Recent Manifestations of the Blessed Virgin in the Church--Our
Lady of Lourdes--Our Lady of Pontmain, &c.--Conclusion.
Table of Engravings of the Miraculous Medal
PAGE
Portrait of Sister Catherine Labouré, the Daughter of Charity
favored with the Vision of the Miraculous Medal in 1830.
_Frontispiece_
First Apparition of the Blessed Virgin to Sister Catherine
Labouré, Daughter of Charity, during the night of July 18th,
1830. After a picture painted according to Sister Catherine's
directions. Summoned by her Guardian Angel, under the form of a
child, emitting rays of light, Sister Catherine arises, follows
him to the Chapel, which she finds brilliantly illuminated; she
afterwards sees the Blessed Virgin seated in the sanctuary. The
picture represents Sister Catherine at the Blessed Virgin's
feet, her hands on the Blessed Virgin's knees: "My child,"
says the Blessed Virgin, "the times are very disastrous, great
troubles are about to descend upon France; the throne will
be upset, the entire world will be in confusion by reason of
miseries of every description."
53
Second Apparition of the Blessed Virgin to Sister Catherine
Labouré, November 17th, 1830, first picture. About half-past
five in the evening, whilst Sister Catharine is taking her
meditation, the Blessed Virgin again appears. She stands upon a
hemisphere, and holds in her hand a globe which she offers to
our Lord. Suddenly her fingers are filled with most dazzling
rings and precious stones. "This globe," says the Blessed
Virgin, "represents the whole world and particularly France."
She adds that the rays escaping from her hands "are symbols of
the graces she bestows upon those who ask for them."
59
Same Apparition, second picture. "Then," relates Sister
Catherine, "there formed around the Blessed Virgin a somewhat
oval picture, upon which appeared in golden letters these
words: 'O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have
recourse to thee!' and a voice said: 'Have a medal struck upon
this model; those who wear it indulgenced will receive great
graces, especially if they wear it on the neck; abundant graces
will be bestowed upon those who have confidence.'" At that
instant, the picture being turned, Sister Catherine sees on the
reverse, the letter M, surmounted by a cross, and beneath this
the sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
60
Medal struck by order of Mgr. de Quélen. 78
Apparition of the Miraculous Medal to M. Ratisbonne. 205
Representation of the Miraculous Medal, modelled in accordance
with the description given by Sister Catherine Labouré.
272, 273
[Illustration]
SISTER CATHERINE,
_DAUGHTER OF CHARITY_.
HER BIRTH--EARLY LIFE--VOCATION--ENTRANCE INTO THE
COMMUNITY--APPARITION OF THE VIRGIN--THE MEDAL--SISTER CATHERINE
IS PLACED AT THE HOSPITAL D'ENGHIEN--HER HUMBLE, HIDDEN LIFE--HER
DEATH.
It is an extensively credited assumption, that those who are favored
with supernatural communications should have something extraordinary
in their person and mode of life. One easily invests them with an
ideal of perfection, which, in some measure, sets them apart from
the majority of mankind. But if, at any time, an occasion occurs of
proving that such an assumption is erroneous, if we discover in these
divine confidants weaknesses or only infirmities, we are astonished
and tempted to be scandalized. Among the Christians who knew St. Paul
only by reputation, some were disappointed on a closer acquaintance;
they said his appearance was too unprepossessing and his language too
unrefined for an apostle. Were not the Jews scandalized that Our Lord
ate and drank like others, that His parents were poor, that He came
from Nazareth, and that He conversed with sinners? So true is it, that
we are always disposed to judge by appearances.
Not so with God. He sees the depths of our hearts, and often what
appears contemptible in the eyes of the world, is great in His.
Simplicity and purity He prizes especially. Exterior qualities, gifts
of intellect, birth and education, are of little value to Him, and when
He has an important mission to confide, it is ordinarily to persons not
possessing these qualifications. Thus, does He display His wisdom and
power, in using what is weak, to accomplish great results. Sometimes,
He chooses for His instruments subjects that are even imperfect,
permitting them to commit faults in order to keep them in all humility,
and convince them that the favors they receive are not accorded their
own merits, but are the gift of God's pure bounty.
These observations naturally prelude Sister Catherine's biography; they
explain in advance the difficulties which might arise in the mind of
the reader at the contrast between a life so simple and ordinary and
the graces showered upon her.
* * * * *
Sister Catherine (Zoé Labouré) was born May 2, 1806, in a little
village of the Côte-d'Or Mountains, called Fain-les-Moutiers, of the
parish of Moutiers-Saint-Jean. This last place, particularly dear
to St. Vincent, was not far from the cradle of St. Bernard, that
great servant of Mary, nor from the spot where St. Chantal passed a
part of her life, as if in the soil as well as the blood there was a
predisposition to certain qualities or hereditary virtues.
Her parents, sincere Christians, were held in esteem. They cultivated
their farm, and enjoyed that competency which arises from rural labor
joined to simplicity of life. God had blessed their union with a
numerous family, seven sons and three daughters.
At an early age, the sons left the paternal roof; little Zoé, with
her sisters, remained under the mother's eye, but this mother, God
took from Zoé, ere she had completed her eighth year. Already capable
of feeling the extent of this sacrifice, it seemed to her as if the
Blessed Virgin wished to be her only Mother.
An aunt, living at Rémy, took Zoé and the youngest sister to live with
her; but the father, a pious man, who in his youth had even thought of
embracing the ecclesiastical state, preferred having the children under
his own eye, and at the end of two years they were brought home.
Another motive, also, impelled him to act thus. The eldest sister
thought seriously of leaving her family to enter the Community of
Daughters of Charity, and the poor father could not bear the idea of
confiding his house to mercenary hands. And thus, at an age when other
children think only of their sports, Zoé was inured to hard work.
At the age of twelve, with a pure and fervent heart, she made her First
Communion in the church of Moutiers-Saint-Jean. Henceforth, her only
desire was to be solely His who had just given Himself to her for the
first time.
Very soon after, the eldest sister left home to postulate at Langres;
and Zoé, now little mistress of the house, did the cooking, with the
assistance of a woman for the roughest work. She carried the field
hands their meals, and never shrank from any duty however laborious or
severe.
Moutiers-Saint-Jean possesses an establishment of the Sisters of St.
Vincent de Paul. Zoé went to see them as often as her household duties
permitted, and the good Sister-Servant, who loved her much, encouraged
the child in her laborious life; yet the latter never spoke to the
Sister of her growing vocation, but awaited, with a secret impatience,
until her sister (two years her junior) would be able to take charge
of the house. It was she to whom Zoé confided her dearest desires, and
then commenced for the two that tender intimacy of life, one of pure
labor and duty, and whose only relaxations were attending the services
of the parish church.
The two young girls, thinking themselves able to dispense with the
servant, dismissed her, and now shared between them all the work. Zoé,
who was very sedate and trustworthy, watched over everything with
the utmost vigilance, and took care of her sister with a mother's
tenderness.
One of her favorite occupations was the charge of the pigeon house,
which always contained from seven to eight hundred pigeons. So
faithfully did she perform this duty, that they all knew her, and as
soon as she appeared they came flying around her in the shape of a
crown. It was, says her sister, a most charming spectacle--innocence
attracting the birds, which are its symbol.
In youth, we see her, already modest in deportment, serious in
character, pious and recollected in the parochial church which she
regularly attended, kneeling upon the cold stones even in winter. And
this was not the only mortification she practiced; to bodily fatigue,
she added from her tenderest youth that of fasting every Wednesday
and Saturday. It was for a long time without her father's knowledge;
at length, discovering his daughter's pious ruse, he endeavored to
dissuade her; but all his reproaches were not able to overcome her love
of penance, she believed it her duty to prefer the interior voice of
God to that of her father.
In all this we clearly discern the character of the future Sister,
with its virtues and defects. On one side, we see true simplicity,
unselfishness, constant application to the most laborious duties under
the safeguard of innocence and fervor; on the other, a disposition
accustomed to govern, and which could not yield without an internal
struggle.
During this life of rural toil, she never lost sight of her vocation.
Several times was her hand asked in marriage, but she invariably
answered that, long affianced to Jesus her good Saviour, she wished no
other spouse than Him. But had she yet made choice of the Community she
would enter? It is doubtful, especially when we consider the following
event of her life, which deeply impressed her, and always remained
graven in the memory of her dear sister who related it.
Being still in her father's house at Fain-les-Moutiers, she had
a dream, which we may consider as an inspiration from God and a
preparation for her vocation.
It seemed to her that she was in the Purgatorian chapel of the
village church. An aged priest of venerable appearance and remarkable
countenance appeared in the chapel, and began to vest himself for
Mass; she assisted at it, deeply impressed with the presence of this
unknown priest. At the end of Mass, he made her a sign to approach, but
affrighted, she drew back, yet ever keeping her eyes fixed upon him.
Leaving the church, she went to visit a sick person in the village.
Here, she again finds herself with the aged priest, who addresses her
in these words: "My daughter, it is well to nurse the sick; you fly
from me now, but one day you will be happy to come to me. God has His
designs upon you, do not forget it." Amazed and filled with fear, the
young girl still flies his presence. On leaving the house, it seemed to
her that her feet scarcely touched the ground, and just at the moment
of entering her home she awoke, and recognized that what had passed was
only a dream.
She was now eighteen years old, knowing scarcely how to read, much less
write; as she was doubtless aware that this would be an obstacle to her
admission into a Community, she obtained her father's permission to
visit her sister-in-law, who kept a boarding school at Châtillon, and
there receive a little instruction. Her father, fearing to lose her,
reluctantly consented to her departure.
Incessantly occupied with thoughts of the vision we have already
related, she spoke of it to the Curé of Châtillon, who said to her: "I
believe, my child, that this old man is St. Vincent, who calls you to
be a Daughter of Charity." Her sister-in-law having taken her to see
the Sisters at Châtillon, she was astonished on entering their parlor
to behold a picture, the perfect portrait of the priest who had said
to her in her dream: "My daughter, you fly from me now, but one day
you will be happy to come to me. God has His designs upon you, do not
forget it." She immediately inquired the name of the original, and when
told that it was St. Vincent, the mystery vanished; she understood that
it was he who was to be her Father.
This circumstance was not of a nature to quench the ardor of her
desires. She remained but a short time with her sister-in-law. The
humble country girl was ill at ease amidst the young ladies of the
school, and she learned nothing.
It was at this time she became acquainted with Sister Victoire Séjole,
who was afterwards placed over the house at Moutiers-Saint-Jean. Though
young, already thoroughly devoted to God and His poor, Sister Victoire
divined the candor of this soul and its sufferings; she immediately
begged her Sister-Servant to admit Zoé as a postulant without delay,
offering herself to bestow particular pains upon her, instructing her
in whatever was indispensable for her as a Daughter of Charity.
