Saint Bernadette of Lourdes was a young peasant girl from Lourdes, France who experienced 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary between February and July 1858 in a grotto called Massabielle. During her first apparition on February 11, 1858, Bernadette described seeing a "small young lady" who was dressed in white and later identified herself as "the Immaculate Conception." After much skepticism, a spring emerged where Bernadette had dug in the ground at the direction of the apparition. This led to the development of Lourdes as a major Catholic pilgrimage site. Bernadette later became a nun and died at the age of 35, being canonized as a

1. Saint Bernadette of Lourdes

2. Saint Bernadette of Lourdes
7 January 1844 – 16 April 1879

3. The way to
Sanctity and
Heaven in
the life of
Bernadette

4. Marie Bernarde
Soubirous was
the daughter of
François Soubirous
(1807–1871),
a miller,
and Louise (née
Casteròt; 1825–
1866), a laundress.
She was the eldest
of nine children —
Bernadette, Jean
(born and died 1845),
Toinette (1846–1892),
Jean-Marie (1848–1851),
Jean-Marie (1851–1919),
Justin (1855–1865),
Pierre (1859–1931),
Jean (born and died
1864),
and a baby named
Louise who died soon
after her birth (1866)

5. the family had lived in the Boly mill, where Bernadette was born
on January 7, 1844, and in the cachot or dungeon on Rue des Petits
Fossés, from where Bernadette left to look for firewood on the day on
which she indicated having had her first vision, on February 11, 1858.

6. Bernadette was born on January 7, 1844 and baptized at the local parish
church, St. Pierre's, on 9 January, her parents' wedding anniversary.

7. Her godmother was Bernarde Casterot, her mother's sister, a moderately
wealthy widow who owned a tavern, where Bernadette later worked. –
Hard times had fallen on France and the family lived in extreme poverty.

8. Bernadette’s
paternal house,
in Lourdes,
photographed in
1914, also called the
Lacadé mill, where
the family lived from
1863. Bernadette's
mother, Louise
Castérot, died in
this house on
December 8, 1866.

9. They lived a few years
in a cell in the old
Lourdes prison, out of
use at the time:
the so-called "cachot",
measuring 4.40 m by
4 m, on Rue des Petits
Fossés, ceded by its
owner, a cousin of the
father named Aimé
Sajous, because of
the extreme poverty
of the Soubirous family

10. they lived in a one-room basement, formerly used as a jail, called le cachot, "the
dungeon", where they were housed for free by her mother's cousin, André Sajoux.

11. Her father, François Sobirós (1807-1871), had a job at the time of the apparitions
collecting garbage from the town and the hospital; His trade was a miller, but the
scarcity of work made it impossible to perform it. Her mother, Louise Castérot (1825-
1866), was a pious and caring woman who occasionally worked as a seamstress.

12. The neighbors testified that the family lived in unusual
harmony, apparently due to the love that its members
professed among their members and their religiosity.

13. They were very poor. Bernadette had to borrow clothes
when she washed her own. - When the other children her
age attended school, she had to take care of her younger
brothers or guard other people's sheep on the mountain.

14. she was determined to receive First Communion. At night, after long hours of
work, the girl repeated the formulas of the catechism. Her teacher told her
parents: «She finds it difficult to memorize the catechism, because she can't
read; but she puts a lot of effort: she is very attentive and pious ».

15. Bernadette was
a very sick child
and possibly
due to this only
measured 1.4 m
(4 ft. 7in.) tall.
She contracted
cholera as a
toddler and
suffered severe
asthma for the
rest of her life.

16. Bernadette attended the day school conducted by the Sisters of Charity and Christian
Instruction from Nevers. - She learned very little French, only studying French in school
after age 13. At that time she could read and write very little due to her frequent illness.
She spoke the language of Occitan, spoken by the local population of the Pyrenees

17. On 11 February 1858, Soubirous, then aged 14,
was out gathering firewood with her sister Toinette
and a friend near the grotto of Massabielle

18. Bernadette offered
to go down the hill
to collect firewood,
on the banks of the
Gave stream, with her
sister Toinette and
Juana Abadie, whom
they called Baloum.
The three girls
descended to
Masse-Vieille.

