Canonized

Her incorrupt body lies in the Convent of Saint Gildarde in Nevers

"As soon as she was dead," stated Sister Bernard Dalias, "Bernadette's face became young and peaceful again, with a look of purity and blessedness." The infirmarians clothed her in her religious habit. "We had no difficulty in doing so," observed Sister de Vigouroux, "for her body was supple even though she had been dead for two hours."

This photo was taken when she died in 1879

Bernadette died on 16th April 1879. Her body was buried in the small chapel dedicated to St.Joseph, within the convent grounds. In September of 1909, Bernadettes body was exhumed, as part of the process leading to her eventual canonisation. The hollowed-out tomb was extremely humid - her habit was very damp, the rosary held in her hands was rusted and her crucifix had turned green. Yet despite this, the body itself was perfectly preserved. Two further exhumations (in April 1919 and April 1925) were carried out. At the third , the skin was found to have discoloured slightly in places, due probably to exposure to the air following the forty-six years of burial. Because of this, the firm of Pierre Imans in Paris made light wax coverings for the face and hands. By June of 1925, the Cateland workshop in Lyon had finished the gilt and crystal reliquary which was to be the final resting place of the saint; the light wax masks were placed on the face and hands and the body was placed in the shrine. The same month, Pope Pius XI beatified Bernadette - she could now be called "Blessed" and her remains could be publicly venerated.

In August, the shrine was ceremonially placed in the main chapel of the convent, and the long line of pilgrims began to visit the convent. In 1933 Bernadette was declared a Saint - appropriately, this took place on December 8th, feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Life after the Apparitions

Bernadette in 1866
Later in life she became a Sister of Charity of Nevers, and was besieged by many faithful and religious.

Bernadette (in religion, Sister Marie-Bernarde) spent the latter part of her life at the convent, saying that she had come to hide herself. She sought God in the silence of the cloister, serving Him in humility and under the vows of her profession as a Sister of Charity of Nevers. She lived in the convent for thirteen years, spending a large portion of this time ill in the infirmary - when a fellow sister accused her of being a 'lazybones', she said that her 'job' was "to be ill".

Bernadette died on 16th April 1879.

The Lady of Lourdes had kept the promise She made to Bernadette in 1858 -
"I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next".

Although the apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes were over for Bernadette (at least in this life), their message and mission were never to be forgotten. Bernadette silently offered all of her sufferings, internal and external, for the benefit of "poor sinners".

Eighteenth Apparition-LOURDES Last Apparition

Friday 16 July 1858

July 16th was the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - in the parish church there was an altar dedicated to the Blessed Virgin under this title. While praying there in the early evening, Bernadette - who faithfully wore the Brown Scapular of Carmel all the days of her life - once more felt herself called by her Lady to come to the Grotto.

The Grotto was boarded up now and closed to the public, access to it forbidden and use of the water disallowed. But nothing could stop the child responding to the call of the Immaculate One.

She left the Church immediately and ran to the home of her Aunt Basile, to ask her to accompany her to the Grotto. Since the Grotto itself was now closed, the two took another path, across the field known as 'de la Ribere', leading to the right bank of the river Gave, opposite the vault and the niche. On the way to the rock, they met several of the Lourdes women; these followed the visionary, since it was obvious she was going back to the Grotto.

On the far side of the river, the child knelt to commence her prayers. Almost immediately, her little face was transfigured with the heavenly light of her beautiful Lady, who stood once more in the hallowed niche across the water.

"Yes! Yes! She is there!" exclaimed the little one. "She welcomes us and is smiling upon us across the barriers!". Then she began her intimate discourse with the Woman who so enraptured her and who was the sole reality for her at that moment.

It seemed to those present that at intervals during the dialogue, the child was almost trying to fly across the water, so far forward did she lean. But now the moment had come for the Lady to say farewell to her little protégé, her own child, who now would have to await her entry into Heaven before gazing upon Her beauty once more.

The child later declared that "The Blessed Virgin is so beautiful that when one has seen Her once, one would gladly wish to die so as to see Her again". That feeling was now to flower within the heart and soul of the faithful child.

