Dates:
Beatified June 14, 1925, canonized December 8, 1933.
Occupation: Roman Catholic Saint
Known for: her visions at Lourdes declaring the spring waters to have healing powers given by the Virgin Mary
Also known as: Sister Marie-Bernard, Saint Bernadette
About Bernadette Soubirous:
In February of 1858, a 14 year old French peasant girl claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin Mary at her native Lourdes. She also revealed that the waters of a spring near a grotto in Lourdes had been given healing powers by the Virgin. Eventually, the Roman Catholic church decided that the visions were authentic.
As the Lourdes grotto drew pilgrims, especially those with disabilities and illnesses, a 22 year old Bernadette joined the Sisters of Charity at Nevers and eleven years took full vows. She died in 1879, was beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1933.
In 1940, Franz Werfel, an Austrian anti-Nazi author, was escaping with his wife, Alma Mahler, fleeing from France into Spain. They stopped in Lourdes, and, after visiting the shrine daily, Franz swore an oath that if they escaped the Nazis, he would write the story of Bernadette. Finally escaping to Spain and then making their way to America, Franz Werfel wrote the novel, Song of Bernadette, based on the story of Bernadette's visions.
