St. Catherine Laboure

Today is the feast day of St. Catherine Laboure. Catherine was born in the Burgundy region of France in 1806. Her mother died when Catherine was nine years old. It is said that after her mother's funeral, Catherine picked up a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and kissed it saying, "Now you will be my mother." As a child she was observed to be devout and of a somewhat romantic nature.

As a young woman, Catherine became a member of the nursing order founded by Saint Vincent de Paul, the Daughters of Charity. Three times in 1830 the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Catherine, who then was a twenty-four year old novice. In one of these visions, Mary showed Catherine an image of a medallion that she wanted to have made. The only person that she told about these visions was her Spiritual Director.

After two years of investigation and observation, the priest took the information to his Archbishop who approved and commissioned the medallions. The medallions, known as The Miraculous Medal, became one of the most popular Catholic sacramentals. Although the dogma of the Immaculate Conception had not yet been promulgated, the slogan on the medal, "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee" helped to popularize the idea. -- I have heard that St. Bernadette was wearing a Miraculous Medal at the time that she had her own visions of the Virgin Mary.

Catherine spent the rest of her life caring for the aged and infirm. She died in 1876 at the age of 70. Only upon her deathbed did she speak fully of the apparitions to one of her superiors. She is patron of the Miraculous Medal, infirmed people and the elderly.