This Day in History: 11 February 2020
11 February 1858
162 years ago, today, the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, appeared to Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant, in southern France. The vision, which occurred 18 times before the end of the year, appeared to her in a grotto near Lourdes. Marie explained this by saying that the Virgin Mary revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception and asked her to build a chapel on the site of the vision. She also instructed Marie to drink from a fountain in the grotto, which Marie discovered by digging into the earth.
The Immaculate Conception is a concept where it is believed that the Virgin Mary is regarded free from original sin from the moment of her conception and had been accepted just four years previously by Pope Pius IX. Marie's claims gained attention from the world, but some skeptical church authorities subjected her to examinations and refused to accept her visions. However, after years of mistreatment, she was finally allowed to enter the convent of Notre-Dame de Nevers, where she spent her last years in prayer and seclusion, as she died at the age of 35. The site of her vision became the most famous modern shrine to the Virgin Mary, and in 1933, Marie was given the title of Saint Bernadette by the Roman Catholic Church. Millions visit Lourdes every year to visit the grotto, and the waters there are said to have curative powers.
Want to find out more about St. Bernadette and her many visions at Lourdes? Click here for more information.
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