Bernadette Soubirous

factoids

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. 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, and the apparition is known as Our Lady of Lourdes. After her death, Bernadette's body reportedly remained incorrupt, and the shrine at Lourdes went on to become a major site for pilgrimage, attracting millions of Catholics each year. On December 8, 1933 she was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church; her Feast Day is celebrated on April 16.

Early stages in her life

Bernadette (the sobriquet by which she was universally known) was the daughter of François Soubirous (1807–1871), a miller, and his wife Louise (née Castérot) (1825–1866), a laundress, and was the eldest of five children who survived infancy. Louise actually gave birth to nine children (Bernadette, Jean died when born, Jean-Marie 1848–1851, Toinette 1846, Jean-Marie b. 1851, Justin 1855–1865, Bernard-Pierre b. 1859, Jean 1864–1864 and a baby girl named Louise 1866–1866). Bernadette was baptized at the local parish church, St. Pierre's, on January 9, which was her parents' wedding anniversary. Bernadette's godmother was Bernarde Casterot, her mother's sister. Hard times had fallen on 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.

Visions

Bernadette's impoverished family lived in a tiny room shared between a whole family. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette, then aged 14, was out gathering firewood and bones with her sister and a friend at the grotto of Massabielle outside Lourdes, when she 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" (uo petito damizelo) standing in a niche in the rock. Her sister and her friend stated that they had seen nothing. On her next visit, 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 did not identify herself until the seventeenth vision, although the townspeople who believed she was telling the truth assumed she saw the Virgin Mary. Bernadette never claimed it to be Mary, calling what she saw simply "Aquerò" (or rather "that thing"), aquerò (IPA [a'k(e)rɔ]) 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; she held a rosary of pearls. Bernadette's story caused a sensation with the townspeople, who were divided in their opinions on whether or not Bernadette was telling the truth. Some believed her to have a mental illness, and demanded her to be put in an asylum. 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. The other contents of Bernadette's reported visions were simple, and focused on the need for prayer and penance. However, at the thirteenth of the alleged 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 was real (that is, objectively) by asking her to perform a miracle. He requested that she make the rose bush beneath the niche where she appeared to Bernadette bud and flower in the middle of February.As Bernadette later reported to her family and to church and civil investigators, at the ninth visitation the lady told Bernadette to drink from the spring that flowed under the rock, and eat the plants that grew freely there. Although there was no known spring, and the ground was muddy, Bernadette saw the lady pointing with her finger to the spot, and said later she assumed the lady meant that the spring was underground. She did as she was told by first digging a muddy patch with her bare hands and then attempting to drink the brackish drops.(1) She tried three times, failing each time. On the fourth try, the droplets were clearer and she drank them. She then ate some of the plants. When finally she turned to the crowd, her face was smeared with mud and no spring had been revealed. Understandably, this caused much skepticism among onlookers who shouted, "She's a fraud!" or "She's insane!" while embarrassed relatives wiped the adolescent's face clean with a handkerchief. In the next few days, however, a spring began to flow from the muddy patch first dug by Bernadette. Some devout people followed her example by drinking and washing in the water, which was soon reported to have healing properties. In the 150 years since Bernadette dug up the spring, 67 cures have been "verified" by the Lourdes Medical Bureau as "inexplicable," but only after what the Church claims are "extremely rigorous scientific and medical examinations" failed 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. Her 16th vision, which she stated went on 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 fifteen 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.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 three more times and finally heard the lady say, in Occitan, "I am the Immaculate Conception" (Qué soï era immaculado councepcioũ, a phonetic transcription of Que soi era 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 (save for Jesus, Adam, and Eve), the Virgin Mary was conceived 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. Those who did know about it, through devotions such as the Miraculous Medal, often assumed it referred to the Virgin Birth. 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. 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.

Results 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. Her request to the local priest to build a chapel at the 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. 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. With 2008 being the 150th anniversary of the 1858 apparitions to Bernadette, it is expected that 8,000,000 pilgrims will visit Lourdes during the year. Lourdes is now a major center where Catholic pilgrims from around the globe reinforce their beliefs as they visit the sanctuary, hence strengthening the Catholic Church as a whole.

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. 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.She was canonized on December 8, 1933 as the Catholic patron saint of sick persons, of the family, and of poverty.2009 has been declared "The Year of Bernadette".

Exhumations

Bishop Gauthey of Nevers and the Church exhumed the body of Bernadette Soubirous on September 22, 1909, in the presence of representatives appointed by the postulators of the cause, two doctors, and a sister of the community. They claimed 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.The Church exhumed the corpse a second time on April 3, 1919. A doctor who examined the body noted, "The body is practically mummified, covered with patches of mildew and quite a notable layer of salts, which appear to be calcium salts. ... The skin has disappeared in some places, but it is still present on most parts of the body." 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 wax mask based on the imprints and on some genuine photos. This was common practice for relics in France, as it was feared that 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 and the making of wax casts. The remains were then placed in a gold and crystal reliquary in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the mother house in Nevers. The site is visited by many pilgrims and the body of Saint Bernadette is still shown despite being nearly one hundred and thirty years old.(2)

Fictional treatments

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. In 1961 Daniele Ajoret portrayed Bernadette in "Bernadette of Lourdes" (French title Il suffit d'aimer or "Love is enough"). A more recent version of Bernadette's life is presented in two films (1988: "Bernadette" and 1989: "The Passion of Bernadette") by Jean Delannoy, and starring Sydney Penny in the lead role.