But Zoé could not yet profit by the interest good Sister Victoire had
taken in her; this happiness was to be dearly bought.
When she acquainted her father with her intentions, the poor father's
heart rebelled; he had already given his eldest daughter to St.
Vincent's family, and now, to sacrifice her who for years had so
wisely directed his household, seemed indeed beyond his strength. He
considered a means of dissuading her from her plans, and thought he
had found it by sending her to Paris, to one of his sons who kept a
restaurant, telling him to seek by various distractions to extinguish
in the sister's heart all idea of her vocation. Time of trial and
suffering for the young aspirant, who, far from losing the desire of
consecrating herself to God, only sighed more ardently after the happy
day when she could quit the world.
She now thought of writing to her sister-in-law at Châtillon, and
interesting her in the matter. The latter, touched with this mark of
confidence, had Zoé come to her, and finally obtained the father's
consent. Zoé became a postulant in the house of the Sisters at
Châtillon, in the beginning of the year 1830.
Zoé Labouré was very happy to find, at last, the end of those severe
trials which had lasted almost two years. The 21st of April, 1830, she
reached that much desired haven, the Seminary.[1]
[Footnote 1: St. Vincent desired that the sojourn which the
young Sisters make at the Mother House, to be there imbued
with, and instructed in, the spirit and duties of their
vocation, should be called the Seminary term; he feared lest
the word "novitiate," applicable to religious Orders, might
cause the Daughters of Charity to be regarded as such.]
* * * * *
Behold her, then, in possession of all that had been the cherished
object of her desires and affections from earliest childhood! Her soul
could now dilate itself in prayer, and in the joyful consciousness of
being entirely devoted to the service of its God.
During the whole of her Seminary term, she had the happiness of
having for Director of her conscience M. Jean Marie Aladel, of
venerated memory, a priest of eminent piety, excellent judgment and
great experience, austere as a hermit, indefatigable in work, a true
son of St. Vincent de Paul. He was a prudent guide for her in the
extraordinary ways whither God had called her. He knew how to hold
her in check against the illusions of imagination, and especially the
seductions of pride at the same time, that he encouraged her to walk
in the paths of perfection by the practice of the most solid virtues.
M. Aladel did not lose sight of her, even after she was sent to the
Hospital d'Enghien. He thereby gained much for his own sanctification
and the mission confided to him.
Informed by her of God's designs, he devoted himself unreservedly to
the propagation of devotion to Mary Immaculate, and during the last
years of his life, to extend among the young girls educated by the
Sisters of St. Vincent, the association of Children of Mary. He died in
1865, eleven years before his spiritual daughter.[2]
[Footnote 2: The Life of M. Aladel has been published; 1 volume
in 12mo. It can be procured in Paris, rue du Bac, 140.]
Three days before the magnificent ceremony of the translation of St.
Vincent de Paul's relics to the chapel of St. Lazare, a feast which
was the signal of renewed life for the Congregation of the Mission,
Sister Labouré was favored with a prophetic vision. The same God who
had called Vincent from the charge of his father's flocks to make him a
vessel of election, was now going to confide to a poor country girl the
secrets of His mercy. Let us give the account of this first impression
in her own simple language.
"It was Wednesday before the translation of St. Vincent de
Paul's relics. Happy and delighted at the idea of taking part
in this grand celebration, it seemed to me that I no longer
cared for anything on earth.
"I begged St. Vincent to give me whatever graces I needed, also
to bestow the same upon his two families and all France. It
appeared to me that France was in sore need of them. In fine,
I prayed St. Vincent to teach me what I ought to ask, and also
that I might ask it with a lively faith."
She returned from St. Lazare's filled with the thought of her blessed
Father, and believed that she found him again at the Community.
"I had," said she, "the consolation of seeing his heart above the
little shrine where his relics are exposed. It appeared to me three
successive days in a different manner: First, of a pale, clear color,
and this denoted peace, serenity, innocence and union.
"Afterwards, I saw it the color of fire, symbolic of the charity that
should be enkindled in hearts. It seemed to me that charity was to be
reanimated and extended even to the extremities of the world.
"Lastly, it appeared a very dark red, a livid hue, which plunged my
heart in sadness. It filled me with fears I could scarcely overcome. I
know not why, nor how, but this sadness seemed to be connected with a
change of government."
It was strange, indeed, that Sister Labouré, at that time, should have
these political forebodings.
An interior voice said to her: "The heart of St. Vincent is profoundly
afflicted at the great misfortunes which will overwhelm France."
The last day of the octave, she saw the same heart vermilion color,
and the interior voice whispered: "The heart of St. Vincent is a
little consoled, because he has obtained from God (through Mary's
intercession) protection for his two families in the midst of these
disasters; they shall not perish, and God will use them to revive the
Faith."
To ease her mind, she related this vision to her confessor, who told
her to think no more about it; Sister Labouré never dreamed of aught
but obeying, and in no way did she ever reveal it to her companions.
We find this singular favor mentioned in a letter written by Sister
Catherine, in the year 1856, at the command of M. Aladel. The year
she entered the Seminary, this worthy missionary was almost the only
chaplain of the Community. The Congregation of the Mission, scarcely
restored at this epoch, counted at its Mother House but nine priests
in all, and at least half that number were in the Seminary. M. Étienne,
of venerated memory, was Procurator General, and M. Salhorgne, Superior
of St. Vincent's two families. If the laborers were few, the deficiency
was supplied by the devotedness of these few, who multiplied themselves
for the service of the Community. The Divine bounty has prepared for
their charity a beautiful recompense.
According to the notes which Sister Catherine wrote later in obedience
to M. Aladel, the humble daughter during all her Seminary term enjoyed
the undisguised sight of Him whose presence is concealed from our
senses in the Sacrament of His love. "Except," said she, "when I
doubted, then I saw nothing, because I wished to fathom the mystery,
fearing to be deceived."
Our Lord deigned to show Himself to His humble servant, conformably to
the mysteries of the day, and, in connexion with this, she mentions one
circumstance relative to the change of government, which could not have
been foreseen by human means.
"On the Feast of the Holy Trinity," says she, "Our Lord during Holy
Mass appeared to me in the Most Blessed Sacrament as a king with the
cross upon His breast. Just at the Gospel, it seemed to me that the
cross and all His regal ornaments fell at His feet, and He remained
thus despoiled. It was then the gloomiest and saddest thoughts
oppressed me, for I understood from this that the king would be
stripped of his royal garb, and great disasters would ensue."
When the humble daughter had these forebodings concerning the king, he
was then apparently at the pinnacle of fortune. The siege of Algiers
was in progress, and everything predicted the happy success of his
arms. During the early part of July, this almost impregnable fortress
of the pirates fell into the power of France; the whole kingdom
rejoiced at the memorable victory, and the churches resounded with
hymns of thanksgiving.
Alas! this triumph was to be quickly followed by a bloody revolution,
which would overthrow the throne and menace the altars. That very
month, the clergy and religious communities of Paris were seized with
terror. M. Aladel was greatly alarmed for the Daughters of Charity and
the Missionaries, but Sister Labouré never ceased to reassure him,
saying that the two communities had nothing to fear, they would not
perish.
One day she told him that a bishop had sought refuge at St. Lazare's,
that he could be received without hesitation, and might remain there
in safety. M. Aladel paid little attention to these predictions,
but returning sadly to his house, he was accosted on entering by M.
Salhorgne, who told him that Mgr. Frayssinous, Bishop of Hermopolis,
and Minister of Religious Worship under Charles X, had just come,
begging an asylum from the persecution that pursued him.
These revelations bore an impress of truth which it was difficult to
ignore; so in feigning to mistrust them, M. Aladel listened with the
deepest interest. He began to persuade himself that the spirit of God
inspired this young Sister; and after seeing the accomplishment of
several things she had foretold, he now felt disposed to give credence
to other and more marvellous communications she had confided to him.
According to her testimony, the Most Holy Virgin had appeared to her,
these apparitions were repeated various times, she had been charged to
acquaint her Director with what she had seen and heard, an important
mission had been confided to her, that of having struck and circulated
a medal in honor of the Immaculate Conception.
The third chapter of this volume gives a detailed account of these
visions, just as they have been transmitted to us from the hand of the
Sister herself.
Notwithstanding the sensible assurances of the Sister's veracity, M.
Aladel listened to these communications with mistrust, as he tells us
himself, in the canonical investigation prescribed in 1836 by Mgr.
de Quélen; he professed to consider them of little value, as if they
had been the pious vagaries of a young girl's imagination. He told
her to regard them in the same light, and he even went so far as to
humble her, and reproach her with a want of submission. The poor
Sister, unable to convince him, dared speak no more of the apparitions
of the Blessed Virgin; she never mentioned the subject to him except
when she felt herself tormented and constrained to do so by an almost
irresistible desire.
"Such was the reason," says M. Aladel, "that she spoke to him
concerning the matter but three times, although the visions were much
oftener repeated." After thus relieving her heart, she became perfectly
calm. The investigation also shows us that Sister Catherine sought no
other confidant of her secrets than her confessor; she never mentioned
them to her Superior or any one else. It was to M. Aladel Mary had
directed her, to him only did she speak, and she even exacted of him
the promise that her name would never be mentioned.[3]
[Footnote 3: Verbal process of the investigation made by order
of Mgr. de Quélen in 1836, upon the origin of the medal, MS. p.
10.]
After this pledge, M. Aladel related the vision to M. Étienne and
others, but without designating the Sister's identity, directly or
indirectly. We shall see later how Providence always guarded her secret.
These celestial communications, we may easily imagine, produced in the
soul of Sister Labouré profound impressions, which usually remained
even after she had finished her devotions, and which rendered her in
some degree oblivious of what was passing around her. It is related
that after one of these apparitions she rises like the others at the
given signal, leaves the chapel, and takes her place in the refectory,
but remains so absorbed that she never thinks of touching the meal
apportioned her.
Sister Caillaud, third Directress, going her rounds, says bluntly to
her: "Ah! Sister Labouré, are you still in an ecstasy?" This recalls
her to herself, and the good Directress, who knows not how truly she
has spoken, suspects nothing.
Meanwhile, Sister Catherine approached the end of her Seminary term,
and in spite of her affirmations at once so artless and so exact, her
Director always refused to credit them. She had the affliction of
leaving the Mother House without being able to obtain anything, even a
hope.
It was because the affair was graver than she thought; the supernatural
origin of the favor he was directed to communicate to the public could
be contested, and the prudent Director saw that in such a matter he
could neither exact too many proofs, nor take too many precautions.
