On February 11, the Catholic Church honors the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, remembering the Blessed Virgin Mary's 18 encounters with a 14-year-old French peasant girl, Saint Bernadette Soubirous.
The Marian apparitions started on February 11, 1858, and concluded on July 16 of that year. Following a four-year investigation, the local bishop approved them.
Shortly after the 1854 dogmatic announcement of her Immaculate Conception, the Virgin Mary's visions at Lourdes transformed the town into a sought-after travel spot. Numerous individuals claim that their health issues have been healed through pilgrimage, prayer, and the water from a spring that Bernadette was shown by the Blessed Virgin. Since 1862, experts have confirmed 69 instances of miraculous healings at Lourdes.
St. Bernadette has her own liturgical feast, celebrated on February 18 in France and Canada, and on April 16 in other regions. Born in January 1844, the future visionary was the initial offspring of her parents Francois and Louise, who both labored in a mill operated by Francois. Their family life was affectionate yet challenging. Numerous siblings of Bernadette passed away during their youth, and she acquired asthma. Financial difficulties and an injury incurred by her father led to the loss of the mill in 1854.
Years of hardship ensued, during which Bernadette frequently had to stay away from her parents and work instead of going to school. In January 1858, she returned to her family, who were residing in a small, crowded room. Deeply devoted to her beliefs, Bernadette worked hard to understand the Church's doctrines even though she had no formal schooling.
On February 11, 1858, Bernadette went to collect firewood with her sister and a companion. As she neared a grotto by a river, she noticed a light emanating from a location near a rosebush. A woman in a white dress, holding a rosary, was enveloped by the light. Noticing the woman in white performing the sign of the Cross, Bernadette knelt, retrieved her rosary, and started to pray. Once she completed her prayer, the woman signaled for her to come closer. Yet she stayed motionless, and the image faded away.
Her friends had observed nothing. Bernadette recounted the woman in white to them, insisting they keep it a secret. However, the secret was revealed later that day. The following Sunday, Bernadette went back to the grotto, where she encountered the woman once more. The identity of the ghost, nevertheless, would stay undisclosed for a few weeks.
A few adults joined Bernadette on her third visit on Feb. 18, but they did not witness the vision she experienced. The woman dressed in white requested the girl to come back in two weeks. "She also said to me," Bernadette later recorded, "that she did not guarantee my happiness in this life, but in the afterlife." The following day, a group of relatives and others accompanied her to the cave, but it was only the young peasant girl who spotted the woman and listened to her words.
In the following days, the attendance at the cave increased to over 100 individuals. A local priest, Father Peyramale, grew worried – just like the police did. On February 24, 250 individuals witnessed Bernadette burst into tears, but only she perceived the woman's words: “Penance!” Atonement! Atonement! Plead to God for those who sin. "Go, kiss the earth for the redemption of wrongdoers."
A bigger crowd gathered on Feb. 25 – but they were stunned to witness Bernadette drinking from a dirty stream and consuming weeds. The spirit had instructed her to consume the water, and the removal of weeds was a form of atonement. Bystanders, in contrast, perceived merely the girl's strange conduct, and public intrigue shifted to mockery and doubt.
On February 27, Bernadette experienced a happy revelation: the spring she had been drinking from was no longer muddy, but rather clear. As the throngs kept assembling, this alteration was observed, and a woman with a disabled arm approached the water seeking healing. In four years, her situation would be acknowledged as the initial miraculous recovery at Lourdes. Public interest persisted, and Bernadette received a repeated message from the vision: “Go, inform the priests to bring people here in procession and have a chapel constructed here.”
Although many hastily deduced that Bernadette was encountering the Virgin Mary, the visionary herself did not assert knowledge of the woman's identity. As she communicated the reiterated message to Fr. Peyramale, the priest became irritated and instructed Bernadette to inquire about the woman's name. However, when she did this, the woman smiled and chose to stay quiet. Her identity continued to be a mystery following the first two-week period.
Three weeks later, on the Feast of the Annunciation, Bernadette returned to the cave. Upon seeing the woman, she continuously inquired about her identity. At last, the woman clasped her hands, gazed upward, and proclaimed: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The prophet, pious yet ignorant, was unaware of the meaning of these words. She connected them to Fr. Peyramale, taken aback, and notified his bishop.
In 1858, Bernadette encountered the Blessed Virgin Mary two additional times: once on the Wednesday following Easter and again on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In 1862, the diocesan bishop announced that the visions were credible.
In 1866, St. Bernadette departed from Lourdes to become a member of a religious community in central France, where she passed away in 1879 following years of sickness. At the time of her passing, a basilica had been constructed and dedicated at the site of the apparition, under the direction of Fr. Peyramale.