19. she experienced her first vision. - looking for a place to cross
the stream She sat down to take her shoes off when she
heard the sound of rushing wind, but nothing moved. A wild
rose in a natural niche in the grotto, however, did move.

20. From the niche, or rather the dark alcove behind it,
"came a dazzling light, and a white figure“;(a small maiden).

21. “In the opening of a rock, called the cave
of Masse-Vieille, I saw a young woman.
Thinking I was being deceived, I rubbed my
eyes; but raising them, I saw the young
woman again, who was smiling at me and
waving to me to come closer. The woman
herself wore a white tunic with a veil that
covered her head and reached her feet, on
each of which she had a yellow rose, the
same color as her rosary beads. The girdle
of her tunic was blue. (...) I was afraid.
Then I saw that the young woman was still
smiling. I reached into her pocket to get the
rosary that I always carry with me and it
fell to the ground. My hand was shaking.
I knelt down. I saw the young woman cross
herself... I made the sign of the cross and
prayed with the young woman... While I
was praying, she passed the rosary beads
(...) When the rosary was finished, she
smiled at me again. (...) That Lady did
not speak to me until the third time”

22. …She
described
the lady as
wearing
a white veil,
a blue girdle
and
with a
yellow rose
on each
foot.

23. 2nd apparition - On 14 February, after Sunday Mass, Bernadette, with her sister Marie
and some other girls, returned to the grotto. She knelt down immediately, saying she saw
the apparition again. When one of the girls threw holy water at the niche and another
threw a rock from above that shattered on the ground, the apparition disappeared. -

24. 3rd Apparition - On her next visit, 18 February,
Bernadette said that "the vision" asked her to
return to the grotto every day for a fortnight.

25. Initially, Bernadette’s parents, were embarrassed
and tried to forbid her to go to the grotto

26. 9th apparition
On 25th Feb the Lady old
her "to drink of the water
of the spring, to wash in it
and to eat the herb that
grew there," as an act of
penance, which she did to
everybody’s surprise
for no water nor
food was visible.
Yet, the next day
the grotto was no
longer muddy but
clear water flowed.

27. 9th apparition
After praying the rosary, the Lady asked
her to drink from the spring water and
eat from the plants that grew freely there.
She interpreted that she should go to
drink water from the nearby river Gave
and that is where she headed. But the
Lady taught him with her finger to dig
in the ground. Bernadette dug into the
ground with her bare hands, and she
smeared her face looking to drink where
there was only mud. She tried to "drink"
three times, to no avail. On the fourth try,
the droplets were clearer and she drank
them. She also ate bits of some of the
local plants. When she finally turned
back to the watching crowd, her face
was smeared with mud, no spring having
been revealed. This caused much skepti-
cism and was seen as insanity by many in
attendance, who yelled, "She's a fraud!"
and "She's insane!" as her bewildered
relatives wiped the teenager's face with
a handkerchief. Soon after, however,
a spring of water gushed forth
from the muddy hole.

28. 13th apparition - On 2 March, Bernadette told her family that the lady
said that "a chapel should be built and a processiones held".

29. Accompanied by two of her aunts, Bernadette went to the parish
priest, Father Dominique Peyramale, with her request. Peyramale
was an intelligent man but he did not believe in visions and
miracles. Build a chapel... "But in whose honor?“ he asked…

30. 16th apparition
On March 25th
(feast of the Annunciation)
she again asked the woman
for her name but the lady
just smiled back.
She repeated the question three
more times and finally heard
the lady say, in Gascon Occitan,
"I am the Immaculate Conception"
(Qué soï era immaculado
councepcioũ,
a phonetic transcription of
Que soi era immaculada concepcion)

31. 17th apparition – April 7th. - The revelation happened after more than an hour, during which
the second of the so-called "miracles of the candle" took place. Bernadette was holding a lighted
candle; during her vision, the candle was consumed and the flame came into direct contact with
her skin for more than fifteen minutes, without causing any sign of pain or tissue damage.

