, they found the young girl to be consistent in her entire story.
After the Apparitions, Bernadette, to her dislike, was getting more and more attention from the people. She decided to stay in a hospice school of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. There she was taught to read and write. Her ill health prevented her from becoming a Carmelite nun or joining any other religious orders of strict contemplative way of life. But she went on with her heart for the Lord by becoming at postulant in the Sisters of Charity of Nevers in 1866 and serving there as an infirmary assistant and a sacristan. The Mother Superior gave her the name Marie-Bernarde, in honor of her godmother named Bernarde.
Later, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the bone on her right knee, which made her sufferings much more painful. The extreme pain and her weakening body prevented her from taking an active role in the convent several months prior to her death. But Saint Bernadette, inspired by Our Lady’s wisdom and call to the world for “Penance, Penance, Penance,” offered “everything for Heaven.” She died on April 16, 1879, while praying the Holy Rosary, with the last words “Blessed Mary, Mother of God, pray for me. A poor sinner, a poor sinner.”
Bernadette was declared Blessed on June 14, 1925 and later canonized as a Catholic Saint by Pope Pius XI on December 8, 1933, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
All of us, especially those of us who suffer of pain from physical illness, or pain for the sake of our Catholic faith, or pain from the lack of love of people who are supposed to care for us, we can reflect on the life of Saint Bernadette, and her holy example on how to receive and endure these sufferings in our life. Saint Bernadette did it with her eyes fixed not on this world, but on God and on the Holy Mother, and on Heaven, which she called her “true home.” She knew that her sacrifices were a means of sharing in the suffering of Christ and offered them as penance and prayers for the souls in need of the Lord’s mercy. We can also learn the virtue of humility from this humble saint. She was especially blessed to have visions of Our Lady, but Saint Bernadette did not give in to temptations of pride for having been chosen. She humbled herself much more and did everything with genuine love for God and lived a truly virtuous life. With the extraordinary grace she was given came also exceptional sufferings. Let this be a simple consolation to all of us who continue to suffer and look up to Saint Bernadette knowing that she intercedes for us before the Lord.
In life, many of us have sufferings and oppressions that feel like crushing our whole being. Saint Bernadette suffered a slow painful death as she felt excruciating pain from her illness for years prior her death. But aside from physical illnesses, many people here also suffer spiritual attacks. I recall a couple of quotes that Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta said: “The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.” “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think is a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” I agree with what she said, because a lot of us would say that more than any other physical pain, it’s the emotional wounds and severe heartaches, and the feeling of being unloved that are far worse to suffer from than any physical sickness can bring. We sometimes feel undeserving to be treated unfairly, or to bear emotional heartaches and pains, especially at times when the persons who cause us these heartaches are the ones who we showed only kindness and love. But whenever we feel devastated, let us remember that even Saint Bernadette, who was a very holy girl that Our Blessed Mother herself appeared to, wasn’t exempted from such painful emotional sufferings. What she wanted was to serve God through a consecrated life as a nun. However, because of her always being ill, it was God’s Will that she wasn’t able to have her vocation in Holy Orders. That must be really painful in her heart. Like Our Lady of Lourdes told her, “I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the other.” It must be a consolation for us that all our sufferings in this earthly life, for as long as we offer them to Jesus, will be remembered as we will be blessed in our eternal life.
I have a great devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. Saint Bernadette has always been one of my most favorite Saints, being a young woman myself. I find it providential that on this special year that my spirituality has even more flourished, her Feast Day is on Easter Sunday itself.
St. Bernadette, pray for us!
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mama Mary, pray for us!
Amen.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
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