Rue du Bac, France (1830)

Summary

Catherine Laboure, a novitiate in the order of the Sisters of Charity, received various visions of St. Vincent and of Jesus present in the Eucharist before experiencing two apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the first vision, July 18 1830, Catherine is told of the impending travails of France and of an unspecified future mission. Several months later she received a message detailing the designs for a medal, later known as the Miraculous Medal, now reproduced over a billion times and distributed around the world. The apparition was investigated in 1836 and later approved. Catherine worked for 46 more years in hospices of her Order until her death in 1876. Her body lies incorrupt at the site of the apparition to this day. She was canonized by the Church in 1947.

Photo Gallery

Click here to view images from Rue du Bac.

Timeline

May 2, 1806	Catherine Laboure is born near Dijon, France.
1815	Catherine's mother dies.
1824	Catherine attends finishing school in Paris despite feeling a call to the religious life.
Jan 1830	Admitted to the Sisters of Charity
April 1830	Sent to the Novitiate; Starts to see visions of St. Vincent de Paul and Jesus.
July 18, 1830	First Apparition of Mary
Nov 30, 1830	Second Apparition of Mary- design for Miraculous Medal revealed
May 1831	Medal produced by Monsieur Vachette
1832 &1833	50 thousand medals given out
1836	Official Inquiry begins; Approved as authentic by Archbishop de Quelen of Paris
1876	Catherine reveals her identity as the visionary and encourages construction of “Virgin of the Globe” statue
Dec 31, 1876	Catherine dies. (Her body remains incorrupt to this day)
1947	Catherine is Canonized

Description of the Virgin

"The Virgin was standing. She was of medium height, and clothed in all white. Her dress was of the whiteness of dawn, made in the style called a la Vierge, that is, high neck and plain sleeves. A white veil covered her head and and fell on either side of her feet. Under the veil her hair, in coils, was bound with a fillet ornamented with lace, about three centimeters in height or of two fingers' breadth, without pleats, and resting lightly on the hair. Her face was sufficiently exposed, indeed exposed very well, and so beautiful that it seems to me impossible to express her ravishing beauty."

Messages

The Virgin appeared twice – July 18 and November 30, 1870.

Click here to read messages.

Prophecies

By 1870, forty years after the first apparition, all the prophecies given at the time were fulfilled:

“There will be bad times to come. Misfortunes will come crashing down on France. The throne will be overturned.”

The" throne” of King Charles X was “overturned” in the end of the year 1830;

"The Cross will be treated with contempt, they will hurl it to the ground and trample it. Blood will flow. The streets will run with blood."

Riots broke out all over Paris and Churches were desecrated.

“There will be victims among the clergy of Paris; Monsignor the Archbishop will die.”
The Archbishop and two subsequent of Paris were murdered during this period.

“Monseigneur the Archbishop will be stripped of his garments.”
The Archbishop was beaten and stripped of his clothes.

“There will be great danger, for this, the [novitiate] and other communities. At one moment when the danger is acute, everyone will believe all to be lost ; you will recall my visit and the [novitiate] will have the protection of God. But it will not be the same for other communities.”

Some of the buildings housing religious communities were burned down; although threatened by angry crowds, the building housing the Sisters of Charity at the Rue du Bac went unharmed.

Prayer

Virgin Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, we unite ourselves to thee under thy title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. May this medal be for each one of us a sure sign of thy motherly affection for us, and a constant reminder of our filial duties to thee. While wearing it, may we be blessed by thy loving protection and preserved in the grace of thy Son. Most powerful Virgin, Mother of our Savior, keep us close to thee at every moment of our lives so that, like thee, we may live and act according to the teaching and example of thy Son. Obtain for us, thy children, the grace of a happy death, so that in union with thee, we may enjoy the happiness of Heaven forever. Amen.

Prayer to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Immaculate Virgin Mary, we honor you,
blessed from the moment of your conception
with the fullness of God's redeeming grace.
You grew in faith and in love for God
as you made the choice
each moment of your life
to allow God to be God in your life.
In calling us to the altar,
as you did St. Catherine Laboure,
you show us where to find redeeming grace.
Lead us, in your spirit of faith, hope and love
to the altar of Eucharistic Celebration
as we receive your Jesus
and say "yes" to all He asks of us.

Mary Immaculate, this beautiful chapel
was erected out of love for you
by the Fathers and Brothers
of the Congregation of the Mission,
the Daughters of Charity,

Books

Chieriotti, Luigi. Les apparitions de la Medaille Miraculeuse. Montsura (France): Editions Resaic, 1988.

Englebert, Omer. Catherine Laboure and the modern apparitions of Our Lady. New York: Kennedy, 1959.

Waters , Alma Powers. St. Catherine Laboure and the Miraculous Medal. Ignatius Press (February 2000)

Links

Miraculous Medal Shrine- Philadelphia, PA

Central Association of the Miraculous Medal - Philadelphia, PA

Free Miraculous Medal

Shrines

Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal - Official Website

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.