32. "I am the Immaculate Conception"... This was the answer that
convinced the harsh parish priest of Lourdes, Don Dominique
Peyramale, of the credibility of Bernadette's words.

33. Three years earlier, on
December 8, 1854, the
Catholic Church in the figure
of Pope Pius IX had made
explicit the dogma of the
"Immaculate Conception"
which upholds the belief
that the Virgin Mary,
mother of Jesus, unlike all
other human beings, was
preserved immune from
all stain of original guilt
from the first moment of
its conception, by singular
privilege and grace of the
Lord God and in attention
to the merits of Christ-Jesus

34. “I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION”
It seems an extension of the Johannine
tradition. Indeed, in the Gospel according
to Saint John, Jesus introduces himself
with the name "I am" (for example, John 8,
24.28.58; John 13, 19), which he often
completes with a predicate that qualifies
his person and his mission: "I am the bread
of life" (John 6, 35.48), "I am the light of
the world" (John 8, 12); "I am the good
shepherd" (John 10, 11.14); "I am the
resurrection and the life" (John 11:25);
"I am the way, the truth and the life"
(John 14:6); "I am the true vine" (John
15:1). Jesus presented himself as the one
in whom the expected goods are realized.
In Lourdes, Mary -following the tradition
of the Evangelist Saint John- presents
herself as the one "full of grace" in whom,
according to the Catholic Church, the
wonders of God were performed -in
attention to Jesus Christ: "I am the
Immaculate Conception».

35. The last interrogation before the ecclesiastical commission, presided over by the Bishop of Tarbes,
Laurence, was on December 1, 1860. The old bishop ended up moved, when Bernadette repeated
the gesture and the words that the Virgin made on March 25, 1858: «I am the Immaculate
Conception». On January 18, 1862, the elderly Bishop of Tarbes published the pastoral letter in
which he declared that "the Immaculate Mother of God has truly appeared to Bernadette."

36. Catholic Church authorities confirmed the
authenticity of the apparitions in 1862.

37. Bernadette
photographed
in the grotto
in 1863.

38. Bernadette went to the hospice school run by the Sisters of Charity of
Nevers where she had learned to read and write. On 29 July 1866, she
took the religious habit of a postulant and joined the Sisters of Charity
at their motherhouse at Nevers, taking the name of Marie-Bernarde

39. The carving of the Virgin placed in the grotto ever since, was
sculpted by the sculptor Joseph Hughes Fabisch (1812-1886),
professorof the Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters of
Lyon, between the end of 1863 and the beginning of 1864

40. Bernadette used to say: "I have never seen such a beautiful woman“
the statue -following the aesthetic canons of her time more than
Bernadette's indications- did not reflect the smile, simplicity, humility,
beauty and naturalness that Bernadette pointed out the Virgin had…

41. The saint said:
"She had a rosary
like mine", and
for this reason
the first statues
produced in
Lourdes had a
6-decade rosary
like Saint Brigid's
used by the
visionary.
One of 5 tens
was added
to the statue

42. the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was consecrated in 1876

43. Bernadette spent the rest of her brief life at the motherhouse,
working as an assistant in the infirmary and later as a sacristan,
creating beautiful embroidery for altar cloths and vestments.

44. Her contemporaries admired her humility and spirit of sacrifice. One day, asked
about the apparitions, she replied: - “The Virgin used me as a broom to remove
the dust. When the work is done, the broom is put behind the door again”.

45. Here for thirteen years, at the service of God and of her sisters, Bernadette lived in depth
the message of prayer and conversion that Mary entrusted to her in Massabielle

46. She pronounced her vows, in article of death, a first time on 25
October 1866 and she was administered the oil of the sick, a second
time on 30 October 1867.In 1876, although ill, she wrote: "I am
happier, on my bed of pain, than a queen on her throne".

47. Bernadette's "calvary" can be summarized in a sentence that she herself wrote:
"To obey is to love, to suffer everything in silence to please Jesus is to love".

