Eleventh Apparition-LOURDES

Sunday 28 February 1858

Bernadette arrived at the Grotto just before seven o'clock, together with her Aunt Lucille. In one hand she carried her ever-present Rosary, in the other, her blessed candle.

Monsieur Estrade estimated there to be approximately two thousand on-lookers at the Grotto that morning. The crowd was densely packed, so that during the vision, it proved difficult for Bernadette to move while performing her normal penances at the command of the Lady. Before she could move under the niche on her knees, the gendarmes present had to push back the crowd a little. This was by no means easy.

Several times the little one moved forward to the rock and back again, each time on her knees, each time kissing the ground at intervals. Her face and lips were mud-stained. But today no-one laughed at her.

The messages she received were of a personal nature and were not related to the assembled people. Her privacy in such instances was respected.

The large numbers present had caused the ground to become muddy and down-trodden. Only a few of the wild plants remained untrodden. Also, the constant coming and going had caused the water from the spring to run in several little streams towards the Gave. On this day, local workmen decided to dig a trough in which the water could collect.

After the vision, Bernadette and Lucille left the Grotto and went directly to Mass in the parish Church.


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Tenth Apparition-LOURDES

Saturday 27 February 1858

The Lourdes clergy were discussing the visions at Massabieille. Abbe Peyramale had always maintained a public silence on the subject. This morning, he gathered together his three curates to give them his opinion. The speech given to them by the Abbe Peyramale was related on several occasions to Monsieur Jean Baptiste Estrade, who retells it here -

"You have heard the reports which are going about respecting certain appearances which are supposed to have taken place in a Grotto near the Gave. I don't know how much is truth and how much is fancy in the current legend, but it is our duty as Priests to maintain the greatest reserve in matters of this nature. If the appearances are genuine and of a divine character, God will let us know it in his own time. If they are illusions or caused by the spirit of lies, God has no need of our intervention to reveal the falsehood.

"It would therefore be rash of us to show ourselves at present at the Grotto. If the visions are recognised as genuine later on, we shall certainly be accused of bringing about this recognition by our own machinations. If they are subsequently rejected as without foundation, we shall be ridiculed for what will be called our disappointment. So we must not take any unconsidered step or speak any rash word; the interests of religion and of our own dignity are concerned. The present circumstances demand of us the greatest circumspection."

Such was the outlook of the Lourdes Clergy at the time of the Apparitions.

On the morning of Saturday 27th February, Bernadette was once again at her beloved Grotto, undaunted by the non-appearance of the Lady the day before. After all, the Lady had simply asked Bernadette to come daily for fifteen days - She had not promised to appear on each of those days.

She was not disappointed today - the Lady was there in the niche. Throughout the vision the child held her blessed candle in her hand as she prayed and listened. On several occasions she bowed low, touching the earth, sometimes smiling and sometimes weeping. She also approached the foot of the rock, kissing the ground on the way. This had been done in deference to the command of the Lady - "Go, and kiss the ground in penance for sinners".

As the vision approached its end, the Lady seemed to be lost in Her thoughts for a few moments. Bernadette patiently waited. Finally, the Lady smiled on her once more, then gave her a new command -

"Go and tell the Priests to have a Chapel built here".

Leaving her state of ecstasy, the child moved toward the spring - there she drank some of the water. Leaving the Grotto, Bernadette informed her Aunt Bernarde of what the Lady had said.

ABBE PEYRAMALE

"Though he is so good, I am more frightened of him than of a policeman!" said Bernadette to Monsieur Estrade. But despite her fear, the child headed straight for the presbytery immediately on leaving the Grotto. The Priest was praying the Divine Office in the garden as Bernadette approached. The following conversation was related by Monsieur Estrade.

The Priest knew the name of the child involved in the apparitions at the Grotto, but he did not recognise the child standing before him. In Catechism class he had only caught a glimpse of her. He asked her name.

On being told her name, he replied - "Oh, it's you, is it?"

His reception was cold and austere, his appearance rugged and stern. The child was terrified of him. Appearances, however, are often deceptive; such was the case with this Priest, who in reality (after the initial contact) was warm and welcoming, a loyal supporter of those in need of any kind, a true shepherd of his flock.

