St. Bernadette Soubirous & the Patron Saints of France

St. Bernadette Soubirous and the Patron Saints of France

Patron Saints

Catholic tradition assigns a patron saint as a name at baptism and also at confirmation. This practice still prevails and is highly recommended by the Church and many religious educators.

Besides patron saints as names for individuals, saints are also adopted and appointed by popes as patrons of four groups: (1) parishes and other Church institutions; (2) for dioceses; (3) countries; and (4) a wide variety of trades and professions. It was Pope Pius XII who particularly fostered this practice.

For France as a nation, many patron saints have been assigned: Our Lady of the Assumption, St. Denis, St. Bernadette Soubirous, St. Joan of Arc, St. Martin of Tours, St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Remigius.

St. Bernadette Soubirous

Her feast day is celebrated every February 11. Born in Lourdes, France, St. Bernadette lived in abject poverty with her parents. Uneducated, she suffered from asthma. On February 11, 1858 A.D., while collecting firewood with two other girls on the banks of the Gave River near Lourdes, she heard the sound of a strong wind. This led her to see a cave filled with light. That light was an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After seeing the vision, she reported it to others, but her report provoked skepticism. Still, St. Bernadette continued and persisted in her visits to the Blessed Mother in the cave from February 18 up to March 4. In one of her visits, Mary asked St. Bernadette to pray for the conversion of sinners, and to tell the priests to build a chapel at the site. Because of St. Bernadette's witness, the Church authorities eventually believed and soon Lourdes became one of the great pilgrimage centers of modern Christendom. The shrine at Lourdes attract millions of visitors every year. And miracles of healing are being reported at the shrine, for the waters of the spring are miraculous - causing healing of both body and soul. St. Bernadette died on April 16, 1879 A.D. at the age of thirty-five. Her body remains incorrupt to this day attesting to the great power of God's grace.

St. Denis

October 9 is the feast day of St. Denis, bishop and martyr. What is known of St. Denis is his birth in Italy and his commission by Pope Fabian to be a missionary to Gaul in 250 A.D. As St. Denis performed his mission in Gaul, he converted many people to the Christian faith. He was made the first bishop of Paris. With the help of his companion priest, St. Rusticus, and the deacon, St. Eleutherius, St. Denis converted many inhabitants around Paris. Since not all within the environs of Paris were Christian, St. Denis and his two companions were arrested. All three were imprisoned and beheaded on October 9 near Paris during the persecution of Christians by Decius. The bodies of these three martyrs were thrown into the Seine River, but soon recovered by their converts. All three were given a Christian burial. A chapel was built over their tomb and later became the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Denis. This also became the burial place of the Kings of France.

St. Joan of Arc

A third patron saint of France is St. Joan of Arc. Her feast day is celebrated every May 30. As a young girl, Joan received heavenly messages from voices she heard. These voices from God called her to lead the army of France against the British, and help the King of France reconquer the kingdom. St. Joan was victorious in her battles, but was captured by the British and burned to the stake as a "witch". They believed that the voices Bernadette heard were from the Evil One. After Bernadette's martyrdom at the stake, her mother worked to reverse the charge against Joan. Eventually, Joan was considered innocent of all the accusations and charges that caused her martyrdom. She was canonized in 1920 A.D.

Other patron saints of France

The other patron saints of France are: Our Lady of the Assumption; St. Martin of Tours, an outstanding pioneer of Western monasticism before St. Benedict; St. Therese of Lisieux, "the saint of the little way"; and St. Remigius, a bishop held in great veneration for his holiness, learning, and miracles.

Our Lady of Lourdes (feast: Feb 11) & Other Marian Apparitions

Six Popular Apparitions of Mary

Introduction

There are many recorded apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in different parts of the world. Of these apparitions, she appears often to children and youths of different races and cultures. The messages she presents to these young people are for the Church as a whole, but the revelation was made either public or private. In some apparitions, the vision of the Blessed Virgin is accompanied by miraculous signs and wonders.