48. Unfortunately, Bernadette’s childhood bout of
"cholera left her with severe, chronic asthma, and
eventually she contracted tuberculosis of the lungs
and bones." For several months prior to her death,
she was unable to take an active part in convent
life. She eventually died of her long-term illness at
the age of 35 on 16 April 1879 (the Wednesday
after Easter), while praying the holy rosary.

49. asthma, hemoptysis,
knee bone cancer. On 11
December 1878 she was
definitively bedridden: - “I am
ground like a grain of wheat”.
Tormented by an inner
spiritual trial, she will live her
passion under her great veils,
which she defines as her
white chapel. And she will
remain faithful

50. 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, "Blessed Mary, Mother of God, Pray for me".

51. 13 years of religious life spent in service and prayer, as he had learned
at the Grotto: "What matters is to love". Not because she had seen the
Virgin, Bernadette had to become a nun. You have simply discovered that
God is extraordinary, that he draws like a light, that he burns like a fire

53. Bernadette‘s body was laid to rest in the Saint Gildard Convent.
She was declared blessed on 14 June 1921 by Pope Pius XI.
She was canonized by Pius XI on 8 December 1933

54. The remains were then placed in a gold and crystal reliquary in
the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the motherhouse in Nevers

55. In the 160 years since bernadette dug up the spring, cures have
been verified by the Lourdes Medical Bureau as "inexplicable" –

56. Requirements to authenticate
miracles,
(a)the disease is incurable;
(b)that the total ineffectiveness of
the medications or protocols
used in the treatment of said
ailment has been revealed;
(c)the cure has occurred
instantaneously or nearly
instantaneously;
(d)that the cure has been
absolute.
Of the approximately 7,000 cases
of healing registered in the
files, only 67 have been
officially recognized as
"miracles" by the
Catholic Church.