As the sun was beginning to set, the Lady who called Herself the Immaculate Conception took Her leave of the child, ending the vision with Bernadette still in the fullness of her joy. As She disappeared, She cast one last smile upon Bernadette. Never again in this life would Bernadette see the Lady; now she could only wait for Her to keep the promise She had made at the second Apparition - "I do not promise to make you happy in this life, but in the next".

Seventeenth Apparition-LOURDES

Wednesday 7 April 1858

The number of people traveling to the Grotto was steadily increasing, more so now that the mysterious Lady had finally identified Herself as the Immaculate Conception. Until this title had been announced, Bernadette had always called the Woman 'the Lady' - the people at the Grotto had also followed this example set by the little one. But after the Feast of the Annunciation, they were able to personalise the name of the Lady - there was now no doubt about Her identity; She was Mary, the Mother of God. And subsequently, She was referred to as Our Lady of Massabieille or Our Lady of the Grotto.

On Easter Sunday, 4th April 1858, the parish church in Lourdes was filled with people all day long. And throughout the day, people flocked to the Grotto. Commissioner Jacomet counted "in all, 3,625 visitors to the Grotto" between five in the morning and eleven at night.

The next day, Jacomet counted "3,433 strangers and 2,012 Lourdes people; in all 5,445 visitors" at the rock of Massabieille. Bernadette, however, had not been back to the Grotto since the day the Lady had named Herself.

On the Tuesday evening, 6th April, the child once more felt within herself the summons from the Lady of the niche - she was called to a further meeting.

It was the Wednesday of Easter week. At six in the morning, Bernadette was once more kneeling in prayer in front of her beloved Grotto, the place she would later call "a little piece of Heaven". The Lady was standing in the niche, bathed in the light of Heaven. Again the vision was a long one, lasting nearly forty-five minutes. The child was praying the Rosary as usual.

Doctor Dozous was present throughout the Apparition. He describes for us the scene as he watched it take place -

"Bernadette seemed to be even more absorbed than usual in the Appearance upon which her gaze was riveted. I witnessed, as did also every one else there present, the fact which I am about to narrate.

"She was on her knees saying with fervent devotion the prayers of her Rosary which she held in her left hand while in her right was a large blessed candle, alight. The child was just beginning to make the usual ascent on her knees when suddenly she stopped and, her right hand joining her left, the flame of the big candle passed between the fingers of the latter. Though fanned by a fairly strong breeze, the flame produced no effect upon the skin which it was touching.

"Astonished at this strange fact, I forbade anyone there to interfere - and taking my watch in my hand, I studied the phenomenon attentively for a quarter of an hour. At the end of this time Bernadette, still in her ecstasy, advanced to the upper part of the Grotto, separating her hands. The flame thus ceased to touch her left hand.

"Bernadette finished her prayer and the splendour of the transfiguration left her face. She rose and was about to quit the Grotto when I asked her to show me her left hand. I examined it most carefully, but could not find the least trace of burning anywhere upon it. I then asked the person who was holding the candle to light it again and give it to me. I put it several times in succession under Bernadettes left hand but she drew it away quickly, saying 'You are burning me!'. I record this fact just as I have seen it without attempting to explain it. Many persons who were present at the time can confirm what I have said."

A neighbour called Julie Garros (who later joined Bernadette in the convent of Nevers as Sister Vincent) also witnessed this. She relates -

"As the Apparition continued, the candle gradually slipped down so that the flame was playing on the inside of her hand".

Bernadettes younger brother, Jean-Marie, recalled "seeing this very clearly as it passed between her fingers". Another neighbour present, a boy called Bernard Joanas, remembered that while this was taking place, Doctor Dozous checked the child's pulse but could find no irregularity. And that when someone was about to remove the candle from her, the woman was told by Doctor Dozous to "Leave her alone". "Bernadette, meanwhile, made no movement", stated the boy, who later became a curate in Lourdes and the Chaplain of the Lourdes Hospice run by the Sisters of Nevers.

