Who is St Bernadette?

Bernadette Soubirous was born in Lourdes, a small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in the year 1844.

She was born into a poor but loving family, who suffered many hardships. Bernadette was a simple peasant-girl, uneducated and small in stature.

Although her health was poor due to chronic asthma, her days were full of hard work; missing school and Catechism lessons to stay at home and help out.
This simple peasant girl was chosen to give the message of the love God has for all mankind “as the adopted children of His Blessed Mother.”

In 1858, she saw the Virgin Mary eighteen times at the Grotto of Massabielle: the Apparitions of Lourdes were authenticated in 1866 by the Bishop of Tarbes. In that same year, Bernadette left Lourdes to live out her religious vocation within the community of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers.

She entered the convent of the Sisters of Charity, where she carried out humble work and was not given any special treatment. In silence, she endured extreme pain as she became seriously ill with tuberculosis of the lungs and bones. This humble saint died at the age of thirty-five and was proclaimed blessed in 1925, then a saint in 1933.

Her feast day is celebrated on 16th April in the Universal Church, and on 18th February in France.

Bernadette’s body was exhumed on 18th April 1925 for her beatification. It was found to be uncorrupted. It was then decided to place it in the chapel of the Sisters of Nevers where it is still visible today.

Today, the Grotto of Lourdes is visited by millions each year. Many miracles have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. Due to this, the 11th February, the date of the first apparition, is dedicated as the World Day of the Sick.

It was at Lourdes, that Our Lady herself proclaimed “I am the Immaculate Conception.” to Bernadette.