58. LIST OF PRESENTATIONS IN ENGLISH
Revised 1-11-2022
Advent and Christmas – time of hope and peace
All Souls Day
Amoris Laetitia – ch 1 – In the Light of the Word
Amoris Laetitia – ch 2 – The Experiences and Challenges of Families
Amoris Laetitia – ch 3 - Looking to Jesus, the Vocation of the Family
Amoris Laetitia – ch 4 - Love in Marriage
Amoris Laetitia – ch 5 – Love made Fruitfuol
Amoris Laetitia – ch 6 – Some Pastoral Perspectives
Amoris Laetitia – ch 7 – Towards a better education of children
Amoris Laetitia – ch 8 – Accompanying, discerning and integrating
weaknwss
Amoris Laetitia – ch 9 – The Spirituality of Marriage and the Family
Beloved Amazon 1ª – A Social Dream
Beloved Amazon 2 - A Cultural Dream
Beloved Amazon 3 – An Ecological Dream
Beloved Amazon 4 - An Ecclesiastical Dream
Carnival
Conscience
Christ is Alive
Deus Caritas est 1,2– Benedict XVI
Fatima, History of the Apparitiions
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 1 – Church and Family today
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 2 - God’s plan for the family
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 1 – family as a Community
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 2 – serving life and education
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 3 – mission of the family in society
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 4 - Family in the Church
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 4 Pastoral familiar
Football in Spain
Freedom
Grace and Justification
Haurietis aquas – devotion to the Sacred Heart by Pius XII
Holidays and Holy Days
Holy Spirit
Holy Week – drawings for children
Holy Week – glmjpses of the last hours of JC
Human Community
Inauguration of President Donald Trump
Juno explores Jupiter
Kingdom of Christ
Saint John N. Neumann, bishop of Philadelphia
Saint John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla
Saint Joseph
Saint Leo the Great
Saint Luke, evangelist
Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland
Saint Maria Goretti
Saint Mary Magdalen
Saint Mark, evangelist
Saint Martha, Mary and Lazarus
Saint Martin de Porres
Saint Martin of Tours
Sain Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta
Saints Nazario and Celso
Saint John Chrysostom
Saint Jean Baptiste MarieaVianney, Curé of Ars
Saint John N. Neumann, bishop of Philadelphia
Saint John of the Cross
Saint Mother Teresa of Calcuta
Saint Patrick and Ireland
Saing Peter Claver
Saint Robert Bellarmine
Saint Therese of Lisieux
Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
Saint Stephen, proto-martyr
Saint Thomas Becket
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Saints Zachary and Elizabeth, parents of John Baptist
Signs of hope
Sunday – day of the Lord
Thanksgiving – History and Customs
The Body, the cult – (Eucharist)
The Chursh, Mother and Teacher
Valentine
Vocation to Beatitude
Virgin of Guadalupe – Apparitions
Virgin of the Pillar and Hispaniic feast day
Virgin of Sheshan, China
Vocation – mconnor@legionaries.org
WMoFamilies Rome 2022 – festval of families
Way of the Cross – drawings for children
For commentaries – email –
mflynn@legionaries.org
Fb – Martin M Flynn
Donations to - BANCO - 03069 INTESA SANPAOLO SPA
Name – EUR-CA-ASTI
IBAN – IT61Q0306909606100000139493
Laudato si 1 – care for the common home
Laudato si 2 – Gospel of creation
Laudato si 3 – Human roots of the ecological crisis
Laudato si 4 – integral ecology
Laudato si 5 – lines of approach and action
Laudato si 6 – Education y Ecological Spirituality
Life in Christ
Love and Marriage 12,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Lumen Fidei – ch 1,2,3,4
Mary – Doctrine and dogmas
Mary in the bible
Martyrs of Korea
Martyrs of North America and Canada
Medjugore Santuario Mariano
Merit and Holiness
Misericordiae Vultus in English
Moral Law
Morality of Human Acts
Passions
Pope Francis in Bahrain
Pope Francis in Thailand
Pope Francis in Japan
Pope Francis in Sweden
Pope Francis in Hungary, Slovaquia
Pope Francis in America
Pope Francis in the WYD in Poland 2016
Passions
Querida Amazonia
Resurrection of Jesus Christ –according to the Gospels
Russian Revolution and Communismo 1,2,3
Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr
Saint Agnes of Rome, virgin and martyr
Saint Albert the Great
Saint Andrew, Apostle
Saint Anthony of the desert, Egypt
Saint Anthony of Padua
Saint Bernadette of Lourdes
Saint Bruno, fuunder of the Carthusians
Saaint Columbanus 1,2
Saint Charles Borromeo
Saint Cecilia
Saint Faustina Kowalska and thee divine mercy
Saint Francis de Sales
Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis Xaviour
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Saint James, apostle
Saint John, apsotle and evangelist