Other witnesses later mentioned that this phenomenon also occurred earlier during the Apparitions, sometime before the end of February. At those times, people shouted to take the candle away from the child as it would burn her, although in fact she was not burned - despite the long period of time during which her hand was in contact with the flame.

THE THREE MONTHS LEADING TO THE END OF THE APPARITIONS

Toward the end of the Apparitions, the civil authorities had made all sort of attempts to put an end to the occurrences at the Grotto of Massabieille. A number of doctors and psychiatrists had been called to examine her - the child submitted to each and every examination without question. The doctors concluded that while there still existed the possibility that the visions were the result of "some cerebral lesion", still they could not conclusively decide if this was the case. Other doctors were unwilling to discount the possibility that what was occurring was the result of a supernatural manifestation.

The Bishop of Tarbes, Monseigneur Lawrence, was also following the unusual events in Lourdes. As yet, he had not formally set up a Commission to investigate the alleged Apparitions.

Between the penultimate and the final Apparitions, the child was quite ill - as a result of her asthma she was sent to the mineral springs in Cauterets for recuperation (although this was not entirely effective).

Also, the Grotto itself had undergone some changes; workmen had widened the path leading to the Grotto and had completed the stone troughs into which the waters of the spring were to be redirected and allowed to collect, so allowing pilgrims to bathe in the water or to take it away in bottles.

Bernadette also made her First Holy Communion, on the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament - Thursday 3rd June 1858. Also on that day, she was invested by Abbe Peyramale with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - this scapular remained with her until death. Later, in the convent at Nevers, she would make her own scapulars as the need arose. Many of them can still be seen in the museum there.

That afternoon, Jean Baptiste Estrade and his sister were once again in the company of the child. Monsieur Estrade asked her -

"Tell me, Bernadette, which made you happier - receiving Our Lord or conversing with the Blessed Virgin?".

The child replied without hesitation - "I don't know. The two things go together and cannot be compared. All I know is that I was intensely happy in both cases".

That day, there were more than six thousand people in attendance at the Grotto, hoping for some heavenly manifestation; they were not to be disappointed, despite the fact that no vision occurred that day.

Among the people present, there were many who were sick and crippled. A labourer from the countryside had come together with his family, including a boy of six years who was suffering from paralysis of the spine. Again Doctor Dozous was present at the scene - and he wrote later that he had taken quite an interest in the poor family with the paralysed child.

"Since you have come" he said to the father of the child, "to obtain from the Blessed Virgin a cure which you have asked for in vain from science, take your child, undress him, and place him under the taps of the spring". This was duly done and the child was partially submerged in the cold water for a few minutes.

"The little invalid" continues the Doctor, "after he had been well dried and his clothes put back on, was laid on the ground. But he immediately got up by himself and made his way - walking with the greatest ease - toward his father and mother, who smothered him with vigorous hugs, shedding tears of joy".

But there were also unhappy events. The civil authorities were trying their best to have the Grotto closed to the public, and use of the water disallowed until it had been properly checked once more.

Further - and more worrying still - they were plotting to have the child arrested and committed on her next visit to Massabieille. This sad state of affairs was only halted by the intervention of Abbe Peyramale who - despite his lingering doubts about the visions themselves - was in no doubt about the innocence of the visionary. She might be deluded, but she was certainly no threat to the moral order of Lourdes or of France!

At this time, there were also a number of Satanic manifestations at the Grotto.

From the start of time, God had warned Satan that there would forever be enmity between him and the Woman. Lourdes was to be no exception to this rule.

The Satanic manifestation had begun during the fourth Apparition, when Bernadette had heard the cacophony of dark voices rising from the waters of the river, until silenced by the glance from the Virgin.

Now, toward, the end of the Visions, he would once more commence his assault. A young lady of Lourdes named Honorine, had been at the Grotto one day when she heard voices coming from within the empty Grotto - she said these voices produced a strange effect on her senses. This was repeated the next day, when Honorine again heard sounds - this time, savage howls and sounds like wild beasts in combat. The girl was terrified, and did not return to Massabieille for a number of weeks. The People of Lourdes said she was simply hysterical.

