Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

“Have a medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces; they should wear it around the neck. Graces will abound for those who wear it with confidence.” - Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Paris, France

Saint Catherine Laboure, belonged to the religious Order of the Daughters of Charity. In the year 1830, she was extraordinarily blessed to have seen visions of Our Lord Jesus, Saint Vincent de Paul and the Blessed Virgin with whom she is known to have had long conversations in her visions. In the months preceding the apparition of Our Lady, she had visions of the heart of Saint Vincent de Paul on three consecutive days. The heart first appeared to be white in color, the color of peace, then red, the color of fire and then black, an indication of the misfortunes that would soon come upon France. Following these visions, she also had visions of Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on most days. During the period July to December 1830, Our Lady appeared to her in three visions and gave her the message to make a medal with the inscriptions as instructed by her. The medal soon came to be known as the ‘Miraculous medal” and as promised by Our Lady, those who wore the medal were blessed with several graces.

First Vision:

On the eve of the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, on July 18, 1830, Saint Catherine was awakened at 11:30 p.m. in the night by an angel who appeared as a child of about five years of age, all radiant with light. The angel said, “Sister Laboure, come to the chapel, the Blessed Virgin awaits you.” Catherine dressed quickly and on entering the hallway, she was amazed to see the lights burning brightly. After the angel opened the door to the chapel with a gentle touch, Catherine found the chapel too was lit up as though for Holy Mass.

In her own words she described the first apparition.“The child led me into the sanctuary near the Director’s chair. And there I knelt down and the child remained standing. As I found the time dragging, I looked around...Finally the child alerted me. He said to me: “Here is the Blessed Virgin- here she is!” I heard a sound like the rustling of a silk dress which came from near the picture of St. Joseph. The Blessed Mother then approached the altar steps at the Gospel side and gracefully sat down on the chair which is kept there. I sprang forward with one leap to her side-kneeling with my hands resting on the knees of the Blessed Virgin. There I spent the sweetest moments in my life. It would be impossible for me to tell all that I experienced.” Then the angel whispered “The Blessed Mother wishes to speak with you.”

Our Lady sadly announced, “God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear, you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world. Come to the foot of the altar. Graces will be shed on all, great and little, especially upon those who seek for them. You will have the protection of God and Saint Vincent. I will always have my eyes upon you. There will be much persecution. The Cross will be treated with contempt. It will be hurled to the ground and blood will flow. The whole world will be in an upheaval due to all sorts of trouble...Come to the foot of this altar. There graces will be shed upon all those who ask for them with confidence and fervour."Then, after secretly confiding other matters, the vision slowly disappeared. Catherine then followed the angel through the hallway to the dormitory where she slipped back into bed. It was 2 a.m.

Second Vision:

A few months later, on 27 November at around 5.30 p.m. during the community’s meditation, when Saint Catherine was in the chapel she heard the swish of silk and turning in that direction she saw the vision which she described in her own words as “I saw the Blessed Virgin standing. She was of medium height, and clothed in white. Her dress was of the whiteness of the dawn, made in the style called “a la Vierge”, that is high neck and plain sleeves. A white veil covered her head and fell on either side to her feet. Under the veil her hair, in coils, was bound with a fillet ornamented with lace, about three centimetres in height or of two finger’s breadth, without pleats and resting lightly on the hair. Her face was sufficiently exposed, indeed exposed very well, and so beautiful that it seems to me impossible to express her ravishing beauty. Her feet rested on a white globe and there was also a serpent, green in color with yellow spots. Her hands were raised to the height of the stomach and held, in a very relaxed manner and as if offering it to God, a golden ball surmounted with a little golden cross, which represented the world. Her eyes were now raised to Heaven, now lowered. Her face was of such beauty that I could not describe it. All at once I saw rings on her fingers, three rings to each finger, the largest one near the base of the finger, one of the medium size in the middle, the smallest one at the tip. Each ring was set with gems, some more beautiful than others; the larger gems emitted greater rays and the smaller gems, smaller rays; the rays bursting from all sides flooded the base, so that I could no longer see the feet of the Blessed Virgin."

"Our Lady then explained that the gems are, “the symbols of the graces I shed upon those who ask for them.” The golden globe that Our Lady held slowly disappeared and there appeared around the Virgin an oval frame on which brilliant gold letters read, “O Mary, conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee.” The vision reversed itself and there appeared the Virgin’s monogram, a cross intertwined and an ‘M’ which is found on the back of the Miraculous Medal. Under the monogram are the flaming hearts of the Sacred Heart surrounded with thorns, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. In the oval frame the whole is surrounded by twelve stars. The vision then said, “Have a medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces; they should wear it around the neck. Graces will abound for those who wear it with confidence.”

Third Vision:

The third vision was similar to the second except that Our Lady moved to a position above and behind the tabernacle. It happened in the month of December 1830, during meditation. Catherine again heard the rustling sound, this time behind the altar. The same image of the medal appeared near the tabernacle, slightly behind it.

Saint Catherine Laboure reported all the visions to Fr. Aladel who was her confessor. He was initially reluctant to accept the messages and even forbade her to think about it. After two years of contemplating the messages, he spoke to the Archbishop and had the medals made. In February 1832 a terrible cholera epidemic broke out in Paris and led to more than 20,000 deaths. In June the Daughters of Charity began to distribute the first 2000 medals. Cures were reported, as well as cases of protection from the disease and conversions on wearing the medal. The people of Paris began to call the medal “miraculous”. Soon millions of medals were distributed worldwide and thousands of miracles were reported. Though it was originally known as the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, it came to be associated with so many miracles and blessings, that it became known as the Miraculous Medal.

Saint Catherine Laboure:

On January 30, 1831, Catherine received the habit of the Daughters of Charity. The next day, she set off for the Hospice of Enghien, which had been established by the Orléans family and was located at 12 Rue de Picpus on the east side of Paris, in an impoverished neighbourhood where she served elderly men and poor persons for 46 years quietly and in complete obscurity till her death in 1876.