Notes and references

1. The following account is reported by Abbé François Trochu in his biography, Saint Bernadette Soubirous, Tan Books: Illinois, 1985.



2. The Body of St. Bernadette at Catholic Pilgrims of Mary and Jesus website

Bibliography

• 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
• Bernadette of Lourdes (St. Gildard, Nevers, France, 1926)
• Visage de Bernadette (Rene Laurentin, Lourdes 1978), (French)
• The Song of Bernadette (Franz Werfel), 1942 (English)
• A La Gloire du Lys de Marie (Sisters of Nevers), August 15, 1926 (French)
• Bernadette of Lourdes (Frances Parkinson Keyes), 1955
• Lourdes: Its Inhabitants, Its Pilgrims, and Its Miracles (Richard Clarke, SJ), 1888
• Annales de Notre Dame de Lourdes (Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception), Lourdes 1871 (French)
• The Wonders of Massabielle at Lourdes (Rev. S. Pruvost), 1925
• Notre Dame de Lourdes (Henri Lasserre), Paris 1870 (French)
• Bernadette (Henri Lasserre), Paris 1879 (year of Bernadette's death), (French)
• Our Lady of Lourdes (Henri Lasserre), June 1906 (English)
• Our Lady of Lourdes (Henri Lasserre), 1875 (English)
• La Sainte Vierge a Lourdes, 1877 (French)
• Das Lied von Bernadette (Franz Werfel), 1953 (German)
• The Happening at Lourdes (Alan Neame), 1967
• Lourdes (Ruth Harris), 1999
• After Bernadette (Don Sharkey), 1945
• And I Shall Be Healed (Edeltraud Fulda), 1960
• Saint Bernadette (Margaret Trouncer), 1964
• 15 Days of Prayer with Sainte Bernadette of Lourdes (Francois Vayne), 1999
• A Queen's Command (Anna Kuhn), 1947
• Bernadette (Marcelle Auclair), 1958
• A Holy Life: St. Bernadette of Lourdes (Patricia McEachern), 2005
• The Story of Bernadette (Rev. J. Lane), 1997
• The Wonder of Lourdes (John Oxenham), 1926
• Lourdes (Émile Zola), 1895 (German)
• Bernadette Speaks (Rene Laurentin), 2000
• St. Bernadette (Leonard Von Matt / Francis Trochu), 1957
• Bernadette of Lourdes (J.H. Gregory), 1914 (1st U.S. book)
• Bernadette of Lourdes (Therese Taylor), 2003
• Lourdes (Émile Zola), 2000 (English)
• The Miracle of Bernadette (Margaret Gray Blanton), 1958
• My Witness, Bernadette (J.B. Estrade), 1951
• St. Bernadette Soubirous (Abbe Francois Trochu), 1957
• Saint Bernadette Soubirous (Francis Trochu), 1957
• We Saw Her (B.G. Sandhurst), 1953

Magazines and articles

• "L'Illustration Journal Universal": Story covering Bernadette and apparitions from time of apparitions (October 23, 1858)
• Election of Pope Pius X (August 15, 1903): "The Graphic" England
• "The Illustrated London News": Funeral of Pope Pius IX (February 23, 1878)
• "La Nacion" - Buenos Aires, Argentina (Newspaper Movie section advertising The Song of Bernadette (September 12, 1944)
• "The New York Times": Pope Pius X Dies, (August 20, 1914)
• "The London Ilustrated News": The Election of Pope Pius XI (February 11, 1922)
• "L'Opinion Publique": The Funeral of Pope Pius IX (March 14, 1878)
• "The Illustrated London News": The Conclave & Election of the Pope (March 9, 1878)
• "The Graphic": With the Lourdes Pilgrims (October 7, 1876)
• "Harpers Weekly": French Pilgrims - Romish Superstitions (November 16, 1872)
• "The Graphic": A Trip to the Pyrenees (October 12, 1872)
• "Harpers Weekly": The Last French Miracle (November 20, 1858) - Recounts actual happenings at the time of apparitions
• "St. Paul Dispatch": Throne of St. Peter Made Vacant by the Death of Pope Leo XIII, (July 21, 1903)
• "St. Paul Dispatch": Cardinal Sarto (St. Pope Pius X) of Venice Called to Throne of St. Peter, (August 5, 1903)
• "The Minneapolis Journal": Pope Pius X is Reported Dead; Relapse Caused by Grief Over War (August 19, 1914)

See also

• Our Lady of Lourdes
• Lourdes apparitions
• Incorruptibles

External links

• 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
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Notre-Dame de Lourdes
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