At the same time, a young man from Lourdes was passing the Grotto one day on his way to work before dawn. He crossed himself as he passed the rock, in honour of She who had been present there. Instantly, strange globes of light surrounded him and he felt unable to move. Terrified, he made the Sign of the Cross once more - as he did so, each of the globes of light exploded loudly around him and he was able to leave the place. As this was occurring, he could hear from within the Grotto, maniacal laughter and blasphemies.

Jean Baptiste Estrade witnessed some of the assaults of the father of lies. A lady from the Rue des Bagneres in Lourdes, named Josephine, was experiencing apparitions in the niche - this lasted for two days. Estrade watched what was happening, but said that while Bernadette was in ecstasy, he felt "transported" - with Josephine, he merely felt "surprised". And whereas Bernadette during her ecstasy was "transfigured", Josephine was simply beautiful. The girl in question related to Estrade that she had indeed seen strange figures within the niche, but that she had felt suspicious of them since they appeared to her to be evil in nature, not Heavenly.

One day a young boy named Alex returned to his home in Lourdes screaming and shouting, but so paralysed with fear that he could not tell his poor mother what was the matter. After several days, he calmed down sufficiently to relate the cause of his terror -

"When I left the house I went to walk with some other children by the side of Massabieille. When I reached the Grotto I prayed for a moment. Then, while waiting for my companions, I went up to the rock. Turning toward the hollow of the rock, I saw coming towards me a beautiful lady. This lady concealed her hands and the lower part of her body in an ashen coloured cloud, like a storm cloud. She fixed on me here great black eyes and seemed to wish to seize me. I thought at once that it was the devil and I fled".

Many other similar events occurred around this time.

Bernadette also had her own problems. There was a constant stream of visitors to the Cachot, all seeking an interview with the child and wishing to hear her relate a narrative of the Visions. The child submitted herself to all of this without hesitation, question or complaint. She saw it as an opportunity to fulfill the requests of the Lady for penance, although she later said that having to tell the same story from early morning till late at night each day, was a greater penance even than the asthma which was troubling her so much at this time. The poor child was constantly exhausted. To make matters worse, the authorities were once more threatening to imprison the child, claiming that she was receiving financial rewards for telling her story. Of course this was untrue; the family were still living in abject poverty and were frequently without sufficient money to feed the children.

On one occasion, Pierre - one of Bernadettes younger brothers - was found eating candle wax in the church, such was his hunger. He had previously accepted the gift of a small coin for showing a wealthy couple where the seer lived (although he neglected to mention that she was in fact his own sister). When Bernadette found out, she was very displeased and took him to the home of the couple in question, where he was forced to return the coin. Bernadette remained above any reproach of pecuniary - or other - gain until the day she died.

After all, the Lady had said that her happiness lay not in this life, but in the next.

Sixteenth Apparition-LOURDES

Thursday 25 March 1858

For the next twenty one days, Bernadette did not go to the Grotto in the early morning as she had been doing until then - she had not felt the call within herself which was her summons. But surely the matter had not reached a satisfactory conclusion - after all, the Lady had still not identified Herself, despite the child's repeated requests.

However, the child did go to the Grotto - but alone. She would go in the late afternoon and spend long hours in prayer and contemplation. But unlike the days of the visions, Bernadette would not kneel in her usual place; instead, she would go deep into the large rock vault at the base of the Grotto. There, cloaked in the gloom of the place, she would pour out her soul to the Lady of the Apparitions - whom she saw with the eyes of her soul, if not her body. By this time, some pious people in Lourdes had set up a small altar beneath the niche - upon an old table, they had placed a small statue of the Blessed Virgin, surrounded with flowers and candles. In fact, candles burned all over the Grotto. Whenever people were gathered at the place, they would begin to sing hymns to the Queen of Heaven. Nearly all of the pilgrims there would leave a small monetary donation, which would later be used to carry out the requests of the Lady. Strangely, none of this money was ever stolen - although it was left there with no-one to watch over it.

