St. Bernadette and the Beautiful Lady
St. Bernadette (say ber-na-DET) was a poor girl from the mountains of France. One day, a beautiful Lady visited her. It was Mother Mary!
St. Bernadette
and the Beautiful Lady
Mary's Little Messenger!
Meet St. Bernadette!
St. Bernadette (say ber-na-DET) was a poor girl from the mountains of France. One day, a beautiful Lady visited her. It was Mother Mary!
She is also called St. Bernadette of Lourdes
Follow St. Bernadette!
Let's follow Bernadette to the grotto in the rocks.
Story 1
The Shepherd Girl
Lourdes, France, 1850s
Long ago, in a little town in the mountains of France, lived a girl named Bernadette. Her family was very poor. They all lived together in just one tiny room, but it was full of love.
Bernadette was often sick, and she couldn't read yet. But she loved to look after the lambs and pray her rosary. She was gentle, honest and kind.
Let us pray
Dear God, thank You for my family and my home.
Story 2
The Beautiful Lady
The Grotto of Massabielle, February 11, 1858
One cold winter day, Bernadette went with her little sister and a friend to gather sticks for the fire. They walked down to a big rock by the river.
Suddenly, Bernadette heard a soft sound, like a breeze. Up in the rock stood a beautiful Lady, dressed in white with a blue sash, and a golden rose on each foot. She smiled at Bernadette!
Bernadette took out her rosary and began to pray, and the Lady prayed along with her. The other girls couldn't see anyone, but they could see Bernadette's face shining with joy.
Let us pray
Mother Mary, help me to pray with my whole heart.
Story 3
Fifteen Visits
The Grotto, Lourdes
The Lady spoke to Bernadette very kindly: “Would you be so kind as to come here for fifteen days?” Bernadette said yes!
Every day, more and more people came with candles to watch Bernadette pray. Only Bernadette could see the Lady, but everyone could feel how happy and peaceful she was.
Let us pray
Jesus, help me to keep my promises.
Story 4
The Hidden Spring
The Grotto, Lourdes
One day, the Lady said, “Go and drink at the spring.” But there was no spring there! Bernadette wondered what to do.
Bernadette knelt down and dug in the muddy ground with her hands. A little water trickled up. She washed her face, and it got all muddy! Some people laughed.
But soon, fresh, clear water was bubbling out of the ground: a brand-new spring! It still flows today. People come from all over the world to drink and pray there.
Let us pray
Thank You, God, for the gift of water.
Story 5
Build a Chapel
The Grotto, Lourdes
The Lady had another message: “Please ask the priests to build a chapel here, and to come in procession.”
So Bernadette went to see the priest, Father Peyramale. He was tall and very serious! “Ask the Lady her name,” he said.
Let us pray
Holy Spirit, help me to be brave and to tell the truth.
Story 6
What Is Your Name?
The Grotto, Lourdes, March 25, 1858
On a spring morning, Bernadette asked, “Please, what is your name?” The Lady folded her hands, looked up to Heaven and said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Those were big, new words for Bernadette! She ran all the way to the priest, saying them over and over so she wouldn't forget.
The priest was amazed. Those words meant Mary, who was full of grace from the very start of her life. The beautiful Lady was Mother Mary!
Let us pray
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you!
Story 7
A Quiet, Happy Heart
Nevers, France
Bernadette grew up and became a sister. She took care of people who were sick, and she prayed. She didn't want to be famous. She just wanted to love Jesus and Mary.
Today, a big church stands near the grotto, just as Mary asked. Every night, people walk with candles, singing “Ave Maria!”
Children from all over the world come to light a candle and say a prayer. Little lights, shining for Mary!
Let us pray
St. Bernadette, help me to have a quiet, happy, humble heart.
A Prayer to St. Bernadette
Let's pray it together!
St. Bernadette, you were poor and little, and Mother Mary chose you to carry her message. Help me to pray my rosary, to tell the truth, and to be gentle and humble like you. Ask Mary to hold me close and lead me to Jesus. Amen.
A little prayer for little ones
Bernadette, so small and true, the Lady smiled and came to you. Help me pray and help me be gentle, kind and good like thee! Amen.
Can You Find Them?
3 lambs
2 clogs
1 rosary
1 firewood
1 water jug
3 gold roses
2 birds
Be Like St. Bernadette!
Color in a candle each time you do it!
I can pray a Hail Mary.
I can tell the truth, even when it's hard.
I can help someone who is sick.
I can be gentle and humble.
I can light a candle and say a prayer!
St. Bernadette's Special Day
April 16
Every year on April 16, the Church celebrates St. Bernadette. And on February 11, we celebrate Our Lady of Lourdes! Here are some fun ways to celebrate!
Pray the rosary
Light a candle
Say grace for water
Give flowers to Mary
Color the Grotto!
Mary chose a little one!
You are special to God too!
Bernadette was small and poor, but Mother Mary chose her. God loves little ones! When you pray, tell the truth and help others, you are a lot like her. St. Bernadette is cheering you on!
Dear Jesus, thank You for St. Bernadette. Help me to listen to Your mother, Mary. Amen.
For Grown-Ups
Where these stories come from: Bernadette's own accounts of the apparitions and the records of Lourdes, retold here simply and gently for young children.
The Shepherd Girl. Marie-Bernarde Soubirous was born in Lourdes on January 7, 1844, the eldest child of a miller who had fallen on hard times. By 1857 the family of six lived in a single room, the former town jail (the cachot). Bernadette suffered from asthma, had little schooling and spent time at Bartrès looking after sheep.
The Beautiful Lady. On February 11, 1858, gathering firewood with her sister Toinette and friend Jeanne Abadie near the grotto of Massabielle, she heard a sound like wind and saw a young Lady in white with a blue sash and a yellow rose on each foot. She prayed the rosary; the Lady passed the beads through her fingers with her.
Fifteen Visits. There were eighteen apparitions in all, between February 11 and July 16. On February 18 the Lady asked, “Would you have the kindness to come here for fifteen days?” Growing crowds came to watch.
The Hidden Spring. On February 25 the Lady told her to drink at the spring and wash in it. Bernadette scraped at the muddy ground, and a spring appeared that has flowed ever since; the Church has recognized more than seventy miraculous healings there.
Build a Chapel. On March 2 the Lady asked that a chapel be built and that people come in procession. The parish priest, Abbé Dominique Peyramale, demanded to know her name.
What Is Your Name? On March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, the Lady said, “Que soy era Immaculada Councepciou” (“I am the Immaculate Conception”), a doctrine defined by Pope Pius IX just four years earlier, which Bernadette did not understand. The apparitions were approved by the Church in 1862.
A Quiet, Happy Heart. In 1866 she joined the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, where she nursed the sick and lived quietly. She died on April 16, 1879, aged 35, and was canonized in 1933. Her body rests at Nevers. Lourdes welcomes millions of pilgrims each year, and its nightly candlelight procession sings the “Lourdes Ave Maria.”
St. Bernadette, pray for us!
The end
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