Later, this is how Bernadette would find him.

Leaving the garden, Peyramale went into the house. Bernadette followed, stopping on the threshold. Peyramale asked what it was she wanted.

With her exquisite charm and simplicity, the girl replied -

"The Lady of the Grotto has ordered me to tell the Priests that She wishes a Chapel to be built at Massabieille and that is why I have come."

The Priest remained unmoved. "Who is this Lady of whom you speak?"

"She is a very beautiful Lady who appeared to me on the Massabieille rock."

Still Abbe Peyramale gave away nothing of his feelings.

"But who is She? Is She from Lourdes? Do you know Her?"

Bernadette replied that she did not.

"And yet you undertake to carry messages like the one you have just given me, from a person who you do not know?" he enquired coldly.

"Oh but Monsieur, the Lady who sends me is not like other ladies."

Asked to explain, she continued -

"I mean that She is as beautiful as they are in Heaven, I would think".

By now, the Priest was finding it difficult to control his emotion, touched by the obvious sincerity of the girl standing before him.

He asked if Bernadette had never enquired of the Lady Her name.

"Yes, but when I ask Her She bows Her head slightly, smiles and gives me no answer."

Peyramale asked if the Lady was, then, dumb.

"No, because She talks to me every day. If She were dumb, She would not have been able to tell me to come to you."

Peyramale asked Bernadette to describe the events which had taken place so far. He pointed to a chair and she sat. He sat opposite her and listened.

Within a few minutes, the Priest lost all his doubts, although he declined to make the child aware of this fact.

"You imagine that a Lady who has no name, who takes up Her abode on a rock and has bare feet, deserves to be taken seriously? My child, there is one thing I do fear - and that is that you are the victim of an illusion".

Bernadette hung her head but did not reply. Then the Priest spoke once more.

"Tell the Lady who has sent you that the parish priest of Lourdes is not in the habit of dealing with people whom he does not know. Say that before anything else, he demands to know Her name and that - moreover - She must prove that this name belongs to Her. If this Lady has the right to a Chapel She will understand the meaning of my words to you; if She does not understand, tell Her that She need not trouble to send me any more messages."

Bernadette rose, curtsied and left.

Ninth Apparition-LOURDES

Thursday 25 February 1858

The events of this day caused the on-lookers to re-assess what they believed about Bernadette and her visions. At the time, what was happening was unclear - only later did the true nature of that day's apparition become clearer. Afterward, the day would never be forgotten.

The narration of the scene is given by Mademoiselle Elfrida Lacrampe, whose parents owned the Hotel des Pyrenees at that time, and who had the joy of being present as the marvellous events occurred. This morning, the vision began even before dawn.

"It was not yet light; we had a lantern to light us. Bernadette did not keep us waiting long", she recounts. Bernadette approached in the company of her aunt, walking rapidly toward her destination; as she came nearer, she called to the crowd, "Let me pass, let me pass!".

Mademoiselle Lacrampe continues -

"At this moment, when nearly all the sightseers had arrived, there were, I think, about four hundred people in front of the Grotto and under the rocks near the Gave. Approaching her place, Bernadette raised her dress a little so as not to muddy it, then knelt down. I was standing on the right, up against the rock, almost beneath the niche where the Apparition used to come.

"The child had not recited a decade of her beads when all of a sudden she set off on her knees and began to clamber in this way up the slope that led to the interior of the Grotto. She passed in front of me, a short distance away. On reaching the entrance to the vault, she gently - and without pausing - pushed aside the branches that hung down from the rock. From there she went on towards the back of the Grotto. The crowd was pressing close behind her.

"When she reached the back of the Grotto, Bernadette turned about and came back, still on her knees, down the same slope. I witnessed there a tour de force and I ought to have marvelled more at the ease and dignity of this child's movements in such a posture and on deeply sloping ground that was very uneven and strewn with stones which jutted out sharply here and there. At the time I saw nothing in Bernadettes movements, apart from the tour de force, but a ridiculous wriggle, for it seemed to me purposeless."

Mademoiselle Lacrampe lost sight of the child at this moment, being surrounded by the pressing crowd. But Aunt Bernarde was more fortunate,

"Everyone was astonished. Finding nothing, the child turned off towards the river" she stated.

