Saint Bernadette Soubirous:

Feast day : 16 April

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Bernadette Soubrious (1844-1879), the celebrated visionary of Lourdes to whom the Blessed Virgin appeared in a series of 18 visions and gave her several messages, the most important of them being to “Pray for sinners”, “Penance, Penance, Penance” and “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The miraculous spring of water at Lourdes also came to be during the ninth vision. She later joined the Order of the Sisters of Nevers at the age of 22. After suffering heroically for years from tuberculosis of the bone in her right knee, she died on April 16, 1879. Her body continues to be incorrupt till date and is kept in a gold and glass coffin in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the motherhouse in Nevers.

Early life:

Saint Bernadette was born into a very poor family on January 7, 1944. Her early years were a struggle as she had poor health and was also poor in her studies. She suffered severely from asthma and owing to her limited abilities she was delayed from receiving her First Holy Communion until the age of 14 years in 1858. It was in the same year that she began seeing the Blessed Virgin in a series of 18 visions which began on 11 February and ended with the last vision on July 16 of the same year. Except for Bernadette no one could see or hear the vision. Yet people watched her when she prayed and saw the visions. Our Lady told Bernadette during one of the early visions that “I cannot promise to make you happy in this world, only in the next.” During the fifth vision, Our Lady taught Bernadette a prayer that she continued to recite daily, although she never revealed the words. She was also given three secrets which she never revealed. These are thought to be pertaining to her personal life. Read more about the visions and the messages of Lourdes at Our Lady of Lourdes

Religious life & death:

The Sisters of Nevers, who operated a school at Lourdes were later entrusted the care of Saint Bernadette. At the age of 22, she was admitted to their Order and lived in the motherhouse for thirteen years till her death on April 16, 1879. She served as an assistant in the infirmary and later as a sacristan, creating beautiful embroidery for altar cloths and vestments. She was admired for her humility and spirit of sacrifice. In spite of her poor health, she is known to have patiently and diligently attended to all her duties. After suffering heroically from tuberculosis of the bone in her right knee, she died at the young age of 35. On her deathbed, as she suffered from severe pain and in keeping with the Virgin Mary's admonition of "Penance, Penance, Penance," Bernadette proclaimed that "all this is good for Heaven!" Her final words were, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a poor sinner, a poor sinner". Her body was laid to rest in the Saint Gildard Convent grounds behind the motherhouse in Nevers.

Incorrupt body & Sainthood:

Her body was exhumed 30 years after her death. On September 22, 1909 in the presence of representatives appointed by the postulators of the cause, the coffin was removed. On opening the lid, they found that her body was completely incorrupt, although the clothing was damp. Her skin maintained a natural tone. Her perfect hands held a rosary that had become rusty and the crucifix that lay upon her was coated with verdigris. The sisters then washed her body and re-clothed it in a new religious habit before placing it in a new casket. The casket was then sealed and consigned to the tomb. The second exhumation took place on April 3, 1919 and the body was miraculously found to be in the same state of preservation as it was ten years earlier, except that the face was slightly discoloured due to the washing and cleaning it had undergone in the previous exhumation. After nearly another 100 years, today, her body continues to remain incorrupt and is kept in a reliquary of gold and glass in the chapel of the motherhouse in Nevers, France.

On 8 December 1933, Pope Pius XI, declared Bernadett a saint of the Catholic Church. Her feast day, initially was specified as 18 February – the day the Blessed Virgin promised to make her happy, not in this life, but in the next but is now observed in most places on the date of her death, 16 April.