Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Virgin and Visionary of Lourdes
- Feast Day
- April 16
- Life
- 1844–1879
- Canonized
- 1933
- Order
- Sisters of Charity of Nevers
- Born
- Lourdes, France
Marie-Bernarde 'Bernadette' Soubirous was born on 7 January 1844 at Lourdes, in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, the eldest child of a poor miller's family that had fallen on hard times. Sickly, asthmatic, and unschooled, she was by every account an unremarkable girl.
Between 11 February and 16 July 1858, when she was fourteen, Bernadette saw at the grotto of Massabielle eighteen apparitions of a young woman of great beauty, who on 25 March identified herself with the words, 'I am the Immaculate Conception.' At the Lady's direction Bernadette dug in the ground and uncovered a spring whose water has been associated with countless reported healings ever since. After careful examination the local bishop approved the apparitions in 1862, and Lourdes became one of the greatest pilgrimage shrines in the world.
Seeking to escape her fame, Bernadette entered the Sisters of Charity of Nevers in 1866, where she lived hidden and often gravely ill, serving as an infirmarian and sacristan. She bore long suffering with patience, saying that the Blessed Virgin had promised to make her happy not in this world but in the next. She died at Nevers on 16 April 1879, aged thirty-five.
When her body was later exhumed it was found remarkably preserved, and it is venerated today at the convent of Saint-Gildard in Nevers. Pope Pius XI beatified her in 1925 and canonised her on 8 December 1933, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Her feast is kept on 16 April.
Saint Bernadette is the patron of the sick, of Lourdes, and of those mocked or disbelieved for their faith. Through her the Blessed Virgin gave the Church the shrine of Lourdes, where millions of pilgrims — especially the ill and disabled — continue to seek healing and consolation. Her hidden life of humility and patient suffering is held up as a model of holiness for the lowly and the overlooked.
Patronages
the sick · the ill · Lourdes · shepherds · those ridiculed for their piety · people in poverty
Catholic Churches Named After Saint Bernadette Soubirous
4 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint Bernadette Soubirous's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- St. Bernadette Soubirous Catholic Church — Houma, LA
- Sanctuaire Saint-Gildard (EBSN - Espace Bernadette Soubirous Nevers) — NEVERS, 58
- Chiesa di San Bernadette Soubirous — Roma
- Saint Bernadette Soubirous — Montevideo, Montevideo
Sources