* * * * *
Sister Labouré was clothed with the holy habit in the month of January,
1831, and sent under the name of Sister Catherine to the Hospital
d'Enghien in the faubourg St. Antoine. Here she could continue her
communications with M. Aladel. This good father did not lose sight of
her; though apparently giving no credit to his penitent revelations,
he was studying her carefully to convince himself whether or not these
visions were the product of a weak, enthusiastic mind and excited
imagination. But the more he studied her, the more confident he felt
that there was nothing of this in Sister Labouré. The judgment formed
of her by the Directresses of the Seminary was, that she had a somewhat
reserved but calm, positive character, which M. Aladel qualified as
cold and even apathetic.
This last epithet, however, was not applicable to Sister Catherine,
in whom her companions, on the contrary, recognized a very impulsive
temperament. But his opinion proves, at least, that there was no
excessive imagination. Moreover, she proved herself solidly grounded
in virtue, whilst no one ever perceived anything extraordinary in her
demeanor, and especially in her devotions.
Before going to her new destination, Sister Labouré passed some days in
one of the large establishments of Paris. Wishing to examine the young
Sister more leisurely, M. Aladel made a pretext of visiting the Sisters
at this house. The account of these visions had already been circulated
throughout the Community, and it was known that M. Aladel had received
the Sisters' confidence; hence, as soon as he appeared, the Sisters
surrounded him, and each one eagerly plied him with questions. He had
his eye upon Sister Catherine, who, without being disconcerted, quietly
mingled her inquiries with the others. The worthy missionary was
reassured, understanding that the Sister kept her secret.
The last time the Blessed Virgin appeared to Sister Labouré in
the sanctuary of the Mother House, she said to her: "My daughter,
henceforth you will see me no more, but you will hear my voice during
your meditations." And, indeed, during the whole course of her life,
she had frequent communications of this kind. They were no longer
sensible apparitions, but mental visions, that she well knew how to
distinguish from the illusions of imagination or the impressions of a
pious fervor.
Her mission had not been accomplished in regard to the medal. Some
months elapsed, and the Immaculate Virgin complained to Sister
Catherine that her orders had not been executed.
"But, my good Mother," replied Sister Catherine, "you see that he will
not believe me." "Be calm," was the answer; "a day will come when he
will do what I desire; he is my servant, and he would fear to displease
me."
These words were soon verified.
When the pious missionary received this communication, he began to
reflect seriously. "If Mary is displeased," said he, "it is not with
the young Sister, whose position prevents her doing anything; it must
be with me." This thought troubled him.[4] A long time previous, he
had related these visions to M. Étienne, then Procurator General. One
day, at the beginning of the year 1832, when they had gone together on
a visit to Mgr. de Quélen, M. Aladel profited by the opportunity to
speak to the latter of these apparitions, and especially of his own
embarrassment, since the Blessed Virgin had complained to the Sister of
the delay in fulfilling her commands.
[Footnote 4: Verbal process of the investigation, p. 5.]
Mgr. de Quélen replied that, seeing nothing in it at all contrary to
faith, he had no objection to the medal being struck at once. He even
asked them to send him some of the first.
The ravages of the cholera, which had broken out meanwhile, retarded
the execution of this design until June; the 30th of that month, two
thousand medals were struck, and M. Aladel hastened to send some of
them to the Archbishop of Paris.
Mgr. de Quélen wished to make an immediate trial of its efficacy; he
was very much troubled concerning the spiritual condition of the former
Archbishop of Mechlin, Mgr. de Pradt, now on the verge of death; he
desired his conversion so much the more earnestly, as the death of this
prelate might be the occasion of scandal and grave disorders, such as
have accompanied the interment of the constitutional bishop Gregory.
Providing himself with a medal, he went to visit the sick man. At
first he was refused admittance, but very soon the dying man repents
of it, and sends him an apology, with a request to call again. In this
interview, he testifies to His Grace a sincere repentance for his past
life, retracts all his errors, and after receiving the Last Sacraments,
he dies that very night in the arms of the Archbishop, who, filled with
a holy joy, eagerly imparts this consoling news to M. Aladel.
The worthy missionary sent a medal to Sister Catherine, who received
it with great devotion and respect,[5] and said: "Now it must be
disseminated." This was easy to do among the Daughters of Charity, who
had all heard whispers of these apparitions; the eagerness to receive
the medals was general, they were distributed freely, and cures and
conversions multiplied themselves accordingly in all ranks of society,
so that very soon the medal received the appellation of miraculous.
[Footnote 5: Verbal process of the investigation.]
A witness of these wonders, the heart of Father Aladel dilated with
joy, and he believed it his duty to publish a notice of the origin of
the medal, and thus satisfy all the inquiries addressed him on the
subject. For the glory of God and Mary, he added an account of all the
consoling facts that had come to his knowledge.
What said Sister Catherine in hearing of these wonderful occurrences?
Less than any one; she was astonished; doubtless her joy was great, but
it was confined within the silence of her heart. Occasionally she sent
some new message to M. Aladel, begging him to have an altar erected
commemorative of the apparition, and telling him that many graces and
indulgences would be attached thereto, and fall most abundantly upon
himself and the Community.
She urged him also to solicit particular spiritual favors, assuring him
that he might ask freely, for all his requests would be granted.
But this worthy priest, whose position in the Community, as we have
already said, was that of simple chaplain, prudently kept silence,
holding himself in reserve until the favorable moment should arrive
for him to act. Some years after, M. Étienne, his intimate friend, was
elected Superior General, and he was made assistant of the Congregation
and Director of the Daughters of Charity; in concert, they formed the
design of erecting to the Immaculate Mary an altar more in accordance
with her maternal bounty and the gratitude of her children. Providence
itself seemed to co-operate with the execution of their plan, the
Community receiving from the government just then a present of two
magnificent blocks of white marble, in recognition of the Sisters'
services to the cholera patients and their orphans. One was destined
for an altar, the other for a statue of the Immaculate Mary.
Meanwhile, the number of inmates at the Mother House, the Seminary
especially, increased daily. The new life infused into the Community
had awakened many vocations, and the centre of reunion had become
inadequate in size to its purposes, the chapel particularly was much
too small. In enlarging it, the architect had a difficult problem to
resolve: he must respect the sanctuary honored by Mary's visit, and
yet extend the enclosure. He did so by adding side aisles, on a lower
foundation, surmounted with galleries. If the edifice, always too low
and small, gained nothing in the way of art, it has, at least, the
advantage of preserving intact the exact spot where the Most Holy
Virgin appeared.
The former altar was taken into the side chapel dedicated to St.
Vincent, and the holy founder was there represented holding that heart,
burning with love of God and the poor, as it had appeared to Sister
Catherine in the vision. A plaster statue of the Immaculate Conception
occupied temporarily the place over the main altar, destined for the
marble statue, which for various causes was not solemnly inaugurated
till 1856.
It was a day of great rejoicing for the Mother House; the statue was
not a cold, mute representation; ... it was an eloquent image of Mary;
here had this merciful Mother spoken and promised her graces; daily
experience had confirmed these promises, and the statue still awakens
in the hearts of those who come to pray at her feet, the deepest and
tender emotions. Yes, Mary is indeed here. She speaks to the hearts of
her children. She makes them feel that she loves and protects them!
Sister Catherine said also to M. Aladel, in the early period of her
vocation: "The Blessed Virgin wishes you to found a Congregation, of
which you will be the Superior. It is a Sodality of Children of Mary;
the Blessed Virgin will shower many graces upon it, and indulgences
will be granted it."
The reader will see, in the course of the volume, how this work was
realized, and how admirably Providence has extended the association.
She also told him that the month of May would be celebrated with much
magnificence, and become universal in the Church; that the month of St.
Joseph would likewise be kept with solemnity; that devotion to this
great Saint would greatly increase, as well as devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus.
So many miracles wrought everywhere and every day, so many signal
testimonies of Mary's protection, made it an obligation on the
Community, and especially the Seminary where they had originated, to
perpetuate so precious a souvenir.
Two pictures were therefore ordered, one representing the vision of
the medal, the other that of St. Vincent's heart. The artist, wishing
to depict the Blessed Virgin as accurately as possible, consulted M.
Aladel as to the color of the veil.----
The missionary's embarrassment was great; he had forgotten this item,
but attaching more importance to the details than Sister Catherine
thought, he wrote to her, and under the pretext of warning her against
the illusions of the demon, he asked her to describe again the Blessed
Virgin's appearance in the vision of the medal. Sister Catherine
made this answer: "Just now, my Father, it would be impossible for me
to recall all that I saw, one detail alone remains, it is, that the
Blessed Virgin's veil was the color of morning light."
This was just what M. Aladel wished to know, and precisely the only
thing Sister Catherine could recollect.
These little incidents, regulated by Providence, were not lost; they
increased the confidence of the wise Director. When the pictures were
placed in the Seminary, M. Aladel discreetly took measures to have
Sister Catherine come to see them, just at the very time he would
be there as if by chance. Another Sister, accidentally meeting them
there, has a suspicion of the truth, and turning suddenly to the worthy
Father, she says: "This is certainly the Sister who had the vision!"
He is greatly embarrassed, and sees no way of extricating himself from
the difficulty, except by calling upon Sister Catherine to answer. She
laughed, saying: "You have guessed well," but with such simplicity that
the other Sister said to the Father: "Oh! I see plainly that it is not
she; you would not have asked her to tell me."
During the course of her long life, Sister Catherine was subjected to
trials of this sort.
The details Mgr. de Quélen had received from M. Aladel concerning
the vision of the medal interested him deeply, and he was anxious to
become acquainted with the favored Sister. M. Aladel replied that
the Sister insisted upon remaining unknown. "As for that," said His
Grace, "she can put on a veil and speak to me without being seen." M.
Aladel excused himself anew, saying it was for him a secret of the
confessional.
M. Ratisbonne, miraculously converted in 1842 by the apparition of the
Miraculous Medal, also ardently desired to speak with the Sister first
favored by this celestial vision, and he often but vainly entreated her
Director's permission.
Those around her frequently asked embarrassing questions, or
expressed their suspicions. When too closely pressed, she found means
of making the curious feel their indiscretion, so that it was not
repeated. Moreover, her great simplicity ordinarily disconcerted her
interrogators.
On several occasions, the Blessed Virgin seemed to aid her; thus, in
the investigation of 1836, and in the deposition made to the Promoter,
M. Aladel declared that he had vainly endeavored to persuade Sister
Catherine to be present, he could not overcome her repugnance; and
moreover, they would interrogate her to no purpose, she had forgotten
everything concerning the event.
The same thing happened one day, it is said, in the presence of M.
Étienne, then Superior General; he could not succeed in making her
speak, she remembered nothing. It is this which gave rise to the rumor
in the Community, that the vision was completely effaced from the
memory of the Sister who had been favored with it.
