It was May 2nd, 1806, when a baby girl was born to a French family who
lived 200 miles south of Paris. Catherine Labouré was the 7th
child of what was to become a family of ten children. The quiet girl was
only nine years old when her mother died, and in her private grief, she
was witnessed standing on a chair, embracing the family statue of the
Virgin Mary. "From now on, you will be my mother."
It was an elder sister who first entered the Daughters of Charity, a path
Catherine was later to follow. In a dream, she attended Mass in the
presence of an unknown priest who informed her that God had special plans
for her. Later, when visiting her sister's convent, she saw a picture on
the wall and recognized the priest in her dreams. It was St. Vincent de
Paul, who two hundred years earlier, had founded the Daughters of Charity.
At twenty-one, Catherine asked her father if she could serve God as one of
the Daughters of Charity. He refused, but after a time he agreed, and in
January 1830 young Catherine joined the congregation. A few months later,
she was relocated to the mother house in Paris on a street called Rue du
Bac.
On July 18, 1830, in the chapel at Rue du Bac, the 24 year-old novice of
the Sisters of Charity had her first experience with an apparition. Late at
night she had been awakened by what appeared to be a five year-old child,
dressed in white, who announced that Catherine must arise and proceed to
the chapel where the Blessed Virgin was waiting for her. Catherine
Labouré followed the mysterious child, whom she later determined to
be her guardian angel. By now it was midnight, and everyone else was
asleep, when Catherine walked into the chapel, only to encounter the sound
of the rustling of robes. She looked up to see a beautiful young woman
framed by a blaze of white light, descending the altar steps to sit in the
chair of the Father Director. The angel announced: "Here is the Blessed
Virgin," at which Catherine fell to her knees and placed her hands on
Mary's lap.
The Blessed Mother revealed that she had a mission for the young novice
and that difficult times were to follow. She promised assistance and
grace for the faithful who prayed. She spoke of religious persecution in
Paris later in the century and foretold coming events in Paris.
"My child, the good God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will have
much to suffer, but you will rise above these sufferings by reflecting
that what you do is for the glory of God. You will know what the good God
wants. You will be tormented until you have told him who is charged
with directing you. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will
have grace. Relate with confidence all that passes within you. Tell it with
simplicity. Have confidence. Do not be afraid."
When the innocent novice related her story to her superior, Father Aladel,
her spiritual director, he quickly proved to be highly sceptical. Nine
days passed, and then, on July 27, 1830, a revolution began in Paris. It
was then that Father Aladel began to believe young Catherine's story.
Four months later, on November 27, 1830, Catherine once more saw the
apparition of The Mother of God standing in the chapel, during community
meditation. The Beautiful Lady was dressed in white, standing on a globe
and holding a golden ball. She had rings on her fingers that shone with
rays of light. An inner voice spoke to Catherine, revealing that that the
ball represented the entire world and that the light rays were graces for
individuals. The apparition transformed into a representation of the
Virgin Mary with outstretched arms inside an oval frame with golden
lettering: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us to have recourse to
thee." A silent voice once more spoke to Catherine, instructing her to
have a medal struck on this model. It would be a source of powerful
graces and should be worn around the necks of the faithful. Catherine was
shown the reverse of the medal which consisted of a large letter "M"
surmounted by a bar and cross, accompanied by two hearts, which
represented the hearts of Jesus and Mary. This image was encircled by
twelve stars. Upon hearing this new story, Catherine's spiritual director
was once more sceptical, and reluctant to follow the directions.
Eventually he relented, and the medal was struck and distributed among the
faithful. It quickly gained in popularity and became known as the
"Miraculous Medal".
As the story of the visitations spread, an inquiry was begun by Archbishop
de Quelen. The elders found Catherine to be a normal and responsible
person and so concluded that the apparitions which she had reported were
genuine. They came to believe that the Miraculous Medal was supernaturally
inspired. Ultimately, as the years passed, it became responsible for true
miracles.
Politically, the events were timely as they led to a revival of
Catholicism in France and were followed two decades later by a
proclamation from Pope Pius IX (1854) concerning the belief of Mary's
Immaculate Conception. The Paris revolution of 1871 was defeated and with
it the anti-religious sentiments.
For the next 40 years, Catherine worked in a hostel for old men. In 1876,
she passed away. By then millions of faithful continued to wear the
Miraculous Medal. It wasn't until the next century, in 1947, that the
young novice who had served so faithfully throughout her life on behalf of
charity was canonized, and the yonug girl from Rue du Bac became St.
Catherine Labouré