But despite seeing the events occurring before them, those close by were unable to explain them. Only Bernadette could supply this. And she was soon required to do so.

It is important to state here that until that moment, there had been NO water in the Grotto other than a little stagnant water, probably collected rainwater. Just at this moment, Bernadette went towards the wild rose bush, pushed it aside and kissed the rock, then fell once more into ecstasy. She got up and seemed embarrassed - she walked toward the River Gave, then stopped and looked back, like one who has been called, and went in a different direction, into the opening at the base of the rock, on the left hand side. Looking once more towards the niche, she appeared puzzled. She then began to dig with her hands. Muddy water surfaced, which she scooped up and three times threw away. She drank the fourth scoop. Later, in the convent, she joked to the Sisters that three times she threw the water away before drinking - and that this was why Our Blessed Lady made her ask three times for Her Name, before revealing Her identity!!

When the on-lookers saw her mud-covered face they thought she was insane and laughed at her. Unaware of all this, Bernadette continued in her ecstasy until 7:00am, long after the sight-seers had departed.

Leaving the Grotto, a neighbour asked Bernadette to explain what had occurred. She replied:

" Whilst I was in prayer, the Lady said to me in a serious but friendly voice - 'Go, drink and wash in the fountain'. As I did not know where this fountain was, and as I did not think the matter important, I went towards the Gave. The Lady called me back and signed to me with Her finger to go under the Grotto to the left; I obeyed but I did not see any water. Not knowing where to get it from, I scratched the earth and the water came. I let it get a little clear of the mud then I drank and washed."

Seeing what was happening - but not understanding - the crowd wondered if Bernadette was mad after all. Why had she smeared her angelic little face with muddy water? What could it mean? Horrified, they watched in silence. Their distress was increased as they watched the child eat some wild herbs growing at the foot of the rock.

Unknown to the crowd, the Lady had pointed once more to the floor of the Grotto and told her little one - "Go, eat of the herbs you will find there". She then made her impressive Sign of the Cross once more, before coming away from the vault, kneeling once more and watching as the vision faded.

Quickly, Aunt Bernarde took hold of the child and ushered her away from the Grotto, fearful of the crowd who were calling out to the child that she was insane. No one had bothered to examine the hole where the child had been digging; all were too concerned only with their reputations - after all, it would be embarrassing to have to admit to being fooled by this imbecile girl.

Later that afternoon, on the spot where Bernadette had knelt digging, the trickle had become a ribbon of water which was hollowing out its own channel in the topsoil.

A twenty-year debate followed about the origin of this spring, until finally the Abbe Richard, a famous hydro-geologist at the time, declared after a long and careful study, that the spring was miraculous in its discovery and in its effects, although not in its existence.

Later studies concluded that the rock itself is the source of the water, perfectly pure other than minimal deposits of salts, and that it contains NO therapeutic ingredients.

On 6 May 1858, a chemist by the name of Latour issued a statement on the water -

"The water .. is very limpid, inodorous and without any strong taste; .. it contains the following ingredients - chlorides of soda, lime and magnesia, bicarbonates of lime and magnesia, silicates of lime and aluminium, oxide of iron, sulphate of soda, phosphate, organic matter.."

He speculated that at some point a 'curative element' would be found in the water, but this never happened. A further analysis, by Monsieur Filhol, of the Toulouse Faculty of Sciences (in August 1858) declared -

"The extraordinary results which I am informed have been obtained by the use of this water cannot, at least in the present condition of scientific knowledge, be explained by the nature of the salts whose existence is revealed by analysis".

Analyses since that date have reached similar conclusions. And yet still the water from this spring flows - in itself not miraculous, not therapeutic. But countless miracles have resulted from its use since that happy day.

Friday 26 February 1858 - A Second Time, THE LADY DOES NOT APPEAR

On the following morning, Friday 26th February 1858, Bernadette went to the Grotto as usual. Doctor Dozous, who watched the child that morning, said that she knelt and prayed her Rosary for "a long time" that morning, but at the end of her prayers she was sad and distressed. The Lady had not appeared.

By that day, however, Bernadette was once more in favour with the crowd at Massabieille - their insults and laughter were forgotten, washed away by the flowing waters of the spring which Bernadette had said was there, having been told so by her Lady.