Thanks to this opinion, Sister Catherine was enabled to remain long
years truly concealed in her modest duties; employed first in the
kitchen, then in the clothes-room; afterwards, for nearly forty years,
she had charge of the old men's ward of the Hospital d'Enghien,
combining with this duty the care of the poultry yard.
* * * * *
She loved these humble duties. Everything was kept in perfect order,
and for her there was no greater happiness than that of being among
her poor. At the end of her life, she spoke of it as her chief
consolation. "I have always," said she, "loved to stay at home;
whenever there was question of a walk, I yielded my turn to others that
I might serve my poor."
And this was true. One walk only was she unwilling to forego, that
which led to the Community, and she knew no other road but that to the
Mother House. When she could make this visit she never yielded her turn.
Her attraction for silence and the hidden life always kept her in the
rear, as the place most suitable for her, and most favorable to the
spirit of recollection. She ceded to none the lowest and most repulsive
duties of her ward, duties which she termed the pearls of a Daughter
of Charity; she moved calmly and quietly, avoiding precipitation, and
when advanced in years, the young Sisters, her assistants, often heard
from her lips these words: "Ah! my dear, do not be so agitated, be more
gentle."
She regarded as one of the most cherished souvenirs of her Community
life, that of her first Sister-Servant, "a dear soul," said she, "who
every year sent the first fruits of her garden to the indigent families
of the faubourg, or to her old men. The Sisters were not allowed to
touch them until this had been done."
This aged Superior was Sister Savard, who never supposed that Sister
Catherine was favored with especial graces, and particularly with the
vision of the Blessed Virgin.
Our humble daughter Catherine respected and loved all the Sisters under
whom she served, and never did she utter a word against them; she saw
only their virtues and good qualities.
"Child of duty and labor, but especially of humility," says her last
Superior, "Sister Catherine was not truly appreciated except by
those who studied her sufficiently to perceive the great simplicity,
uprightness, and purity pervading her soul, her mind, her heart, her
whole person.
"Never arrogating to herself the slightest merit on account of the
singular favors with which the Immaculate Virgin had loaded her, she
said, one day towards the close of her life, when Providence permitted
a slight allusion to this subject: 'I, favored Sister! I have been
only an instrument; it was not for myself the Blessed Virgin appeared
to me. I knew nothing, not even how to write; it was in the Community
I learned all I know; and because of my ignorance the Blessed Virgin
chose me, that no one might doubt."
Is not the conclusion inspired by the spirit of St. Vincent, "I have
been chosen, because being nothing, no one could doubt that such great
things are the work of God."
Sister Catherine cared little for the esteem or contempt of others.
Despite her rigid silence, there always hovered over her the suspicion
that it was she who had seen the Blessed Virgin; no one dared tell her
so; but in consequence of the suspicion, she was more closely observed,
and more severely judged than any one else, and if by chance her
companions discovered in her some slight weakness of nature, or even
the absence of some heroic virtue, the thought was immediately rejected
that the Blessed Virgin had chosen so ordinary a person.
The testimony of one of her first companions confirms the impression
on this point, an impression repeated a hundred fold. This companion
writes to Sister Dufès: "Having passed six years with Sister
Catherine, and worked constantly with her one year, it would seem
that I could cite a great number of details full of interest and
edification; but I am forced to confess that her life was so simple,
so uniform, that I find nothing in it to remark. Notwithstanding the
whispered assurances that she was the Sister so favored by the Blessed
Virgin, I scarcely credited it, so much was her life like that of
others. Sometimes, I sought to enlighten myself indirectly on the
subject by questioning her as to the impression such extraordinary
occurrences had produced in the Seminary, hoping that her answers would
betray her, and thereby satisfy my curiosity, but she replied with so
much simplicity that my hopes were always deceived."
It is true, Sister Catherine had nothing remarkable about her, and yet
nothing common or trivial.
Her height was above the medium; her regular features bore the seal
of modesty; and her clear blue eye was indicative of candor. She was
industrious, simple, and not the least mystical in her spiritual
exercises; she affected neither great virtues nor particular devotions,
well pleased to cherish them in the depths of her heart, and practice
them according to the rule with fidelity and exactness.
After her death, some notes were found written by her own hand during
one of the annual retreats. Everything in them is simple, solid,
practical, and there is not one word of allusion to the extraordinary
graces she had received; even when addressing the Blessed Virgin,
nothing recalls the familiarity with which Mary had treated her. Here
are some extracts, in which no changes have been made except those of
fault-spelling.
"I will take Mary for my model at the commencement of all my
actions; in everything, I will consider if Mary were engaged
thus, how and wherefore she would do this, with what intention.
Oh! how beautiful and consoling is the name of Mary ... Mary!
"Resolution to offer myself to God without reserve, to bear
every little contradiction in a spirit of humility and
penance, to beg in all my prayers that the will of God may be
accomplished in me. O my God! do with me as Thou wilt! O Mary!
grant me your love, without which I perish; bestow upon me all
the graces I need! O Immaculate Heart of Mary! obtain for me
the faith and love which attached you to the foot of the cross
of Jesus Christ!
"O sweet objects of my affections, Jesus and Mary, let me
suffer for you, let me die for you, let me be all for you and
no longer anything for myself!
"Not to complain of the little contradictions I meet with among
the poor, and to pray for those who cause me suffering. O Mary,
obtain for me this grace, through your virginal purity!
"To employ my time well, and not to spend one moment
unprofitably. O Mary, happy those who serve you and put their
confidence in you!
"O Mary, Mary, Mary, pray, pray, pray for us, poor sinners, now
and at the hour of our death! Mary, O Mary!
"In my temptations and times of spiritual dryness, I will
always have recourse to Mary, who is purity itself. O Mary,
conceived without sin!----
"O Mary, make me love you, and it will not be difficult to
imitate you!
"Humility, simplicity and charity are the foundation of our
holy vocation. O Mary, make me understand these holy virtues!
St. Vincent, pray, pray for us!
"O Mary, conceived without sin, pray, pray for us! Deign, O
Queen of Angels and of men, to cast a favorable eye upon the
whole world ... especially upon France ... and each person
in particular! O Mary, inspire us what to ask of you for our
happiness!"
* * * * *
Sister Catherine lived forty-six years in a large establishment, under
the direction of five successive Superiors; she was brought in contact
with many companions of different dispositions and different degrees of
virtue, consequently the esteem in which she was held varied. If they
sometimes gave her to understand that her mind was failing, such things
troubled her little, and she always quietly went her way, receiving
kindness with grateful simplicity, and ungracious words without
flinching.
Faithful to the rule with such uniform exactness, that merit seems
to disappear before habit, she never uttered a word against charity.
Even when age had given her some privileges over her young companions,
rarely did she allow herself to blame or advise them; not, at least,
unless they consulted her, then she advised submission. "Everything
is in that," said she, "without obedience, Community life is not
possible." To the very end of her days, her obedience to her Superior
was as perfect as when she left the Seminary.
We must not, however, suppose that Sister Catherine was of a yielding,
gentle temperament, to which obedience was natural; no, on the
contrary, she had a strong will and quick temper. Thoroughly versed in
household labors, she performed her part with great care and assiduity,
and directed most scrupulously all that was entrusted to her charge.
Her impulsive temper sometimes displayed itself in little sallies of
impatience, the firm tone of her words revealing at times what virtue
ordinarily caused her to repress. When the first heat was over, she
immediately repented of it and humbled herself.
It was often observed that this first movement of surprise, just ready
to escape, was held captive, not by human respect, but by a superior
will; thus proving that her implicit obedience was due her fidelity to
grace.
Understanding her nature, we can now form an idea of what Sister
Catherine suffered from the opposition she experienced in realizing her
mission; even though these contradictions, especially after the medal
had been struck, were more apparent than real on the part of her wise
Director, they were none the less painful to her. Might we not say that
these trials constituted an interior martyrdom sustained by God and
known to him alone?
Sister Catherine, despite her strong constitution, was not exempt from
physical suffering, and her companions were sometimes astonished at the
simplicity with which she asked for little comforts that a mortified
soul would have denied itself. These slight defects formed a veil that
obscured the sight of many, and partially concealed the beauties of her
soul.
Apparently, the very depths of this simple nature might be read at a
glance, and yet she faithfully guarded the secrets of God. In her were
seen, by a singular contrast, prudence and discretion allied to perfect
simplicity. Thus, whilst some found her a little too thoughtful of her
health, others observed that on all great feasts of the Blessed Virgin,
particularly that of the Immaculate Conception, she was either sick
or suffering acute pain, which trials the humble Sister received as a
favor from her celestial Mother.
The Superior of the Hospital d'Enghien relates that, one year, when
Sister Catherine had gone with several of her companions to spend the
beautiful Feast of December 8th at the Community, on getting into the
omnibus that evening she fell and broke her wrist. She said not a word,
and no one perceived the accident. Some minutes after, seeing that
she held her arm in her handkerchief, Sister Dufès inquired what had
happened. "Ah! Sister," she quietly replied, "I am holding my bouquet;
every year the Blessed Virgin sends me one of this sort."
Detachment from the esteem and affection of creatures was still another
trait characteristic of our dear Sister. God sufficed her; that God
who had manifested Himself to her in so wonderful a manner, that
Immaculate Virgin whose charms had ravished her heart, were her sole
joy and delight. The Blessed Virgin, pointing to the sacred tabernacle
where her divine Son reposes, had said to her: "In all your trials, my
daughter, it is there you must seek consolation." Faithful to these
words of her good Mother, Sister Catherine in moments of trial sought
the chapel, whence she soon returned to her occupations with renewed
serenity of soul and countenance ever cheerful. Jesus and Mary alone
received the confidence of her sufferings and her fervor, so that her
virtues in a measure were concealed from creatures.
One of the Sisters of the house says that, having often observed her
closely to discover, if possible, some trace of her communications with
God, she could find nothing especial except that during prayer she
did not cast down her eyes, but always kept them fixed upon the image
of Mary. She remarks, also, that Sister Catherine never wept except
from great anguish of heart, but many times she saw her shed tears in
abundance on listening to some traits of protection or some conversion
obtained through the Blessed Virgin's intercession, or, as in 1871, at
the evils afflicting the Church and France.
Solidly pious in the midst of companions apparently more so, we see
nothing indeed in our humble Sister to distinguish her from others.
Only one especial circumstance has been remarked, the importance
she attached to the recitation of the chaplet. Let us hear what her
Sister-Servant says on this point--
"We were always struck," writes Sister Dufès, "when saying the chaplet
in common, with the grave and pious manner in which our dear companion
pronounced the words of the Angelical Salutation. And what convinced
us of the depth of her respect and devotion was the fact that she,
always so humble, so reserved, could not refrain from censuring the
indifference, the want of attention, which too often accompanies the
recitation of a prayer, so beautiful and efficacious."
