From June to December 1830 Sr Catherine Labore, a young novice of the Daughters of Charity, received the immense grace of spending three times with the Virgin Mary (Chapel located at 140, Rue du Bac in Paris).
Holy Virgin
On 18 June 1830, at 11.30 pm, Caterina hears herself called by name; a mysterious child is at the foot of her bed and invites her to get up: "The Holy Virgin awaits youhe tells her. Caterina gets dressed and follows the child who spreads rays of light wherever he goes. Once in the chapel, Catherine stops on the side of the priest's chair, located in the choir. Hear then"like the rustle of a silk robe.""Here is the Holy Virgin' said his little guide. Catherine hesitates to believe. But the boy repeats in a louder voice: "Here is the Holy Virgin".
Catherine runs to kneel at the Madonna who is sitting on the chair (of the priest)"So, I leapt up to her, and knelt on the steps of the altar, with my hands resting on Maria's knees. The moment I spent like this was the sweetest of my whole life. It would be impossible for me to say what I felt. The Blessed Virgin then told me how I should behave with my confessor and many other things."
Confraternity of Daughters of Mary
Caterina receives the announcement of a mission and the request to found a Confraternity of Daughters of Mary; this will be done by his confessor Father Aladel on February 2, 1840.
On November 27, 1830 at 5.30 pm, during meditation, Catherine saw the statue of the Holy Virgin of the globe in the place where it now stands, like two living paintings that cross dissolve:
– in the first, the Holy Virgin is standing on a hemisphere (terrestrial globe) and holds a small golden globe in her hands. Mary's feet crush a snake;
– in the second, rays of dazzling splendor come out of his open hands.
miraculous medal
At the same time Caterina hears a voice which says: «Here is the symbol of the graces that I spread on the people who ask me for them…(making me understand - Caterina writes - how generous she was with the people who pray to her; how many graces she granted to those who ask her, how much joy she feels by granting them!).The gems that remain in the shadows represent the graces that you forget to ask me.»
Then an oval forms around the apparition and Catherine sees this previously unknown invocation written in a semicircle: «O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you»(Original: «O MARIE CONÇUE SANS PECHÉ PRIEZ POUR NOUS QUI AVONS RECOURS À VOUS») written in gold letters.
Immediately afterwards, the medal is turned around and Catherine sees the reverse: above, a cross surmounts Mary's M, below, two hearts, one crowned with thorns, the other pierced by a sword. Twelve stars surrounded the monogram of Mary and the two Sacred Hearts. Catherine then hears these words: «Have a medal minted, 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 won't see me anymore". A few months after the apparitions, Sister Caterina was sent to the shelter of Enghein (Paris, 12th) to care for the elderly. The young nun gets to work. But an inner voice insists: the medal must be minted. Caterina talks about it to her confessor, Father Aladel.
In February 1832, a terrible cholera epidemic broke out in Paris, causing more than 20,000 deaths! In June the Daughters of Charity begin to distribute the first 2,000 medals, minted by Father Aladel. Healings multiply, like protections and conversions. It was an extraordinary event. The people of Paris called the medal "miraculous".
In the fall of 1834, there were more than 500,000 medals; in 1835 in the whole world there were more than a million; in 1839 the medal was distributed in more than ten million specimens.
When Sister Caterina died on December 31, 1876, there were more than a billion medals!
Catherine Labouré was canonized by Venerable Pius XII (Eugene Pacelli, 1939-1958) on July 27, 1947.
Beg the Madonna for the miraculous medal
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