The Miracles of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes is one of the most popular and beloved titles of Mary venerated in the Catholic Church and all over the world. On February 11, 1858, a young, French peasant girl named Bernadette was collecting firewood with her sister and a friend near a dumping ground in the town of Lourdes where they lived. Suddenly, Bernadette saw a beautiful maiden appear with a golden rosary, so she began praying the Rosary with the lady, not knowing who she was. The lady asked Bernadette to return to the Grotto, and after a while, she revealed herself as “the Immaculate Conception,” which was a title unknown to Bernadette due to her lack of education. Only those theologically learned enough to understand the new dogma could interpret this to mean that this was, in fact, a woman claiming to be Mary, the Mother of God.