"Lily of Mary"

St. Bernadette was born in Lourdes, France on January 7, 1844. Her family was very poor, so she spent most of her younger days tending sheep. One day Bernadette was out collecting sticks for firewood along the bank of the river named Gave, when a teenage girl appeared to her. The girl was dressed in a white robe with a blue sash; she was holding a rosary in her hand.

At first, Bernadette did not know who the girl was and only gradually began to see it was the Virgin Mary. Mary requested that Bernadette come back to the spot. Over the next year and a half, Mary appeared to the girl eighteen times.

People did not believe that Bernadette was actually seeing the Virgin Mary. However, she continued to return to the spot and prayed for sinners. Pilgrims began to go to the river bank in hopes of seeing Mary or to have a miracle performed for them.

When the visions ended, Bernadette was sent to a religious sister in Nevers who cared for the sick and taught children. There, she learned to read and write.

Later, she was permitted to join the convent and became Sister Marie Bernard. Bernadette was never strong and was often ill. On April 16, 1879, she died while "praying for sinners". She was cannonized by Pope Pius XI and given the title "Lily of Mary".

The great shrine of Lourdes, which was built where Mary appeared to her, has been a place of many miracles.