Blessed Virgin of the Miraculous Medal

Sister Catherine Labouré

From June to December 1830, Sister Catherine Labouré, a young novice of the Daughters of Charity, received the immense grace of conversing three times with the Virgin Mary (in the Chapel located at 140, Rue du Bac in Paris).

Holy Virgin

On June 18, 1830, at 11:30 PM, Catherine heard herself called by name; a mysterious child was at the foot of her bed and invited her to get up: “The Holy Virgin awaits you”, he said. Catherine dressed and followed the child who spread rays of light everywhere he went. Upon arriving at the chapel, Catherine stopped near the priest’s chair, located in the choir. She then heard “what sounded like the rustling of a silk gown.” “Here is the Holy Virgin”, said her little guide. Catherine hesitated to believe. But the child repeated with a stronger voice: “Here is the Holy Virgin”.

Catherine ran to kneel by Our Lady, who was seated on the chair (of the priest). “Then, I jumped to draw close to her, and I knelt on the altar steps, with my hands resting on Mary’s knees. The moment I spent like this was the sweetest of my entire life. It would be impossible for me to say what I felt. The Most Holy Virgin then told me how I should behave with my confessor and many other things.”

Confraternity of the Daughters of Mary

Catherine received the announcement of a mission and the request to found a Confraternity of the Daughters of Mary; this would be carried out by her confessor, Father Aladel, on February 2, 1840.

On November 27, 1830, at 5:30 PM, during meditation, Catherine saw, in the place where the statue of the Holy Virgin of the Globe is now situated, two living scenes passing in a cross-fade:

– in the first, the Holy Virgin was standing on a hemisphere (the terrestrial globe) and holding a small golden globe in her hands. Mary’s feet crushed a serpent;

– in the second, dazzling rays of light emanated from her open hands.

Miraculous Medal

At the same time, Catherine heard a voice, saying: «Behold the symbol of the graces I shed upon those who ask me for them… (making me understand – writes Catherine – how generous She was with the people who prayed to Her; how many graces She granted to those who asked Her, how much joy She experienced in granting them!). The gems that remain in the shadow represent the graces that are forgotten to be asked of me.»

Then an oval formed around the apparition and Catherine saw this invocation, previously unknown, written in a semicircle: « O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee »(Original: « O MARIE CONÇUE SANS PECHÉ PRIEZ POUR NOUS QUI AVONS RECOURS À VOUS »)written in gold letters.

Immediately after, the medal turned over and Catherine saw the reverse: at the top a cross surmounted the M of Mary, at the bottom two hearts, one crowned with thorns, the other pierced by a sword. Twelve stars encircled the monogram of Mary and the two Sacred Hearts. Catherine then heard these words: « Have a medal struck according to this model. Those who wear it with faith will receive great graces».

December 1830, last apparition and farewell of the Virgin Mary: «…you will not see me again». A few months after the apparitions, Sister Catherine was sent to the Enghein hospice (Paris, 12th district) to care for the elderly. The young nun set to work. But an inner voice insisted: the medal must be struck. Catherine spoke about it again to her confessor, Father Aladel.

In February 1832, a terrible cholera epidemic broke out in Paris, which would cause more than 20,000 deaths! In June, the Daughters of Charity began distributing the first 2,000 medals, struck by Father Aladel. Healings multiplied, as did protections and conversions. It was an extraordinary event. The people of Paris called the medal “miraculous”.

In the autumn of 1834, there were more than 500,000 medals; by 1835 throughout the world, there were more than a million; by 1839, the medal was circulated in more than ten million copies.

Upon the death of Sister Catherine, on December 31, 1876, more than a billion medals were counted!

Catherine Labouré was canonized by the Venerable Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli, 1939-1958) on July 27, 1947.