Because the revelations and the signs still have to be authenticated, the Catholic Church takes a very conservative stance towards all these apparitions. Any new Marian apparition does not receive approbation at once but will take time (often years or centuries) before all studies and investigations have been made by the Church authorities. The Church authorities have as their norm for authenticity the nearness of the apparition messages to the gospel teaching. If the messages of the visionaries who saw the Blessed Mary repeats what the gospel teaches and says nothing beyond it, then the apparition may be valued as genuine and true.

Six popular Marian apparitions that have received approbation

There are many popular Marian apparitions authenticated by the Church. This blog post will limit itself to six apparitions that have worldwide appeal and popularity: Lourdes, La Salette, Mt. Carmel, the Miraculous Medal, Fatima and Guadalupe. All of these apparitions happened in countries of the European continent; the only exception is the apparition at Guadalupe, Mexico.

Lourdes

On February 11, 1858 A. D., the Blessed Virgin appeared to a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous. Bernadette saw the vision of Mary in a grotto of Lourdes, France, while she and two other girls were collecting firewood out in the countryside. The vision presented a beatiful lady dressed in white, wearing a blue belt with a rosary in her hands, and two golden roses at her feet. At first, Bernadette was unaware who this young lady was. When she asked her name, the lady replied: I am the Immaculate Conception. The Lady then told Bernadette of the spring that was miraculous and has healing powers. This grotto at Lourdes soon attracted millions of people who go there to pray and drink the miraculous water that healed many people - both physically and spiritually.

La Salette

On September 19, 1846 A.D., the Blessed Mother appeared to two young cowherds on a mountain of the French Alps in a village called La Salette. These two young children saw Mary dressed in white and weeping bitterly throughout their conversation. The message she imparted to the children is a message calling the people to repent and show greater respect for God's law, especially the first three commandments of the 10 commandments. This apparition of the Blessed Mother at La Salette produced many La Salette Shrines and Pilgrimage Centers throughout the Catholic world.

Mt. Carmel

On July 16, 1521 A.D., the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Simon Stock, the head of the Carmelite Brothers in England. She gave to St. Simon a Brown Scapular as a sign of her special protection. The Scapular is accompanied by a promise that all "who will wear it devoutly will have a happy death". Another favor attached to this Brown Scapular is the promise that the Blessed Mother will assist and console all the children of Carmel detained in Purgatory - speedily releasing them on the first Saturday after their death. (note: The Carmelites trace their roots to 83 A.D. when the first church dedicated to the Immaculate Mother of God was founded on Mt. Carmel, a beatiful promontory in Israel facing the Mediterrenean Sea. Since then, many foundations of Carmel spread all over Europe.)

Miraculous Medal

In 1830 A.D,, when Catherine Labouré was a 24-year-old novice of the Daughters of Charity in France, she saw the Virgin Mary three times. The first apparition occured in July 18, 1830. It was in November 27 when the Virgin Mary showed Catherine the "Miraculous Medal", and commissioned the saint to have one made to spread its devotion. This apparition of Mary is a private revelation and only Father Aladel, the spiritual director of St. Catherine Labouré, knew about it. In time, Catherine gave word so that the devotion would spread. The Miraculous Medal shows the image of Mary atop a white ball with rays of light emanating from her hands. Surrounding this image are the words, "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee." The Blessed Mother gives the assurance that whoever wears the medal with confidence will obtain great graces from heaven.

Fatima

On October 13, 1917 A.D., a great miracle happened. As 70,000 people watched apprehensively at the scene of three young children in Fatima, Portugal, the sun suddenly whirled like a gigantic fire-wheel and started to make a plunge at a dizzying speed towards the earth. It was a rainy day and the suddenly made all things dry. This was the culmination of a series of mysterious events in which the Blessed Mother gave her messages to three young Portuguese children [starting May 13, 1917]. The messages were about events which were to have earth-shaking consequences. Sister Lucia, who recently passed away, holds the secret of those messages. She has revealed these messages only to the papacy.

