 Saint
Catherine Labouré (May 2, 1806 - December 31, 1876) was
a sister of the Daughters of Charity and a Marian visionary who
claimed to have relayed the request from the Blessed Virgin Mary
to create the Miraculous Medal worn by millions of Catholics and
even non-Catholics today. Early
life:
She was born at Fain-lès-Moutiers, Burgundy, France, to
the farmer Pierre Labouré, the ninth of 11 living children.
On October 9, 1815 Catherine’s mother died. Catherine was
then, just nine years old. Pierre's sister suggested that she care
for his two youngest children, Catherine and Tonine, and after
he agreed, the sisters moved to their aunt's house at Saint-Rémy,
a village nine kilometers from their home.
As a young woman she became a member of the Congregation of the
Daughters of Charity, a nursing order founded by Saint Vincent
de Paul. She was extremely devout, of a somewhat romantic nature,
given to visions and intuitive insights (she'd chosen the Daughters
of Charity after a dream about St. Vincent). Having lost her mother
at an early age she was very fond of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Visionary:
Catherine stated that on the night of July 18, 1830 she woke
up after hearing the voice of a child calling her to the chapel,
where she heard the Virgin Mary say to her, "God wishes
to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but
do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary.
Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times
are evil in France and in the world."
On November 27, 1830, Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother
returned during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside
an oval frame, standing upon a globe, wearing many rings of different
colours, most of which shone rays of light over the globe. Around
the margin of the frame appeared the words "O Mary, conceived
without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." As
Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle
of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and
the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
underneath. Asked why some of her rings did not shed light, Mary
reportedly replied "Those are the graces for which people
forget to ask." Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take
these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should
be put on medallions. "All who wear them will receive great
graces."
Catherine did so, and after two years' worth of investigation
and observation of Catherine's normal daily behavior, the priest
took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine's
identity. The request was approved and medallions began to be
produced. They proved to be exceedingly popular. The dogma of
the Immaculate Conception wasn't official yet, but the medal
with its "conceived without sin" slogan was probably
influential in popular approval of the idea. Pope John Paul II
used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms,
a plain cross with an M in the lower right quadrant of the shield.
Prophecies:
St. Catherine Labouré foretold many great events correctly,
but failed on others. "The revelations of some holy women
canonized by the Apostolic See whose saying and writings in rapture
and derived from rapture are filled with errors." Benedict
XIV (Heroic Virtue III. 14. p. 404). Although, it is argued by
some that these false prophesies are simply errors in interpretation,
or the victims of interpreters with ulterior motives.
Death:
Catherine lived her remaining years as an ordinary nursing sister.
She was pleasant and well-liked by patients and her fellow nuns.
Catherine never told anyone but her confessor about her visions.
So, even at her death in 1876, no one knew that Catherine was
the one who brought the Miraculous Medal to the world. Exhumed
in 1933, her body was found incorrupt, and it now lies in a glass
coffin at the side altar of 140 Rue du Bac, Paris, one of the
spots where the Blessed Mother appeared to her. Many visitors
comment on Catherine's lovely blue eyes. On July 27, 1947, she
was canonized by Pope Pius XII.
Bibliography:
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal, by Joseph
I Dirvin, CM, TAN Books and Publishers, Inc, 1958/84. ISBN 0-89555-242-6
See also
The Incorruptibles
External links:
The
Miraculous Medal : its origin, history, circulation, results
(1880) written by Fr. Aladel, St. Catherine's own confessor
St. Catherine
Labouré International Site of the Daughters of Charity
St. Catherine
Labouré of the Miraculous Medal Joseph I. Dirvin, CM (Full
text of official biography)
Lives of the
saints: Catherine Labouré
A hagiography of Catherine
with full explanations of the visions and the Medal.
Chapel
of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, rue du Bac, Paris |
.jpg)