Her love for the two families of St. Vincent, far from diminishing with
age, only incited her to employ continually in their behalf the sole
influence at her disposal, prayer; regularly every week, she offered a
Communion to attract the benediction of Heaven upon the Congregation of
the Mission; her prayers for her Community were incessant.
Sister Catherine always retained the same duty at the Hospital
d'Enghien; with truly admirable solicitude, she nursed the old men
entrusted to her, at the same time not neglecting the pigeon house,
which recalled the purest and sweetest joys of her childhood. The young
girl of former days, whom we have seen with her dear pigeons hovering
round her, was now a poor Sister, quite aged, but none the less
attentive to her little charge.
Sister Catherine was, then, the soul of the little family in charge of
the hospital. During these later years, the number of our Sisters had
increased considerably, and consequently the administration of the two
houses, d'Enghien and Reuilly, being very difficult for one person, an
assistant was sent me for the hospital. If Sister Catherine had not
for years been moulded to obedience and abnegation, it would have been
hard to her quick, impulsive nature, to recognize the authority of a
companion so much younger than herself; but far different were the
thoughts of this humble Sister, who always endeavored to abase herself.
"She was the first to tender her perfect submission. 'Sister,'
said she, 'be at ease, it suffices that our Superiors have
spoken; we will receive Sister Angélique as one sent from God,
and obey her as we do you.' Her conduct justified her words.
"Although Sister Catherine guarded rigorously the supernatural
communications she had received, she occasionally expressed her
views to me on actual occurrences, speaking then as if inspired
by God.
"Thus, at the time of the Commune, she told me that I would
leave the house accompanied by a certain Sister, that I would
return the 31st of May, and she assured me I need have no
fears, as the Blessed Virgin would take my place and guard the
house. At the time, I paid very little attention to the good
Sister's words.
"I left, indeed, and realized, contrary to my plans, and
without a thought on the subject, all that Sister Catherine
had predicted. On my return from the Community, May 31st, I
expressed my anxiety concerning the house, which had been in
the hands of the Communists, and, it was said, plundered.
Sister Catherine endeavored to reassure me, repeating that the
Blessed Virgin had taken care of everything, she was confident
of it, for the Blessed Virgin had promised her.
"We found on our arrival that this Mother of mercy had, indeed,
guarded and saved all, notwithstanding the long occupation of
our dear house by a mob of furies, whose Satanic pleasure was
to destroy.
"One circumstance in particular struck me most forcibly; these
wretches had made useless efforts to overthrow the statue of
Mary Immaculate placed in the garden--it had withstood all
their sacrilegious attempts.
"Sister Catherine hastened to place upon the head of our august
Queen the crown she had taken with her in our exile, telling
the Blessed Virgin she restored it in token of gratitude.
"Many times did Sister Catherine thus reveal her thoughts to
me with the simplicity of a child. When her predictions were
not realized, she would quietly say: 'Ah! well, Sister, I was
mistaken. I believed what I told you. I am very glad the truth
is known.'[6]
[Footnote 6: Persons favored with supernatural communications
are not thereby preserved from error. They may be deceived in
misunderstanding what they see or hear, they may be duped by
the illusions of the demon, they may involuntarily mingle their
own ideas with those which come from God, and they may fail in
transmitting with accuracy what has been revealed to them. We
must also remark that prophecies are frequently conditional,
and their accomplishment depends upon the manner in which the
conditions are fulfilled; so that, when the Church approves
these private revelations, she does nothing more than declare
that, after grave examination, they may be published for the
edification of the faithful, and that the proofs given are
sufficient to ensure belief.
To the Sacred Writers alone belongs the privilege of
infallibility in receiving and transmitting divine
inspirations.]
"Meanwhile, time fled, and our good Sister often spoke of her
approaching end. Our venerated Superiors began to feel anxious
about losing her, and the Superior General one day sent for
her to come to the Community that he might receive from her own
lips certain communications which he considered very important.
"Sister Catherine, to whom this was wholly unexpected, was
almost speechless with amazement. On her return, she expressed
to me her emotion, and, for the first time, opened her heart
to me concerning that which she had formerly so much feared to
reveal.
"This repugnance had vanished; seeing herself on the borders
of the tomb, she felt constrained to make known the details
which she thought buried with the venerated Father Aladel,
and she expressed great grief that devotion to the Immaculate
Conception was less lively and general than it had been.
"These communications, moreover, were for myself alone; I
did not impart them to the other Sisters. It is true, the
greater number were informed of this pious secret, but they
never learned it from Sister Catherine herself. All they could
observe in connexion with it was her ardent love for Mary
Immaculate and her zeal for the propagation of the Miraculous
Medal, also that, when she heard one of our Sisters express
a desire to make the pilgrimage to Lourdes or some other
privileged sanctuary of Mary, she could not refrain from
saying, somewhat impetuously: 'But why do you wish to go so
far? Have you not the Community? Did not the Blessed Virgin
appear there as well as at Lourdes?' And a most extraordinary
fact is, that, without having read any of the publications
concerning this miraculous grotto, Sister Catherine was more
familiar with what had taken place there than many who had made
the pilgrimage. Leaving these incidents aside, never did she
utter a word calculated to give the impression that she had
any part in the singular favors the Blessed Virgin had lavished
upon our humble chapel at the Mother House.
"Since opening her heart to me, this good companion had become
very affectionate; it was a rest for her, a consolation to
find some one who understood her. Our worthy Father Chevalier,
Assistant of the Congregation of the Mission, occasionally
visited her to receive her communications concerning the
apparition. One day, he spoke to her of the new edition he was
preparing of the notice of the medal. 'When M. Aladel's edition
of 1842 appeared,' replied Sister Catherine, 'I said to him,
truly, that he would never publish another, and that I would
never see another edition, because it would not be finished
during my lifetime.' 'I shall catch you there,' replied M.
Chevalier, who expected it to appear very soon. But unforeseen
difficulties having retarded the publication, he subsequently
recognized that the good Sister had spoken rightly.
"From the beginning of the year 1876, Sister Catherine alluded
very frequently to her death; on all our feast days, she never
failed to say: 'It is the last time I shall see this feast.'
And when we appeared not to credit her assertion, she added: 'I
shall certainly not see the year 1877.' We could not, however,
believe her end so near. For some months she had been obliged
to keep her bed, and relinquish that active life she had led so
many years.
"Her strength was gradually failing; the asthma joined to some
affection of the heart undermined her constitution; she felt
that she was dying, but it was without a fear, we might say
without emotion. One day, when speaking to her of her death:
'You are not afraid, then,' said I, 'dear Sister Catherine.'
'Afraid! Sister!' she exclaimed; 'why should I be afraid? I am
going to our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, St. Vincent.'
"And, truly, our dear companion had nothing to fear, for her
death was as calm as her life.
"Several days previous, one of our Sisters was talking
familiarly with her, when, without any allusion to the subject
from the other, our sick Sister said: 'I shall go to Reuilly.'
This was the name given the House of Providence, separated
from d'Enghien Hospital by a vast garden, and similar to it
in the nature of its works. 'What! to Reuilly?' answered her
companion; 'you would not have the heart to do so, you who love
so well your Enghien, that you have never left.' 'I tell you, I
shall go to Reuilly.' 'But when?' 'Ah! that is it!' said Sister
Catherine, in a decided, mysterious tone, that disconcerted
her companion. After a few moments, she added: 'There will be
no need of a hearse at my funeral.' 'Oh! what do you mean?'
replied the Sister. 'It will not be needed,' said the sick one,
emphatically. 'But why not?' 'They will put me in the chapel at
Reuilly.' These words struck her companion, who repeated the
conversation to me. 'Keep that to yourself,' said I.
"On the 31st of December, she had several spells of weakness,
symptoms of her approaching end. We then proposed to her the
last consolations of religion; she gratefully consented, and
received the Sacraments with indescribable peace and happiness;
then, at her request, we recited the litany of the Immaculate
Conception.
"Being one day near her bed, speaking to her of Heaven and
of the Blessed Virgin, she expressed a desire to have during
her agony sixty-three children, each invoking the Blessed
Virgin by one of her titles in the litany of the Immaculate
Conception, and especially these very consoling words: 'Terror
of demons, pray for us.' It was observed that there were not
sixty-three invocations in the litany. 'You will find them in
the office of the Immaculate Conception,' said she. Measures
were taken to comply with her desires, the invocations were
written upon slips of paper and kept for the final hour,
but, just at the time of her agony, we could not collect the
children; she then asked that the litany be recited, and had us
repeat three times the invocation which makes hell tremble.
"Our Sisters were especially touched to hear her exclaim, with
an accent of deep tenderness: 'My dear Community! my dear
Mother House!' So true is it, that what we have loved most in
life returns to us with renewed vigor at the hour of death!
"Some of her former companions and friends of the House came
during the day to see her for a last time; one of them,
holding an office in the Seminary, approaching her, said
sadly: 'Sister Catherine, are you going to leave us without
telling me a word of the Blessed Virgin?' Then the dying
Sister leaned towards her, and whispered softly in her ear
quite a while. 'I ought not to speak,' said she; 'it is M.
Chevalier who is commissioned to do that.' ... She continued,
without interruption: 'The Blessed Virgin has promised to
grant especial graces every time one prays in the chapel, but
particularly an increase of purity, that purity of mind, heart,
will, which is pure love.'
"This good daughter, animated with the true primitive spirit
of the Community, was, in uttering these last words, the
unconscious echo of the venerable Mother Legras, whose writings
breathe the same thought.
"A Sister-Servant, who came to visit her, approaching the sick
Sister, reminded her of the necessities of the Community and
of the Seminary, and ended by saying: 'Dear Sister Catherine,
when you get to Heaven, do not forget all this, attend to all
my commissions.' Sister Catherine answered: 'Sister, my will is
good, but I have always been so stupid, so dull, I shall not
know how to explain myself, for I am ignorant of the language
of Heaven.' Upon which the other, delighted with so much
simplicity, was inspired to say: 'Oh! my dear Sister Catherine,
in Heaven we do not speak as we do on earth; the soul regards
God, the good God regards the soul, and all is understood--that
is the language of Heaven.' Our dear Sister's countenance
became radiant at this, and she answered: 'Oh! Sister, if it is
thus, be tranquil, all your commissions will be fulfilled.'
"M. Chevalier came, also, that day to give her his blessing,
and he spoke to her on the same subject. Sister Catherine
answered him with faculties undimmed, and said to him, among
other things: 'The pilgrimages the Sisters make are not
favorable to piety. The Blessed Virgin did not tell me to go
so far to pray; it is in the Community chapel she wishes the
Sisters to invoke her, that is their true pilgrimage.'