Guadalupe

At dawn of December 9, 1531 A.D., on his way to church, Juan Diego saw the Blessed Mother shining like the sun and stepping over precious stones. She said that it is her wish that a church be built there where she could show all her love, compassion, help and protection. Juan Diego was involved in the textile industry and was a simple layman. When Juan Diego carried the message of the vision to the bishop, the bishop did not believe. The bishop asked for a sign from Juan Diego. The Blessed Mother then told Juan Diego to wrap all the roses he could find on the hill in a mantle, and then present it to the bishop. Juan Diego did as Mary told him. When he opened the mantle to present the roses to the bishop, the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary appeared on it. And so the bishop believed, and a church was built on the place of the apparitions. That was in Guadalupe, a locality in Mexico.

Summary:

The Catholic faith always stresses that the Blessed Virgin Mary has a unique role in the salvation of humanity. This role we see through the messages she gives in her apparitions to people all over the world. In her messages, the Blessed Virgin only stresses what the gospel teaches: to repent of personal sins and to return to the Lord in prayer, fasting and penance. Those who are not Catholic often do not see the special role that Mary has in the salvation of the world. It is through her appearances, and the messages to her visionaries, that reveal to the world her role in bringing back people to Jesus, her Son.

Mary's Part in the Sanctification of Christians

Introduction

Many Catholics devote themselves to Mary out of love for the Mother of God. Most devotions were inherited from parents or from being involved in Marian groups and associations. But if you want to find a solid reason for the necessity of devotion to the Blessed Mother, St. Louis-Marie de Montfort in his book, "True Devotion to Mary", gives an important purpose for this devotion:
Mary has a role in our journey to wholeness and holiness.

The "treasury of the Lord"

Montfort says that as the Father and Creator of the world gathered all the waters together and called them the seas, in the same way He gathered "all His graces together and called them Mary" (True Devotion #23). That is why the gospel of Luke also tells of the angel calling Mary "highly favoured" or "full of grace" (in Greek, 'kekaritomene'). The saints call Mary the "treasury of the Lord", since from all the graces God has given her, all those devoted to her are made rich.

The 'mystic channel': Christ's aqueduct

By His life and death, Jesus imparted to His mother His infinite merits and His eminent virtues. Through her, He applies His merits to those devoted to her; He transmits His virtues and distributes His graces. Mary is, as it were, a mystic channel, through which He causes His waters of mercy to flow gently and abundantly to arid souls (True Devotion #24).

The Holy Spirit sanctifies us through Mary

Montfort also states that the Holy Spirit wishes to mold each and everyone of us in holiness "in and through Mary". The Spirit wills that Mary's virtues also take root in us that we "may grow from strength to strength and from grace to grace". He also wills that Mary reproduce herself in all her devotees that the following virtues may take root in us: Mary's invincible faith, profound humility, total mortification, sublime prayer, ardent charity, and firm hope (True Devotion #34).

The formation and education of great saints

Together with the Holy Spirit, Mary produced the greatest miracle that ever was or ever will be: the Word of God incarnate, a God-man, Christ the Eternal Wisdom of God. In the same way, when Mary has taken root in souls, in her "school of holiness", she will form and educate great saints - "wonders of grace" which only Mary can produce. These great saints will "come at the end the world" and their formation and education are reserved only through Mary's school of holiness (True Devotion #35).

Conclusion

Devotion to Mary is not only meant for intercessory prayers and daily petitions that we entreat for the necessities of daily life: health, work, success for the work of our hands, protection against adversities and dangers, security from the onslaught of temptations within and around us, and peace for ourselves and the members of our family. Much more than these, according to Montfort, devotion to Mary is a school of holiness - one in which we grow in faith, humility, mortification, prayer, charity and hope. Mary is the treasury of the Lord by which Jesus distributes the Father's graces to us. She is the spiritual mold by which the Holy Spirit forms us in the likeness of Christ's holiness.