Eighth Apparition-LOURDES

Wednesday 24 February 1858

By now the newspapers were taking notice of the events at the Grotto. The local paper, the Lavedan, took a particular interest; unfortunately, its reports were neither accurate nor favourable. It promised to keep its readers informed of the "craze" concerning the "cataleptic" girl who had claimed to see "the Mother of the Angels".

Events at the Grotto were about to take a new turn. Until this point, the visions had appeared to be more or less personal in nature; the prayer taught by the Lady and the three secrets She had revealed all concerned Bernadette alone. Now, however, the universal nature of the Apparitions was about to become apparent.

There were "four hundred to five hundred" people at the Grotto that day, as reported to the Lieutenant of Police by Constable Callet of the local gendarmarie.

Immediately upon her arrival, Bernadette commenced her Rosary as she always did. Before a decade had been completed, the ecstasy began; the child leaned forward and her face was lit with a heavenly smile and once more she began to reflect the grace of She whom she beheld. She smiled and - without lowering her eyes - made a number of graceful bows.

After several minutes, the ecstasy was interrupted; Bernadette turned to face the crowd and, referring to the long trailing rose bush, asked, "Who has touched the briar?". The bush had been shaken by a young girl who was trying to get as close as possible to the visionary. The Lady had moved from the niche high in the rock, but had not disappeared; She had descended into the larger hollow at the base of the Grotto. Bernadette heard herself called and the ecstasy resumed, the child kneeling at the opening of the larger vault, within which the Vision was standing.

Again Bernadette listened to the words of the beautiful Lady. The child's face appeared sad and her arms fell to her side. There were tears upon her cheeks. She turned once more to face the crowd and three times she repeated, "Penitence...penitence...penitence!". This was heard distinctly by those standing close to her, who quickly spread the words they had heard. Bernadette had given her first public message.

The seer returned once more to her former place and the vision continued, while the entire crowd remained silent - struck by the sincerity on the face of the child.

One person, however, had not lost the power of speech; the Lourdes quarter-master pushed his way toward the girl, and when he had reached her he asked - "What are you doing, you little actress?".

Bernadette was not even aware of his presence, much less intimidated by it. His only response was his own - "And to think that such follies can take place in the nineteenth century!".

Seventh Apparition-LOURDES

Tuesday 23 February 1858

Mademoiselle Estrade was determined that her brother, Jean Baptiste, should also see what was happening at Massabieille. Monsieur Estrade was a writer.

That evening at supper, she told him of her desire to witness the child in ecstasy, but said that since it was not fitting for a lady to walk alone on such a road, would he be kind enough to accompany her? He replied that he would not be so kind.

Later that evening, Monsieur Estrade paid a visit to his friend, Abbe Peyramale, the parish Priest. During their conversation, the subject of Mademoiselle Estrades request came up; the priest replied that going to the Grotto could do no harm, and that had he not been a member of the clergy he would have been there already. Monsieur Peyramale also believed that the visions were nothing more than the neurosis of a child who was unstable.

So the next morning, both Monsieur and Mademoiselle Estrade left home for the Grotto. He asked his sister had she remembered to bring her opera glasses. They arrived at the grotto at six in the morning, just as dawn was beginning to light the sky. He later estimated that some two hundred people were already present, even before Bernadette appeared.

The child appeared a few minutes later - soon she was in prayer before the niche. Close to her stood Monsieur Estrade - he had made a point of getting as close as possible, using his elbows to achieve this goal.

With no sign of awkwardness or self-consciousness, the child took the Rosary from her pocket and crossed herself in her usual profound manner; Monsieur later commented that if the sign of the Cross is made in Heaven, it must be as Bernadette made it that morning.

All the while she was praying she kept on looking up into the niche, like one who was waiting. Suddenly, her whole appearance was once more transformed and she began to smile. Estrade said she "was no longer Bernadette; she was one of those priviledged beings, the face all glorious with the glory of Heaven, whom the Apostle of the great visions has shown us in ecstasy before the throne of the Lamb".

All doubt removed, the men present removed their hats and fell to their knees. They were in no doubt that the child did indeed see a heavenly Lady in the hollow of the rock.