"The poor, to whom she was so devoted, likewise occupied her
thoughts.----
"At four in the afternoon, another attack of weakness collected
us all around our dear, dying one, but the supreme moment had
not yet come. We surrounded her bed until evening. At seven,
she seemed to sink into a slumber, and without the least agony
or the least sign of suffering, she yielded her last sigh.
Scarcely could we perceive that she had ceased to live....
Never have I seen a death so calm and gentle."
"The deepest emotion now filled our hearts; we pondered the
celestial interview of our blessed companion with that good God
who had so often revealed Himself to her during her Seminary
life, and that beautiful Virgin, whose charms can never be
depicted on earth.
"It was not sorrow which pervaded our hearts; not a tear was
shed in these first moments; we yielded to an indescribable
emotion; we felt ourselves near a Saint; the veil of humility
under which she had lived so long concealed was now rent, that
we might see in her only the soul favored by Heaven.
"Our Sisters disputed the happiness of passing the night beside
her venerated remains, a magnetic attraction drawing them to
her.
"To perpetuate the fact that she had received these favors
whilst still a Seminary Sister, we thought of having her
photograph taken, also, in the Seminary habit; it succeeded
completely in both costumes.
"We now carried her blessed remains into the chapel. There
the Immaculate Virgin watched over her; lilies and roses
surrounded her virginal body, and her cherished device--'O
Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to
thee'--surrounding this little sanctuary, seemed the last echo
of her life.
"Then commenced the miracle of glorified humility; this
humble Sister, who in life had been scarcely noticed, was
suddenly surrounded by persons of every age and condition, who
considered it a very great happiness to come, not to pray for
her, but to recommend themselves to her blessed intercession.
"As for us who were keeping watch around our dear relic, we
could not bear to think of the moment which would take her
from us. This house which had been protected by her presence
for forty-six years, would it be deprived of her forever? The
thought was heart-breaking; it seemed as if we were about
to lose the protection of the Immaculate Virgin, who would
henceforth cease to hover over us.
"On the other hand, to keep our dear Sister with us appeared
impossible. Our Superiors being consulted, permitted us to
take measures in accordance with our wishes. We had a world of
difficulties to surmount.
"'Pray,' said I to our Sisters; and they passed the night
supplicating the Immaculate Mary to let our beloved companion
remain with us.
"All night long, I vainly tried to think of a suitable resting
place for her, when suddenly, at the sound of the four o'clock
bell, I thought I heard these words: 'The vault is under the
chapel of Reuilly.' 'True enough,' said I, joyfully, like a
person who suddenly sees the realization of a long deferred
hope. I remembered now that, during the construction of the
chapel, a vault had been made communicating with the children's
refectory. Our worthy Mother Mazin had assigned to it no actual
purpose, saying we might have use for it hereafter.
"There was no time to lose. We were on the eve of her funeral,
and the authorization, so difficult to obtain, had not yet been
solicited.
"The vault was hastily prepared, and the petition, sustained by
influential persons, succeeded as if by enchantment.
"January 3d, the feast of St. Genevieve, was the day appointed
for the interment of her, whom we regarded as the tutelary
angel of our house. But the word 'interment' is not appropriate
here--'triumph' is the proper expression--for it was a
veritable triumph for our humble Sister.
"A deputation was sent from all the houses of our Sisters, that
had received timely notice, and the little chapel was much too
small to accommodate the numbers that came. Mass over, the
funeral cortege which was to accompany the body in procession
from d'Enghien Hospital to the vault at Reuilly was organized,
as follows: The inmates of our industrial school, Children of
Mary, came first, bearing their banner; next to these, all our
little orphans; then, our young girls of the Society (both
externs and those belonging to the house), wearing the livery
of the Immaculate Mary; the parishioners, and lastly, our
Sisters preceding the clergy.
"This lengthy procession passed slowly through the long garden
walk, and whilst the solemn chants of the Benedictus resounded
afar, the modest coffin appeared in sight, covered with lilies
and eglantines, emblems of purity and simplicity.
"At the entrance of the vault, the crowd stood aside, and our
Children of Mary greeted the arrival of the body by singing the
blessed invocation: 'O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us
who have recourse to thee!' It would be impossible to describe
the effect of these funeral obsequies, of a nature so entirely
new.
"To preserve our treasure, it was necessary to wall up the
subterranean entrance, but we had an opening made communicating
with the chapel.
"The poor, whom Sister Catherine had nursed, lay a magnificent
crown on the tomb of St. Vincent's humble daughter, who, in
life, sought only the lowliest paths, and who had supplicated
the Blessed Virgin to keep her unknown and unsought."----
The life of dear Sister Labouré was the faithful realization of Our
Lord's words in the Gospel: "I return Thee thanks, Father, that Thou
hast concealed these things from the wise of this world and hast
revealed them to little ones." Never were the gifts of God better
concealed in a soul, under the double mantle of humility and simplicity.
For forty-six years did she lead a life of obscurity and toil, seeking
no other satisfaction than that of pleasing God; she sanctified herself
in the lowliest paths by a faithful correspondence to grace, and an
exact compliance with the practices of a Community life. The favors she
received from Heaven never filled her heart with pride; witness of the
wonders daily wrought by the medal, she never uttered a word that might
lead others to suspect how much more she knew about it than any one
else.
Might we not say, she had chosen for her motto these words of À Kempis:
"Love to be unknown and accounted as nothing?" How faithfully these
traits portray the true daughter of the humble Vincent de Paul!
What, in Heaven, must be the glory of those whose earthly life was
one of self-abasement? Do we not already perceive a faint radiance of
this glory? The obsequies of the humble servant of the poor resembled
a triumph; by an almost unheard of exception, her body remains in
the midst of her spiritual family; her tomb is visited by persons of
every condition, who, with confidence, recommend themselves to her
intercession, and many of whom assure us that their petitions have
been granted. In fine, this biographical notice discloses what Sister
Catherine so carefully concealed, and thus accomplishes Our Lord's
promise: "He who humbleth himself, shall be exalted."
CHAPTER II.
MARY'S AGENCY IN THE CHURCH.
THIS AGENCY, EVER MANIFEST, SEEMS TO HAVE DISAPPEARED DURING THE
EIGHTEENTH AND IN THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY--MARY
APPEARS IN 1830--MOTIVES AND IMPORTANCE OF THIS APPARITION--THE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
Devotion to the most Blessed Virgin is as ancient as Christianity,
and we find traces of it from the very origin of the Church, among
all nations who accepted the Gospel. During the first ages, it was
concealed in the obscurity of the catacombs, or veiled itself under
symbolical forms to escape the profanation of infidels; but when the
era of peace succeeded that of bloody persecutions, it reappeared
openly and in all the brilliancy of its ravishing beauty. It developed
a wonderful growth, especially in the fifth century, after the Council
of Ephesus had proclaimed the divine maternity of Mary, thereby
sanctioning the exceptional homages rendered her above all the saints.
The image of the Virgin Mother, circulated throughout Christendom,
becomes the ornament of churches, the protection of the fireside, and
an object of devotion to the faithful. It is at this epoch, especially,
we see everywhere gradually disappearing the last vestiges of paganism.
The Immaculate Virgin, the Mother of tenderness, the Queen of Angels,
the Patroness of regenerated humanity, supplants those vain idols,
which for ages had fostered superstition, with its train of vices and
errors.
Every Catholic admits that the Church's veneration of Mary rests upon
an inviolable foundation--both faith and reason unite in justifying it.
Events have proved that God Himself has authorized it, for it has often
pleased Him to recompense the confidence and fidelity of her servants,
by sensible marks of His power, by extraordinary graces--in a word,
by true miracles. By a disposition of His Providence, He has decreed
Mary's intervention in the economy of the Church and the sanctification
of souls, as He did in the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption.
Her character of Mediatrix between Heaven and earth obliges her to make
this agency felt, to display the power she has received in favor of
man. These manifestations of the Blessed Virgin in the Church, these
marvelous proofs of her solicitude for us, form an interesting portion
of the history of Catholicity. The liturgy is full of such souvenirs,
and several feasts have been instituted to commemorate them. Christian
countries abound in traditions of this nature; they are one of the
sources whence piety derives its nourishment.
The majority of pilgrim shrines owe their origin to some supernatural
intervention of the Blessed Virgin. Sometimes she has manifested
herself under a visible form, most frequently to a poor shepherd
or peasant; again, she has wrought a miracle, as the recovery of
a sick person, the conversion of a hardened sinner, or some other
prodigy betokening the power of a supernatural agency. Sometimes, a
statue, a picture, apparently not fashioned by the hand of man, is
accidentally discovered; the neighboring population are touched, their
faith is reanimated, and soon a shrine, a chapel, or even a splendid
basilica, is erected to protect this gift of Heaven, this pledge of
Mary's affection. Innumerable generations repair to the spot, and new
favors, new miracles, ineffable consolations, ever attest the tutelary
guardianship of her, whom humble, confiding hearts have never invoked
in vain. We might cite hundreds of names in support of these assertions.
The history of devotion to Mary in Catholic countries gives rise to
an observation worthy of remark, that the faith of a country is in
proportion to its devotion to the Blessed Virgin. We can also add that,
when God wishes to revive the Faith among any people, He commissions
Mary to manifest there her goodness and power.
* * * * *
Every age has furnished the Church with constantly increasing proofs of
Mary's mediation; there are epochs in which she seems to be so lavish
of her presence, that we might say she lives familiarly among mankind,
and that her delights are to converse with them.
Again, on the contrary, she appears to retire, to hold herself aloof
from the world, to give no more signs of her intervention. We have a
striking example of this in a somewhat recent age. More than a century
do we find deprived of Mary's sensible mediation; history records in
all that period not one of these apparitions, not a new pilgrim shrine
founded, not a signal grace obtained through the intercession of the
Mother of Mercy. If a few events of this kind took place, they were at
least very rare, and have remained in obscurity. This age, forsaken by
the Blessed Virgin, was the eighteenth century, to which we must add
the first thirty years of the nineteenth.
At this epoch, when impious rationalism endeavored to efface all idea
of the supernatural, when the most firmly established truths were
attacked, when among Christians the standard of virtue was lowered and
character was of slight esteem in any class or station of society, we
might believe that Mary, fatigued with men's ingratitude, had resolved
to leave them to their own devices, and let them govern the world
according to their ideas of assumed wisdom. She did, in reality, not
renounce her mission of Mediatrix in favor of the Church, she still
watched over her great adopted family, she listened to the prayers
of her faithful servants, but she remained invisible, she no longer
displayed any of those marks of tenderness her maternal heart had
lavished upon them in the ages of faith.
We know the consequences of Mary's abandoning the earth, and how these
sages who wished to dispense with God governed society. The history of
their reign is written in letters of fire, of blood and of filth.
