Saint Bernadette

"I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home. There I shall find my Mother in all the splendor of her glory. I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus Himself in perfect safety."
- Saint Bernadette (1844 - 1879)

Today is the feast day of Saint Bernadette Soubirous. Bernadette was born in 1844 in Lourdes, France. She was born into a humble miller family, which soon became impoverished and had to live in a building that used to be the city jail. Bernadette had been in poor health much of her life. She had suffered from digestive trouble, nearly died from cholera in 1855, and had painful asthma attacks. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette, her younger sister and a school friend went out to find some firewood. It was during this time, that Bernadette saw "a beautiful lady". There were 18 appearances of the beautiful lady in all, and the last one occurred on the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. In the vision on March 25, the lady told Bernadette, "I am the Immaculate Conception." The visions of Our Lady were scrutinized thoroughly, and were approved by the Church in 1862. In 1866, Bernadette joined the Sisters of Notre Dame, and took the name of Sister Marie-Bernard. She developed tuberculosis of the lung and had a tubercular tumor on her right knee, which she died from on April 16, 1879, at the age of 35. She was canonized in 1933. 

Saint Bernadette, pray for us!

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Picture Of And Information About Saint Bernadette Taken From:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pilgrimsandmystics/4152404465/

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=147

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1355