On the evening on March 24th, Bernadette told her parents of the feeling she had that she was being called to the Grotto once more by an interior impulse - she intended to return there in the morning. It had been a long time since the Lady had visited her - more than two weeks! How long that night was - try as she might, the child was unable to sleep. As soon as the first light of dawn began to pierce the darkness of night, she rose and quickly dressed.

There were a number of people present there at the Grotto already; it seemed they too felt there may be a fresh occurrence that day. But why today, after the silence of two weeks? That was simple to answer - today was the feast of the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary - the day he saluted Her as 'Full of Grace'.
So perhaps ....

Bernadette arrived at the Grotto at five in the morning, with her blessed candle in her hand. Her parents were with her. Even before she reached the rock, she could see the wondrous light filling the niche, in which stood her beautiful Lady.

"She was there", said
Bernadette, "tranquil and smiling and watching the crowd just as a fond mother watches her children. When I knelt down before Her, I begged Her pardon for coming late. Still kindly towards me, She made me a sign with Her head that I had no need to apologise. Then I told Her of all my love and regard for Her and how happy I was to see Her again. And after pouring out my heart to Her I took up my beads".

At this moment, the Figure bathed in the heavenly light moved from the niche down into the larger vault. Rising to her feet, Bernadette went into the vault to be closer to the Lady. She remained standing in front of Her and a conversation followed. Soon afterward, the oval of light moved back up into the niche once more and prayers were resumed.

Bernadette herself describes the conversation and events which followed this moment -

"Whilst I was praying, the thought of asking Her name came to my mind with such persistence that I could think of nothing else. I feared to be presumptuous in repeating a question She had always refused to answer and yet something compelled me to speak. At last, under an irresistible impulsion, the words fell from my mouth and I begged the Lady to tell me who She was.

"The Lady did as She had always done before; She bowed Her head and smiled but She did not reply.

"I cannot say why, but I felt myself bolder and asked Her again to graciously tell me Her name; however, She only smiled and bowed as before, still remaining silent.

"Then once more, for the third time, clasping my hands and confessing myself to be unworthy of the great favour I was asking of Her, I again made my request.

"The Lady was standing above the rose bush, in a position very similar to that shown on the Miraculous Medal. At my third request, Her face became very serious and She seemed to bow down in an attitude of humility. Then She joined Her hands and raised them to Her breast. She looked up to Heaven.

"Then slowly opening Her hands and leaning towards me, She said to me in a voice vibrating with emotion

'I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION' (Que Soy Era Immaculada Conceptiou)

"She smiled again, spoke no more, and disappeared smiling".

After the vision, Bernadette asked her aunt Lucille to allow her to keep the blessed candle which she had used throughout the Apparitions. Lucile agreed. Having obtained the necessary permission, Bernadette placed the candle between some of the rocks beneath the niche, where it slowly burned itself out.

Lucile asked why Bernadette had wanted to do this. She replied -

"The Lady asked me if I would leave the candle to burn at the Grotto - as it was your candle, I could not leave it there without your permission".

Leaving the Grotto, the child was laughing and smiling and quietly repeating some words to herself. Some neighbours from Lourdes came toward her and asked the cause of her happiness and what it was that she was saying. The child replied -

"Oh, I'm repeating the name the Lady has just this moment given me, for fear that I might forget it. She said to me, 'I am the Immaculate Conception' ."

The child was mispronouncing the word 'Conception' and had to be corrected.

From the Grotto, the little one went directly to the Presbytery - still smiling, still repeating the words which already were spreading so quickly throughout Lourdes.

She was still repeating them when she entered the garden of the Presbytery, where Abbe Peyramale was praying his Office. He asked what she wanted today, but the child did not hear his question.

"What's that you're saying, you conceited little thing!"

" 'I am the Immaculate Conception' it's the Lady who has just said these words to me!"

He asked if she knew what the words meant. She replied that she did not know their meaning.

"I see you are still being deceived. How can you say things you don't understand?" he asked.

"All the way from the Grotto I have been repeating the words 'I am the Immaculate Conception' for fear that I would forget them."