59. LISTA DE PRESENTACIONES EN ESPAÑOL
Revisado 1-11-2022
Abuelos
Adviento y Navidad, tiempo de esperanza
Amor y Matrimonio 1 - 9
Amoris Laetitia – ch 1 – A la luz de la Palabre
Amoris Laetitia – ch 2 – Realidad y Desafíos de las Familias
Amoris Laetitia – ch 3 La mirada puesta en Jesús: Vocación de la
Familia
Amoris Laetitia – ch 4 - El Amor en el Matrimonio
Amoris Laetitia – ch 5 – Amor que se vuelve fecundo
Amoris Laetitia – ch 6 – Algunas Perspectivas Pastorales
Amoris Laetitia – ch 7 – Fortalecer la educacion de los hijos
Amoris Laetitia – ch 8 – Acompañar, discernir e integrar la fragilidad
Amoris Laetitia – ch 9 – Espiritualidad Matrimonial y Familiar
Carnaval
Conciencia
Cristo Vive
Deus Caritas est 1,2– Benedicto XVI
Dia de todos los difuntos
Domingo – día del Señor
El camino de la cruz de JC en dibujos para niños
El Cuerpo, el culto – (eucarisía)
Encuentro Mundial de Familias Roma 2022 – festival de las familias
Espíritu Santo
Fatima – Historia de las apariciones
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 1 – iglesia y familia hoy
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 2 - el plan de Dios para la familia
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 1 – familia como comunidad
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 2 – servicio a la vida y educación
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 3 – misión de la familia en la sociedad
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 4 - participación de la familia en la iglesia
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 4 Pastoral familiar
Fátima – Historia de las Apariciones de la Virgen
Feria de Sevilla
Haurietis aquas – el culto al Sagrado Corazón
Hermandades y cofradías
Hispanidad
La Iglesia, Madre y Maestra
La Comunidad Humana
La Vida en Cristo
Laudato si 1 – cuidado del hogar común
Laudato si 2 – evangelio de creación
Laudato si 3 – La raíz de la crisis ecológica
Laudato si 4 – ecología integral
Laudato si 5 – líneas de acción
Laudato si 6 – Educación y Espiritualidad Ecológica
San Marco, evangelista
San Ignacio de Loyola
San Marco, evangelista
San Ignacio de Loyola
San José, obrero, marido, padre
San Juan, apostol y evangelista
San Juan Ma Vianney, Curé de’Ars
San Juan Crisostom
San Juan de la Cruz
San Juan N. Neumann, obispo de Philadelphia
San Juan Pablo II, Karol Wojtyla
San Leon Magno
San Lucas, evangelista
San Mateo, Apóstol y Evangelista
San Martin de Porres
San Martin de Tours
San Mateo, Apostol y Evangelista
San Maximiliano Kolbe
Santos Simon y Judaa Tadeo, aposttoles
San Nazario e Celso
San Padre Pio de Pietralcina
San Patricio e Irlanda
San Pedro Claver
San Roberto Belarmino
Santiago Apóstol
San Tomás Becket
SanTomás de Aquino
Santos Zacarias e Isabel, padres de Juan Bautista
Semana santa – Vistas de las últimas horas de JC
Vacaciones Cristianas
Valentín
Vida en Cristo
Virgen de Guadalupe, Mexico
Virgen de Pilar – fiesta de la hispanidad
Virgen de Sheshan, China
Virtud
Vocación a la bienaventuranza
Vocación – www.vocación.org
Vocación a evangelizar
Para comentarios – email –
mflynn@lcegionaries.org
fb – martin m. flynn
Donations to - BANCO - 03069 INTESA SANPAOLO SPA
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IT61Q0306909606100000139493
Ley Moral
Libertad
Lumen Fidei – cap 1,2,3,4
María y la Biblia
Martires de Corea
Martires de Nor America y Canada
Medjugore peregrinación
Misericordiae Vultus en Español
Moralidad de actos humanos
Pasiones
Papa Francisco en Baréin
Papa Francisco en Bulgaria
Papa Francisco en Rumania
Papa Francisco en Marruecos
Papa Francisco en México
Papa Francisco – Jornada Mundial Juventud 2016
Papa Francisco – visita a Chile
Papa Francisco – visita a Perú
Papa Francisco en Colombia 1 + 2
Papa Francisco en Cuba
Papa Francisco en Fátima
Papa Francisco en la JMJ 2016 – Polonia
Papa Francisco en Hugaría e Eslovaquia
Queridas Amazoznia 1,2,3,4
El Reino de Cristo
Resurrección de Jesucristo – según los Evangelios
Revolución Rusa y Comunismo 1, 2, 3
Santa Agata, virgen y martir
San Alberto Magno
San Andrés, Apostol
Sant Antonio de l Deserto, Egipto
San Antonio de Padua
San Bruno, fundador del Cartujo
San Carlos Borromeo
San Columbanus 1,2
San Esteban, proto-martir
San Francisco de Asis 1,2,3,4
San Francisco de Sales
San Francisco Javier
Santa Bernadita de Lourdes
Santa Cecilia
Santa Faustina Kowalska, y la divina misericordia
SantaInés de Roma, virgen y martir
SantaMargarita de Escocia
Santa Maria Goretti
Santa María Magdalena
Santa Teresa de Calcuta
Santa Teresa de Lisieux
Santos Marta, Maria, y Lazaro