Bernadette Soubirous, the shepherdess who saw the Virgin Mary

Synthèse :

Bernadette (born Marie-Bernarde, Bernadette being a nickname) was born into a poor family in Lourdes on 7 January 1844. Her father was a miller and she was the eldest of eight children, only four of whom reached adulthood.

She spent the first two years of her life with a wet nurse, not far from Lourdes, before returning to her parents. Although she had been ill since childhood, she received a great deal of affection.

At home, there was little talk of school. Bernadette was responsible for a large part of the household chores and had to look after her younger brothers and sisters.

In 1854, the family was forced to leave their mill and move to squalid (but affordable) lodgings, a former prison referred to as "the cell", in Lourdes. It was the beginning of long period of poverty for the struggling family.

For part of the winter, Bernadette stayed with an aunt who owned a café, which she also helped run, including serving customers. In September 1857, she was hired as a shepherdess by her former nanny, who promised to take her to catechism classes to prepare for her First Holy Communion, as by then the young girl knew only the rosary.

It was while fetching wood along the banks of the River Gave de Pau, with two friends, that everything began on 11 February 1858. After twice hearing a loud noise, like a "gust of wind ", Bernadette's gaze turned to the cave in front of her. There, in the hollow of the rock, she saw a beautiful light from which emerged the shape of a "lady" dressed in white, with a blue sash, a yellow rose on each foot and a rosary around her arm. Surprised, the girl tried to make the sign of the cross, but her arm did not respond; the apparition itself made the sign of the cross, without saying anything.

Seventeen more apparitions followed at the same spot until the following 16 July. The Virgin assured Bernadette, who went into ecstasy, that she could not promise her happiness in this life, but in the next. On Thursday 25 February 1858, in the presence of 350 people, Bernadette unearthed a spring of water by scratching the ground (obeying the command of the Virgin Mary), through a gesture that has been repeated by millions of pilgrims since that time, in response to Mary's invitation that day to "go and drink from the spring, and wash yourselves there."

Then, on 2 March, the visionary received three secrets and the order to go and tell the priests to come in procession to the grotto and have a chapel built. On 25 March 1858, the apparition revealed her identity: "I am the Immaculate Conception".

The first miracles of healing were already being witnessed. Crowds flocked to each apparition. The authorities closed access to the grotto of Massabielle for a time. Bernadette was interrogated and examined, and nothing inconsistent was found. 

On 18 January 1862, Bishop Laurence of Tarbes, gave his verdict: "This apparition has all the hallmarks of truth [...]. The faithful are justified in believing it to be true."

In 1866, Bernadette left Lourdes for the convent of the Sisters of Charity in Nevers (central France), where she spent the rest of her life. Contrary to popular belief, the saint was not held prisoner in Nevers, and her religious vocation was genuine - it had actually taken a long time to mature: after the apparitions, she remained in Lourdes for a further eight years. Admitted on 16 July 1860 as a boarder at the town's hospice, run by the sisters of Nevers, she gave her positive answer on 4 April 1864, but did not enter the convent in Nevers until 7 July 1866.

There, she worked as an assistant nurse, but actually ran the entire infirmary.

Bernadette took her final vows in September 1878, then fell seriously ill. She offered her sufferings to God in a spirit of incredible humility.

On 11 December 1878, she was forced to take to her bed in the infirmary she had run until then. On 16 April she breathed her last.

The young visionary, who had much suffered since childhood, was uneducated and firm in defending the truth of her stories, was beatified in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. The Church proclaimed her a saint on 8 December 1933. Today, the body of St. Bernadette, still incorrupt, lies in the main chapel of the Convent of St. Gildard in Nevers, France. 

Au-delà des raisons d'y croire :

Bernadette Soubirous is a model of humility, courage and renunciation: her virtues were never compromised from 1858 until her death, even though she was subject to incredible pressure from many sides, both those who refused to believe in the apparitions and those who did, the latter group seeing her as a "saint" before her time, one of God's chosen ones who should have been exalted, showered with riches and isolated from the world.

"Little Bernadette" lived her vocation and human relationships in a self-effacing way, which is the mark of Christian greatness.

Aller plus loin :

St. Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879 by Francois Trochu, TAN Books (January 1, 1957)

En savoir plus :

• Bernadette Speaks: A Life of St. Bernadette Soubirous in Her Own Words by René Laurentin, Pauline Books & Media (October 1, 1999)