Bernadette Soubirous facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saint Bernadette
Virgin
Born	Bernadette Soubirous 7 January 1844 Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées, Kingdom of France
Died	16 April 1879(1879-04-16) (aged 35) Nevers, Nièvre, France
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Beatified	14 June 1925, Rome by Pope Pius XI
Canonized	8 December 1933, Rome by Pope Pius XI
Major shrine	Convent of Saint Gildard (Espace Bernadette Soubirous Nevers), Nevers
Feast	18 February (France) 16 April (elsewhere)

Bernadette Soubirous (born 7 January 1844, died 16 April 1879), also known as Bernadette of Lourdes, was a young girl from a town called Lourdes in France. She is famous for saying she saw a "young lady" in a nearby cave. These visions happened many times between February and July 1858. The lady later said she was the "Immaculate Conception".

After a careful check by the Catholic Church, Bernadette's stories were believed to be true in 1862. The lady she saw became known as Our Lady of Lourdes. In 1866, Bernadette joined the Sisters of Charity of Nevers at their convent in Nevers. She lived there for the rest of her life. Her body has remained well-preserved, which is called incorrupt. The cave where she saw the visions became a very important place for pilgrims. It is now a famous Marian shrine called the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, and millions of people visit it every year.

Pope Pius XI declared Bernadette Soubirous "Blessed" on 14 June 1925. He then made her a saint on 8 December 1933. Her special day, called a feast day, is usually celebrated on 16 April, the day she died.

Early Life

Bernadette Soubirous was born on 7 January 1844. Her parents were François Soubirous, who worked as a miller, and Louise Casteròt, a laundress. Bernadette was the oldest of nine children.

She was baptized at St. Pierre's church on 9 January. Her family was very poor. Bernadette was often sick as a child. She had cholera when she was very young and suffered from bad asthma for her whole life. Because of her illnesses, she was quite short, about 1.4 meters (4 feet 7 inches) tall. She went to a school run by the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. Bernadette mostly spoke Occitan, the local language of her region. She learned very little French until she was older.

Visions

The Soubirous family was so poor that they lived in a small, damp basement room that used to be a jail. It was called le cachot, meaning "the dungeon".

On 11 February 1858, when Bernadette was 14, she went to collect firewood with her sister and a friend. They were near a cave called Massabielle. While her sister and friend crossed a small stream, Bernadette stayed behind. She was looking for a dry place to cross so she wouldn't get her stockings wet. As she was taking off her shoes, she heard a sound like rushing wind. Nothing moved, but a wild rose in the cave did. From a dark spot in the cave, a bright light appeared, and a "white figure" stood there. This was the first of 18 visions she had. She called the figure aquerò, which means "that" in her local language. Later, she described it as "a small young lady". Her sister and friend did not see anything.

On 14 February, Bernadette returned to the cave with her sister and other girls. She immediately knelt down, saying she saw the lady again. On her next visit, 18 February, Bernadette said the lady asked her to come back to the cave every day for two weeks. This period of almost daily visions became known as la Quinzaine sacrée, or "holy fortnight".

At first, Bernadette's parents were worried and tried to stop her from going. The lady did not say who she was until the seventeenth vision. Bernadette always described the lady as wearing a white veil, a blue sash, and a yellow rose on each foot. This description matched how many statues of the Virgin Mary looked in village churches.

Bernadette's story caused a lot of talk in the town. Some people believed her, while others thought she was making it up.

The lady's messages were simple. She asked for prayer and for people to do penance (show sorrow for their sins). On 25 February, Bernadette said the lady told 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. The next day, clear water began to flow from the grotto. On 2 March, the lady asked for "a chapel to be built and a procession formed."

On 25 March, during her sixteenth vision, Bernadette asked the lady for her name again. The lady just smiled. After Bernadette asked three more times, the lady finally said, in the local language, "I am the Immaculate Conception". Bernadette told her story consistently, even when questioned by church and government officials.

On 7 April, Bernadette had another vision. During this time, her hand was reportedly not burned even though it was in contact with a candle flame for several minutes. On 8 June 1858, the mayor of Lourdes blocked off the grotto to stop people from going there. On 16 July, Bernadette saw the grotto from the other side of the river and had her eighteenth and last vision of the lady.

Results of Her Visions

After a thorough check, the Catholic Church officially said in 1862 that the visions were real. In the many years since Bernadette found the spring, 70 cures have been confirmed by doctors as "inexplicable". This means doctors could not find any scientific reason for them. Bernadette herself said that it was faith and prayer that healed the sick. She said, "One must have faith and pray; the water will have no virtue without faith."

Bernadette's request to build a chapel at the cave led to many chapels and churches being built in Lourdes. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is now one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world. One of the churches there, the Basilica of St. Pius X, can hold 25,000 people. About 5 million pilgrims visit Lourdes every year to pray and drink the water, hoping for healing.