"Good!" added the Priest, "I shall consider what is to be done" and he entered the house, leaving the child and her aunt standing in the garden.

Later that day, the Priest admitted to a neighbour the effect of the child's words on him

"I was so amazed by it that I felt myself stagger and I was on the verge of falling."


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Fifteenth Apparition-LOURDES

Thursday 4 March 1858

The whole of France was aware that Thursday 4th March was to be the last of the fifteen days during which Bernadette Soubirous had promised the mysterious Lady that she would be present at the Grotto of Massabieille.

What would happen today?

If the visions were a fraud, would all this nonsense cease? If real, would the Lady perform a great miracle to prove Her existence and presence? Who was the Lady? A soul from Purgatory? The Blessed Virgin Mary? The evil one in disguise? Perhaps today all would become clear.

Since early the previous evening, pilgrims had been arriving from all over France. They had travelled by horse, in carriages and on foot. Throughout the night torches had remained alight in front of the Grotto. Hymns were sung to the Queen of Heaven - surely this was the mysterious Lady of the visions? By morning, there were twenty thousand pilgrims in and around the Grotto of Massabieille.

Also present were a large number of gendarmes. Jacomet had felt the need for a strong police presence to prevent any of the trouble which always follows a large crowd. Consequently, he had called in extra police from the Garrison, all of whom were armed.

The night before, Jacomet - together with two colleagues - had undertaken a minute search of the Grotto, the niche and the entire rock of Massabieille. The niche was empty - no person, lamp, or any suspicious item was found within it. The same was true of the large vault beneath the niche - the only items found were a few coins, a small bouquet of flowers and a Rosary.

In the early hours of the morning, the search was repeated. Again, nothing suspicious was found.

Bernadette was present in the parish church for early morning Mass at six o'clock. After communion, she felt herself impelled to go to the Grotto - she left immediately. Her cousin - who had accompanied her to the Mass - ran after her once she noticed the little one had slipped quietly out of the Church, somewhat irritated at not having been told of the departure. Bernadette said she had not thought to tell her.

She arrived at the Grotto shortly after seven o'clock. The gendarmes cut a path through the crowd so that the child could reach the Grotto which had been the scene of so many marvels.

Bernadettes cousin, Jeanne Vedere, relates what happened -

"Holding a candle in one hand and her Rosary in the other, Bernadette recited her beads without a pause as far as the third Hail Mary of the second decade, her eyes fixed all the time on the niche and the rose bush. At that moment, a marvellous change came over her face and everyone cried out - 'Now she can see Her!' and they fell to their knees. I experienced at that moment such intense feelings of joy and happiness as I could never express; I felt the presence of a supernatural Being, but though I looked hard, I could see nothing."

Jeanne relates that the Rosary was prayed three times in succession that morning. At the end of her Rosary, Bernadette tried to make the Sign of the Cross. But once more, she was unable to lift her hand to her forehead despite three attempts. She later explained that she had finished her prayers before the Lady had finished Hers, and it was only once the Lady made the Sign of the Cross that the child could do the same.

The vision continued after the Rosary was finished. Not once did Bernadettes eyes move from the object of her delightful gaze. Jeanne Vedere counted eighteen smiles on the childs face during the vision. At one moment, Bernadette got up and walked forward into the vault at the base of the rock; Jeanne followed her. Later Bernadette said that at this point, the Lady had been so close that Jeanne could have put out her hand and touched Her. Bernadette went back to her usual place, but later went right into the vault once again and resumed the conversation.

Throughout the vision, Jacomet was always close by, scrutinising the child and taking notes in his little book. Of all those present, he alone stood throughout the Apparition, writing furiously.

This was to be the longest of all the visions, lasting more than an hour. At the end, Bernadette quietly finished her prayers and left the Grotto. People close by, as she was leaving the Grotto, asked the child how the vision had concluded. Bernadette said

"Just as usual. She smiled when She departed but She did not say goodbye to me".

"Now that the fortnight is up, you will not come again to the Grotto?" she was asked.

"Oh yes, I shall", replied the child. "I shall keep on coming, but I don't know if the Lady will appear again".