St. Bernadette Soubirous
If you are a regular re ader you will know about my special affiliation with, and love of Lourdes , the small hill town in the French Pyrenees where, in 1858, the Blessed Mother of our Lord and Saviour appeared to a poor fourteen year old Miller's daughter, Bernadette Soubirous. To this gentle child, Mother Mary spoke words teaching of the merits of prayer, penance, poverty and Church. In the first and most widely recognised Marian apparition of modern times, a personal message was delivered also to Bernadette—She would not find happiness in this world, but only in the next. Bernadette was to die twenty–one years later in 1879 after a prolonged and painful illness. After her miraculous experience, she felt compelled to religious life (who wouldn't?) and remained hidden in a convent for the rest of her life in Nevers, which is about 300 miles from her home. Here she found refuge from the constant interrogations about her experience as well as the never-ending stream of pilg...