Bernadette Soubirous
1844-1879 19th century Feast day: April 16
Littleness embraced without shame: saying what one has received, then disappearing into the ordinary.
Who was Bernadette Soubirous?
The eldest daughter of a ruined miller in Lourdes, asthmatic and barely literate, at fourteen she saw a Lady appear to her in the grotto of Massabielle. Questioned, mocked, and threatened, she never varied in her account. She joined the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, where she lived hidden, sick, and at peace until her death at thirty-five.
In their own words
I am charged to tell you, not to make you believe it.
You use a broom, and when you no longer need it, you put it back behind the door. That is my story.
The Blessed Virgin chose me because I was the most ignorant.