Saint Bernadette Soubirous

I was born in Lourdes, France, in 1844, as part of a large family. One day while I was gathering firewood together with my sister and a friend, I saw a lovely Lady dressed in white and blue. She spoke to me in beautiful words. The lady appeared to me again on another day too. In total, she appeared eighteen times in a period of five months. I once asked her who she was, she smiled and replied in my language Occitan: “I am the Immaculate Conception". At first, I did not understand what it meant, but later it was explained to me that these words describe Our Blessed Mother Mary. Many people did not believe in my visions and thought that I was lying. The Church was also doubtful. However, more and more people gathered when I saw Mother Mary. After the visions finished, I lived the rest of my life quietly in the convent. I became a Sister of Charity of Nevers, France, when I was 22 years old. There, I lived until my death in 1879.