Now the child appeared to be listening; she seemed grave and serious and would occasionally bow low. At other moments she seemed to be asking questions. She appeared transfused with joy whenever the Lady answered her. At points, the conversation was interrupted and the Rosary would continue, with the young child never for a moment taking her eyes off the beautiful sight she beheld.

The vision lasted for an hour. At its conclusion, Bernadette moved on her knees toward the rose bush and there she kissed the earth. The radiance of her face slowly faded, before she rose and left in the company of her mother.

Afterward, Bernadette was asked what the Lady had said on this occasion. She replied that the Lady had entrusted her with three secrets, but that these concerned no-one but herself. She also said that she was allowed to reveal these three secrets to no-one, not even her confessor; for many years afterward, people (including priests and bishops) tried their best to make the seer give up her secrets.

But Bernadette carried them with her to the grave.

Sixth Apparition-LOURDES

Sunday 21 February 1858

On this day there occurred an indication of the purpose of the apparitions.

A cold wind was blowing that morning, as Bernadette arrived at the Grotto in the company of her mother and her aunt. The crowds were greater than they had been so far. Notably absent were the members of the clergy.

In Lourdes there was an establishment called the Saint John's Club. Here, the local free-thinkers would gather and discuss issues of the day, often forming conclusions on events. Of course, one such issue was the events at Massabieille. The members of the club had already made a conclusion on this particular event; the occurrences were nothing more than the product of a neurotic imagination in an unstable adolescent.

Of course, these men had not taken the time or trouble to witness the events first-hand. This situation was rectified the following morning. One of this circle, Dr. Dozous, had decided to pay a visit to the Grotto.

Dr. Dozous was not an especially religious man; in fact, quite the opposite. He was a man of science, which - he believed - held all the answers. What need was there for religion? After the events of that cold February morning, he changed his opinions somewhat; he championed the cause of Bernadette and of the Immaculate Conception, and wrote books on the miracles he later encountered at the Grotto. He died a good death on 15th March 1884, aged eighty-five.

He himself relates what took place that morning.

"As soon as she had come before the grotto, Bernadette knelt down, took her Rosary out of her pocket and began to pray. Her face underwent a perfect transformation, noticed by all who were near her, and showed that she was in communication with the Apparition. Whilst she told her beads with her left hand, she held in her right hand a lighted candle which was frequently blown out by the strong draught which was blowing along the Gave; but each time, she gave it to the person nearest her to have it re-re-lit.

"I was following with great attention all the movements of Bernadette, and I wished to know what was the state of the circulation of the blood and of the respiration at this moment. I took one of her arms and placed my fingers upon the radial artery; the pulse was tranquil and regular, the respiration easy, nothing indicated any nervous excitement in the young girl.

"Bernadette, after I let her arm free, rose and advanced a little toward the Grotto. Soon I saw her face, which until then had expressed the most perfect joy, grow sad; two tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. This change occuring in her face during her station surprised me. I asked her, when she had finished her prayers and the mysterious Being had disappeared, what had passed within her during this long station. She answered :

'The Lady, looking away from me for a moment, directed Her glance afar, above my head. Then, looking down upon me again, for I had asked Her what had saddened Her, she replied - 'Pray for the sinners'. I was very quickly reassured by the expression of goodness and sweetness which I saw return to Her face, and immediately She disappeared.'

"In leaving this place, where her emotion had been so great, Bernadette retired as she always did, in the most simple and modest attitude."

THE LADY DOES NOT APPEAR

After the last Apparition, Bernadette had been interrogated by Monsieur Jacomet, the Police Commissioner; he had sought a retraction from the child, believing that she was lying in her account of visions and a mysterious Lady. He did not succeed. Other than an account of what she had already made known, the little one gave nothing more away. Jacomet tried to trick Bernadette into contradicting herself and her story - attempting to mix up the details of the story and get her to make a mistake. He did not succeed. Finally, he had sought a promise that she would never again return to the Grotto. At this point the interrogation had been interrupted by the arrival of Francois Soubirous, Bernadette's father, and the interview was abruptly terminated. Jacomet had failed at every turn. Bernadette had retained her simplicity, humility, veracity and sweet nature throughout.