Later Years

Bernadette did not like all the attention she was getting. She went to a school run by the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, where she had learned to read and write. Her health was not strong enough for her to join very strict religious groups. On 29 July 1866, she joined the Sisters of Charity at their main house in Nevers. She was given the religious name Marie-Bernarde.

Bernadette spent the rest of her short life at the convent. She worked as an assistant in the sickroom and later helped prepare things for church services. She also made beautiful embroidery for altar cloths. People who knew her admired her humble nature and willingness to make sacrifices.

Bernadette saw Lourdes become a famous pilgrimage site, but she was not there for the dedication of the main church, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, in 1876.

Sadly, Bernadette's childhood illness, cholera, left her with severe, ongoing asthma. Later, she also got tuberculosis in her lungs and bones. For several months before she died, she was too sick to take part in convent life. She passed away from her long illness on 16 April 1879, at the age of 35. She was praying the holy rosary when she died. Even in great pain, she said, "all this is good for Heaven!" Her last words were, "Blessed Mary, Mother of God, Pray for me". Bernadette's body was buried in the Saint Gildard Convent.

Sainthood

Bernadette Soubirous was declared "Blessed" on 14 June 1921 by Pope Pius XI. She was made a saint by Pope Pius XI on 8 December 1933, which is the day of the Immaculate Conception.

Her feast day is celebrated in the Catholic Church on 16 April. In France, it is also celebrated on 18 February. This day remembers Bernadette's third vision, when the lady told her she would not be happy in this life, but in the next.

Exhumations

Bernadette's body was examined several times after her death. The first time was on 22 September 1909. Those present said that although the crucifix in her hand and her rosary had changed over time, her body seemed to be incorrupt, meaning it had not decayed. This was seen as one of the reasons to support her becoming a saint. Her body was cleaned and dressed in new clothes before being placed in a new casket.

Her body was examined again on 3 April 1919. Doctors noted that the body was mostly preserved.

In 1925, her body was examined a third time. Small pieces, called relics, were taken and sent to Rome. A wax mask was made of her face, based on her features and old photos. This was a common practice in France to make the body look more natural for public viewing. Wax casts were also made of her hands. Her remains are now kept in a special gold and crystal container in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the convent in Nevers.

Relics

Since 1925, Bernadette Soubirous's body has been on display in a glass coffin in the chapel of the convent of Nevers. This is where she spent her last years. Visitors can see her body there.

In 2015, the town of Lourdes asked for Bernadette's remains to be moved back to Lourdes, but the city of Nevers did not agree.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes has some of Bernadette's bodily relics. These relics have traveled to different places in Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom for people to see and honor.

Places

The town of Lourdes, where Bernadette grew up and had her visions, has become a very important international pilgrimage site. Millions of people visit it every year. Many churches and buildings have been built around the cave where the visions happened. Together, these form the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. The sanctuary is famous for the Lourdes water that flows from a spring inside the cave. Bernadette discovered this spring during her visions. Many sick pilgrims visit, believing the water has healing powers. The newest church in the sanctuary is the St. Bernadette Church, finished in 1988. There is also a St. Bernadette Museum about the history of the visions. In Lourdes, visitors can also see the house where Bernadette was born and the room where her family lived during the time of the visions.

Lourdes grotto in Canada, near Montreal.

Many Lourdes grottos have been built around the world. These are copies of the original cave in Lourdes. They allow people to honor Our Lady of Lourdes in their own countries, especially if they cannot travel to France. These copies usually have a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in a niche and a statue of Bernadette kneeling and praying.

The Espace Bernadette Soubirous Nevers is the convent in Nevers, France, where Bernadette Soubirous lived after her visions. It is dedicated to her memory. This is where her body is kept and displayed for visitors. The city of Nevers also has a museum about Bernadette's life.

Many churches, shrines, and Catholic schools around the world are named after Saint Bernadette.

Depictions

Bernadette's story has been told in many ways, including films, books, and musicals:

• In 1909, the French short movie Bernadette Soubirous et les Apparitions de Lourdes was one of the first films about her.
• In 1941, Franz Werfel wrote a famous novel called The Song of Bernadette.
• In 1943, director Henry King made a movie based on Werfel's novel, also called The Song of Bernadette. Jennifer Jones played Bernadette and won an Oscar for her role.
• In 1988, a French film called Bernadette [fr] was released, starring Sydney Penny.
• In 1990, a musical called Bernadette was performed in London.
• In 2011, a French film titled Je m'appelle Bernadette [fr] (My Name is Bernadette) was released.
• In 2023, a new musical based on the novel The Song of Bernadette premiered in Milwaukee.

Images for kids

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  Bernadette in 1866, after joining the Sisters of Charity

See also

In Spanish: Bernadette Soubirous para niños