This revolutionary and impious naturalism was prolonged into the
nineteenth century; it still exerts a deplorable influence at the
present day, but it encounters opposition; the supernatural order is
firmly asserted, the truths of Faith are warmly defended, the holy
Church is respected and obeyed, its august Head is held in veneration
to the very extremities of the earth, God's kingdom is still opposed,
but it numbers devoted subjects, who, if needful, would shed their
blood in its defence. Indifference, human respect, jeering scepticism,
are gradually disappearing, leaving the Church with only sincere
friends or declared enemies. It is a progress no one can ignore.
Whence comes this change? and what the date of so consoling a
resurrection? Beyond a doubt, it owes its origin to God's infinite
bounty--but the instrument, can it be ignored or contemned? Is it not
the Blessed Virgin Mary? Has not her mediation been visible for forty
years? Yes; it is Mary who has wrought this astonishing transformation,
and through the medal styled miraculous has this series of wonders been
inaugurated.
In 1830, does Mary for the first time, after an interval of a century
and a half, manifest her desire of a reconciliation with earth.
It is the first sign of pardon she accords man, after her long silence.
It is the announcement of a new era which is about to commence.
* * * * *
The apparition of November 27th, in the chapel of the Mother House of
the Daughters of Charity, Paris, appears, at first, to be of little
importance, yet it was destined to have an immense bearing upon the
future and its consequences were to be incalculable. Like a stream
whose source is concealed at the foot of a mountain, but which receives
as it advances numberless tributaries, and finally becomes a majestic
river, fertilizing the provinces and kingdoms through which it flows;
so the vision of the medal has been the initiatory step in a religious
movement, which, to-day, extends throughout the world, sitting in
justice upon old errors, superannuated prejudices; systems inimical to
truth, and fully revealing the true Church and true sanctity, rendering
to Mary Immaculate, Mother of God and Mother of men, such tributes of
veneration, love and devotion, as she has never received since the
preaching of the Gospel.
The reader is already acquainted with Sister Catherine, the humble
daughter whom Mary deigned to select for her confidante. The following
chapter gives a detailed account of the apparitions.
We have said that this event was the dawn of a new era, the signal
of renewed devotion to Mary throughout the world. It seemed as if
this tender Mother wished, by lavishing extraordinary graces upon her
children, to make them forget the severity with which she had punished
their offences.
A rapid glance at the development of devotion to Mary, during half a
century, will suffice to show the truth of this affirmation.
The medal, scarcely struck, is circulated by millions; it immediately
becomes the instrument of so many cures and conversions, that it is
universally styled the Miraculous Medal, a name which clung to it,
and which is justified by the constant working of new miracles, as
the second part of this book will show. But this medal was destined
not only to work miracles, it had an object still higher, it had a
dogmatical signification, it was to popularize the belief in the
Immaculate Conception of Mary.
As far as is possible for us to penetrate the adorable designs of
Providence, everything inclines us to believe that the Immaculate
Conception is one of those truths whose proclamation is interwoven
with the welfare of modern society, and whose influence upon
Catholicity is incalculable. It is the complement of the Blessed
Virgin's glory; even with the incomparable prerogative of her divine
maternity, her grandeur would still lack something, were she not
proclaimed free from original sin. The germ contained in the Holy
Scriptures, preserved by tradition, taught by the Fathers and holy
Doctors, supported by the Roman pontiffs, solemnized from the earliest
ages in many churches, adopted instinctively by the piety of the
faithful, and depicted under most graceful forms by brush and chisel of
Christian artist, this belief received, through the medal, the seal of
a popular devotion. The prayer revealed by the Blessed Virgin herself:
"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!"
this prayer, repeated incessantly by numberless mouths from infancy to
old age, by poor and rich, and in every quarter of the globe, entered
as a formula into the practices of a Christian life, and hastened, we
might safely say, the day when Pius IX was to declare the Immaculate
Conception an article of faith.
* * * * *
The wonderful circulation of the medal, and the miracles wrought by
means of it, would soon have made the chapel of the rue du Bac a much
frequented pilgrim shrine, as many who were indebted to Mary for
their cure or conversion wished to testify their gratitude by leaving
there ex-voto offerings. But the Superiors of the Community deemed
it inadvisable to allow this. However, Divine Providence, wishing to
maintain this pious impulse, opened in the very centre of Paris a
sanctuary, to receive what the chapel of the Daughters of Charity had
refused.
The pastor of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, M. Desgenettes, who had
taken a lively interest in the apparition of 1830, was inspired to
consecrate his parish to the holy and immaculate Heart of Mary. An
Arch confraternity was established for the conversion of sinners; the
success was as rapid as it was wonderful, and soon the whole world
resounded with accounts of the miracles accorded the associates'
prayers. To remind them that Notre-Dame-des-Victoires is allied with
the vision of the Sister of St. Vincent de Paul, an article of their
rule enjoins them to wear, with respect and devotion, the indulgenced
medal of the Immaculate Conception, known as the Miraculous Medal, and
they are advised to recite occasionally the prayer engraven upon that
medal: "O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to
thee!"
Some years later, in 1846, the Blessed Virgin manifests herself upon
the mountain at La Salette to two little shepherd children, charging
them to warn mankind of the necessity of doing penance in order to
avert the impending evils.
At Lourdes, in 1858, Mary appears to a poor and ignorant young girl;
she tells her name, calling herself by that which is most dear to
her: "I am the Immaculate Conception," and she promises abundant
benedictions to all who come to pray in that favored place.
In 1871, she appears in the village of Pontmain to some children;
she comes to revive their drooping courage and restore hope to their
fainting hearts.
It would take too long to enumerate these manifestations of Mary
in various parts of Christendom--those images which seem animated;
those mysterious voices which warn, which encourage the world; those
supernatural revelations to privileged souls--all, we might say,
favors of a tender Mother, who pardons her guilty children, and who
wishes by multiplied tokens of her love to make them oblivious of her
past severity.
To so many marks of the Immaculate Mary's tenderness, the Catholic
world has responded by an admirable outburst of filial piety; each
year sees hundreds of thousands of pilgrims seeking her privileged
sanctuaries; her Feasts are celebrated with admirable splendor;
devotion to her is clothed in every form capable of expressing
admiration, gratitude and tenderness. Who could enumerate the churches
and monuments everywhere erected in her honor, the associations
established under her invocation, the books composed in her praises?
But the homage which eclipses all others, is the definition of the
dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. This definition, ardently
desired by the devout faithful, enthusiastically welcomed by the whole
world, was the grand thought of Pius IX after his elevation to the
chair of St. Peter, and it will be recorded in history as the crowning
event of his Pontificate, already illustrious for so many other causes.
Mary, by this, has received from her children all the glory it was
in their power to procure her; her prerogatives appear in all their
lustre; she is acknowledged as sovereign mistress of Heaven and earth;
she occupies in the economy of religion the true place Divine wisdom
has assigned her. Let us hope she will soon display to the world the
effects of her powerful protection, that she will crush the infernal
serpent's head, that she will calm the storms hell has unchained--in
fine, that she will assure the triumph of the Church and the reign of
Jesus Christ in justice and truth.
CHAPTER III.
APPARITIONS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
_TO SISTER CATHERINE_.
FIRST APPARITION: THE ANGEL CONDUCTS THE SISTER TO THE CHAPEL; MARY
CONVERSES WITH HER--SECOND APPARITION: MARY UPON A GLOBE, HER HANDS
EMITTING RAYS OF LIGHT, SYMBOLIC OF GRACE; MARY ORDERS A MEDAL TO
BE STRUCK--THIRD APPARITION: MARY RENEWS THE COMMAND.
When Sister Catherine was favored with these apparitions of the Blessed
Virgin she related by word of mouth to her Director, what she had seen
and heard, and he, though apparently attaching little importance to her
communications, carefully took note of them. The Sister never thought
of writing them, she judged herself incapable of doing so, and,
moreover, in her opinion, it would have been contrary to humility.
In 1856, when events had confirmed the truth of her predictions, M.
Aladel told her to commit to writing all she could recollect of the
supernatural visitations of 1830. She obeyed, despite her repugnance,
and sketched an account of her vision of St. Vincent's heart, which we
have already read, and that of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin.
In obedience, she again wrote in 1876, an account of these same
apparitions.
Finally, another copy, not dated, was found among her papers after
death.
These three narrations accord perfectly in the main, yet differ
sufficiently in detail to prove that one was not copied from the other.
To these manuscripts, in which no change has been made, except a
correction of faults in style and orthography, are we indebted for the
following account of the apparitions.
It is to be regretted that M. Aladel's notes should have been almost
entirely destroyed; no doubt they contained very interesting details,
but what portion of them remains, is of little importance.
Before quoting Sister Catherine's own narration, we must remark, that
the first vision, having little reference to anything but the Sister
herself and St. Vincent's two Communities, M. Aladel did not deem it
advisable to have published; also, that although the account of the
vision of the medal in the first editions of the notice, seems to
differ notably from that related by the Sister, we will see later how
these discrepancies can be explained, and that in the main the two
versions are identical.
[Illustration: _FIRST APPARITION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN_
_To Sister Catherine Labouré, Daughter of Charity. After a picture
painted from instructions given by Sister Catherine. (See the
explanation at the list of engravings._)]
Sister Catherine, already favored with celestial visions, ardently
desired, with all the simplicity of her nature, to see the Blessed
Virgin. To obtain this grace, she invoked her good Angel, St. Vincent,
and the Blessed Virgin herself.
On the 18th of July, 1830, eve of the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul,
the Directress of the Seminary gave an instruction on devotion to
the Saints and the Blessed Virgin; this but inflamed our Sister's
pious desire. Fully imbued with the thought, she retired for the
night, recommending herself to her blessed Father, St. Vincent, and
confidently believing that her prayers would be answered.
About half-past eleven o'clock, she hears her name, "Sister Labouré,"
distinctly called three times; suddenly awaking, she opens her curtain
on the side whence the voice proceeds, and what does she perceive? A
little child of ravishing beauty, four or five years of age, dressed
in white and enveloped in the radiant light beaming from his fair hair
and noble person. "Come," said he, in a melodious voice, "come to the
chapel, the Blessed Virgin awaits you." But, thought Sister Catherine
(she slept in a large dormitory), the others will hear me, I shall be
discovered. "Have no fears," said the child, answering her thought, "it
is half-past eleven, everybody is asleep, I will accompany you."
At these words, no longer able to resist the invitation of her amiable
guide, Sister Catherine dresses hastily and follows the child, who
walks always at her left, illuming the places through which he passes;
and everywhere along their path, to the Sister's great astonishment,
does she find the lamps lighted. Her surprise redoubles, on seeing the
door open at the child's touch, and on finding the altar resplendent
with lights, "reminding her," she said, "of the midnight Mass."