On Monday 22 February, 1858, the Soubirous parents ordered Bernadette to go straight to school and to go nowhere near the Grotto; they had been terrified of the Police Commisioner. The child did as instructed. At lunchtime she returned home for a small meal and to collect a book.

She left the Cachot, but at the road to the Hospice (run by the Sister of Charity of Nevers) she was halted. "An invisible barrier prevented me from passing" she related later.

She could not move forward along the road - she was able only to go in the opposite direction, toward the Grotto. Then she felt again the interior call to the Grotto and all hesitation left her. Her course was set.

This scene was witnessed by some of the local gendarmes, stationed nearby - they could not understand why Bernadette appeared unable to move forward. But upon seeing her change of direction, they guessed where she was headed. Taking another road, two of them caught up with her and asked where she was off to. She replied simply, "I am going to the Grotto". They said nothing more, but followed her in silence until she reached her destination.

A local woman by the name of Mademoiselle Estrade, had been walking that day and had gone to see the now-famous Grotto. She gives the account of this days events, which she herself witnessed:

"My companions and I noticed a number of people collecting at a spot where the path by the fort joins the forest road. All were looking down the river and soon a cry of satisfaction was uttered by the group - 'There she is! She is coming!'.

"We asked who was expected and they told us it was Bernadette. The child was coming along the path; beside her were two gendarmes and behind them a crowd of children. It was then that I saw for the first time the face of Mary's little protégé. The seer was calm, serene and unpretending. She passed in front of us as tranquilly as if she had been alone.

"My companions and I arrived at the Grotto. Bernadette was on her knees and the gendarmes were standing a little way off. They did not disturb the child during her prayer, which was long. When she rose, they questioned her and she told them she had seen nothing. The crowd dispersed and Bernadette went away also.

"We heard that the seer had gone into the Savy mill and wishing to see her, we went to the mill to find her. She was sitting on a seat and a woman was beside her; I learnt that this woman was the mother. I asked the woman if she knew the child. She replied, 'Ah, Mademoiselle, I am her unhappy mother!'. I asked why she called herself unhappy. 'If you only knew, Mademoiselle, what we suffer! Some laugh at us, others say our daughter is mad. Some even say that we are receiving money for this!'.

"I asked what she herself thought of the girl and she said - 'I assure you, Mademoiselle, that my child is truthful and honest and incapable of deceiving me. Of that I am certain. People say she is mad. It is true that she suffers from asthma but apart from that she is not ill. We forbade her to return to the Grotto; in anything else I am sure she would have obeyed us, but in this matter - well, you see how she escapes our control. She was just telling me that an invisible barrier prevented her from going to school and that an irresistible force dragged her in spite of herself to Massabieille.' "

Fifth Apparition-LOURDES

Saturday 20 February 1858

By now the entire town of Lourdes knew what was reported to be happening at the Grotto of Massabieille; only a few people, however, had actually seen Bernadette in ecstasy before the vision in the niche. By the morning of the fifth apparition, the people present numbered several hundred, whereas previously there had been only a few dozen.

Accompanied by her mother Louise, Bernadette approached the Grotto at half past six in the morning. She paid no attention to the crowds gathered there to witness what was to occur. She knelt upon the small rock which served her as a prie-dieux, which had become her usual place, and which was always left for her, no matter how many were present. She began her Rosary.

Seconds later, the ecstasy began.

"I must be out of my mind, for I simply can't recognise my own daughter!", such was the grace and charm of Bernadette's every movement.

The crowd was straining for a glimpse of the little visionary. They shifted their eyes from the young girl to the niche which so captivated her gaze. They, however, could see nothing but the moss at the base of the niche and the long trailing rose bush.

After the vision had ceased, Louise questioned Bernadette about what had happened during the ecstasy. Bernadette said the Lady had very kindly taught her a prayer for her personal use; She had taught this word by word until Bernadette remembered it all. Asked to repeat the prayer, the girl said she did not think herself at liberty to do so, since the prayer had been composed by the Lady with the seer's personal needs in mind. She appeared somewhat embarrassed in relating this.

Until the day she died, Bernadette never related this personal prayer to any living soul, although she maintained that she prayed it every single day without fail.