The child conducts her into the sanctuary; here she kneels, whilst her
celestial guide remains standing a little behind at her left.
The moments of waiting seem long to Sister Catherine; at last, about
midnight, the child says to her: "Behold the Blessed Virgin, behold
her!" At that instant, she distinctly hears on the right hand side of
the chapel, a slight noise, like the rustling of a silk robe; a most
beautiful lady enters the sanctuary, and takes her seat in the place
ordinarily occupied by the Director of the Community, on the left side
of the sanctuary. The seat, the attitude, the costume (a white robe of
a golden tinge and a blue veil), strongly resemble the representation
of St. Anne in the picture adorning the sanctuary. Yet it is not
the same countenance, and Sister Catherine is struggling interiorly
against doubt. Can this indeed be the Blessed Virgin? she asks herself.
Suddenly, the little child, assuming the voice of a man, speaks aloud,
and in severe words asks her if the Queen of Heaven may not appear to a
poor mortal under whatever form she pleases.
Her doubts all vanish, and following only the impulses of her heart,
the Sister throws herself at the Blessed Virgin's feet, familiarly
placing her hands upon the Blessed Virgin's knees, like a child beside
its mother.
"At this moment," said she, "I felt the sweetest emotion of
my life, it would be impossible for me to express it. The
Blessed Virgin told me how I must act in all my trials; and
pointing with her left hand to the foot of the altar, she told
me it was there I must come and lay open my heart, adding
that it was there I would receive all needful consolation.
Then she also said to me: 'My child, I am going to charge you
with a mission; you will suffer many trials on account of
it, but you will surmount them, knowing that you endure them
for the glory of the good God. You will be contradicted, but
you will be sustained by grace, do not fear; with simplicity
and confidence, tell all that passes within you to him who
is charged with the care of your soul. You will see certain
things, you will be inspired in your prayers, give an account
to him.'
"I then asked the Blessed Virgin for an explanation of what she
had already shown me. She answered: 'My child, the times are
very disastrous, great trials are about to come upon France,
the throne will be overturned, the entire world will be in
confusion by reason of miseries of every kind.' (The Blessed
Virgin looked very sad in saying this.) 'But come to the foot
of this altar, here graces will be shed upon all--upon all who
ask for them with confidence and fervor.
"'At a certain time the danger will be great indeed, it will
seem as if all were lost, but do not fear, I shall be with you;
you will acknowledge my visit, the protection of God and that
of St. Vincent upon the two Communities. Have confidence, do
not be discouraged, you are in my especial keeping.
"'There will be victims in other Communities.' (Tears were
in the Blessed Virgin's eyes as she said this.) 'Among the
clergy of Paris there will be victims, Mgr. the Archbishop
will die.' (At these words her tears flowed anew.) 'My child,
the cross will be despised, it will be trampled under foot,
our Lord's side will be opened anew, the streets will flow
with blood, the entire world will be in tribulation.'" (Here
the Blessed Virgin could no longer speak, grief was depicted
in her countenance.) At these words Sister Catherine thought,
when will this take place? And an interior light distinctly
indicated to her in forty years.
Another version, also written by her own hand, says forty years, then
ten, after which, peace. In connexion with this M. Aladel said to her:
"Will you and I see the accomplishment of all these things?"
"If we do not, others will," replied the simple daughter.
The Blessed Virgin also entrusted her with several communications for
her Director concerning the Daughters of Charity, and told her that
he would one day be clothed with the necessary authority for putting
them in execution.[7] After this, she said again: "But great troubles
will come, the danger will be imminent, yet do not fear, St. Vincent
will watch over you, and the protection of God is always here in a
particular manner." (The Blessed Virgin still looked very sad.) "I
will be with you myself, I will always keep my eye upon you, and I
will enrich you with many graces." The Sister adds: "Graces will be
bestowed, particularly upon all who ask for them, but they must pray,
they must pray.----
[Footnote 7: M. Aladel was made Director of the Community in
1846.]
"I could not tell," continues the Sister, "how long I remained
with the Blessed Virgin; all I can say is that, after talking
with me a long time, she disappeared like a shadow that
vanishes."
On arising from her knees, Sister Catherine perceived the child just
where she had left him, to throw herself at the Blessed Virgin's feet.
He said: "She has gone," and, all resplendent with light as before, he
stationed himself anew at her left hand, and conducted her back to the
dormitory by the same paths as they had come.
"I believe," continues the narration, "that this child was my
Guardian Angel, because I had fervently implored him to procure
me the favor of seeing the Blessed Virgin.... Returned to my
bed, I heard the clock strike two, and I went to sleep no more."
* * * * *
What has just been recounted was only a part of Sister Catherine's
mission, or rather a preparation for a future mission to be given her
as a pledge of the Immaculate Mary's tenderness for the human race.
In the month of November of this same year, 1830, Sister Catherine
communicates to M. Aladel a new vision; but it is no longer that of
an afflicted Mother weeping over the evils menacing her children, or
the martyrdom of her dearest friends. This vision recalls the rainbow
appearing in a sky still black with storms, or the star shining through
the tempest to inspire the mariner with confidence--it is the Virgin
Queen, bearing the promise of benediction, salvation and peace.
M. Aladel relates this to the Promoter of the diocese, and we find it
inserted in the verbal process of the investigation, dated February 16,
1836, as follows:
"At half-past five in the evening, whilst the Sisters were in
the chapel taking their meditation, the Blessed Virgin appeared
to a young Sister as if in an oval picture; she was standing on
a globe, only one-half of which was visible; she was clothed
in a white robe and a mantle of shining blue, having her hands
covered, as it were, with diamonds, whence emanated luminous
rays falling upon the earth, but more abundantly upon one
portion of it.
"A voice seemed to say: 'These rays are symbolic of the graces
Mary obtains for men, and the point upon which they fall most
abundantly is France.' Around the picture, written in golden
letters, were these words: 'O Mary! conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to thee!' This prayer, traced in
a semi-circle, began at the Blessed Virgin's right hand, and,
passing over her head, terminated at her left hand. The reverse
of the picture bore the letter M surmounted by a cross, having
a bar at its base, and beneath the monogram of Mary, were the
hearts of Jesus and Mary, the first surrounded with a crown of
thorns, the other transpierced with a sword. Then she seemed
to hear these words: 'A medal must be struck upon this model;
those who wear it indulgenced, and repeat this prayer with
devotion, will be, in an especial manner, under the protection
of the Mother of God.' At that instant, the vision disappeared."
According to the testimony of Sister Catherine's Director, this
apparition appeared several times in the course of a few months, always
in the chapel of the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity, either
during Mass or some of the religious exercises. M. Aladel adds that he
was not certain as to their number, but he knows they were repeated
thrice, at least, the Sister having mentioned it three different times.
Here is the account written by the Sister's own hand:
"The 27th of November, 1830, which was a Saturday and eve of
the first Sunday in Advent, whilst making my meditation in
profound silence, at half-past five in the evening, I seemed
to hear on the right hand side of the sanctuary something
like the rustling of a silk dress, and, glancing in that
direction, I perceived the Blessed Virgin standing near St.
Joseph's picture; her height was medium, and her countenance
so beautiful that it would be impossible for me to describe
it. She was standing, clothed in a robe the color of auroral
light, the style that is usually called _à la vierge_--that is,
high neck and plain sleeves. Her head was covered with a white
veil, which descended on each side to her feet. Her hair was
smooth on the forehead, and above was a coif ornamented with a
little lace and fitting close to the head. Her face was only
partially covered, and her feet rested upon a globe, or rather
a hemisphere (at least, I saw but half a globe). Her hands were
raised about as high as her waist, and she held in a graceful
attitude another globe (a figure of the universe). Her eyes
were lifted up to Heaven, and her countenance was radiant as
she offered the globe to Our Lord.
[Illustration: _SECOND APPARITION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN_
_To Sister Catherine Labouré. First picture._ (_See the explanation at
the list of engravings._)]
"Suddenly, her fingers were filled with rings[8] and most
beautiful precious stones; the rays gleaming forth and
reflected on all sides, enveloped her in such dazzling light
that I could see neither her feet nor her robe. The stones were
of different sizes, and the rays emanating from them were more
or less brilliant in proportion to the size.
[Footnote 8: The rings were three on each finger; the largest
next to the hand, then the medium size, then the smallest; and
each ring was covered with precious stones of proportional
size; the largest stones emitted the most brilliant rays, the
smallest the least brilliant.]
"I could not express what I felt, nor what I learned, in these
few moments.
"Whilst occupied contemplating this vision, the Blessed Virgin
cast her eyes upon me, and a voice said in the depths of my
heart: 'The globe that you see represents the entire world, and
particularly France, and each person in particular.'
"I would not know how to express the beauty and brilliancy of
these rays. And the Blessed Virgin added: 'Behold the symbol
of the graces I shed upon those who ask me for them,' thus
making me understand how generous she is to all who implore
her intercession.... How many favors she grants to those who
ask. At this moment I was not myself, I was in raptures! There
now formed around the Blessed Virgin a frame slightly oval,
upon which appeared, in golden letters, these words: 'O Mary!
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!'
"Then I heard a voice which said: 'Have a medal struck upon
this model, persons who wear it indulgenced, will receive great
graces, especially if they wear it around the neck; graces will
be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.'
"Suddenly," says the Sister, "the picture seemed to turn," and
she saw the reverse, such as has already been described in the
previous account of the investigation.
Sister Catherine's notes do not mention the twelve stars surrounding
the monogram of Mary and the two hearts. Yet they are always
represented on the medal. It is morally certain that she communicated
this detail, by word of mouth, at the time she related the apparitions.
Other notes in Sister Catherine's own hand-writing complete the
account. She adds, that some of these precious stones did not emit
rays, and when she expressed her astonishment at this, she was told
that they were a figure of the graces we neglect to ask of Mary. On a
hasty perusal, our Sister's account of the vision appears to differ
from M. Aladel's. We were struck with this, and had to study these
interesting and authentic documents attentively, in order to decide
whether the visions differed essentially or were really the same.
[Illustration: _SECOND APPARITION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN_
_To Sister Catherine Labouré. Second picture._ (_See the explanation at
the list of engravings._)]
According to M. Aladel's testimony in the investigation, the
apparitions relative to the medal were always similar, and Sister
Catherine, before her death, confirmed this assertion. As we have just
learned from our Sister's own words, the Blessed Virgin always appeared
with the terrestrial globe under her feet, and at the same time in her
virginal hands, pressing it and warming it, as it were, against her
maternal heart, and offering it to her Divine Son in her quality of
Advocate and Mother, with an ineffable expression of supplication and
love.