Catherine Labouré (May 2, 1806 – December 31, 1876) was a French member of the

Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul ( la, Societas Filiarum Caritatis a Sancto Vincentio de Paulo), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is a Society of Apostoli ...

and a Marian visionary. She is believed to have relayed the request from the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

to create the famous Miraculous Medal of Our Lady of Graces worn by millions of people around the world. Labouré spent forty years caring for the aged and infirm. For this, she is called the patroness of seniors.

Childhood and youth

Labouré was born on 2 May, 1806, in the Burgundy region of France to Madeleine Louise Gontard and Pierre Labouré, a farmer. She was the 9th of 11 living children. Her baptismal name was Zoe, but her family rarely used that name. Labouré's mother died on 9 October, 1815, when Labouré was nine years old. It is said that after her mother's funeral, Labouré picked up a statue of the Blessed

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and kissed it, saying, "Now you will be my mother." Her father's sister offered to care for her and her sister Marie Antoinette and the sisters moved to their aunt's house at Saint-Rémy, a village from their home. It is there that Catherine had a dream of a priest, whom she later recognised as Vincent de Paul. The priest said to her: 'My daughter, it is good to care for the sick. For now, you flee from me, but one day you will be glad to approach me. God has plans for you. Don't forget it!'. At the age of 12, Catherine returned to her father's farm to help care for her family. Later, her father, wishing to deter her from her religious vocation, sent her to Paris to work in his brothers’ eating establishment for poor workers. There, she observed their suffering and her decision to enter the nursing order of Saint

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...

, the Daughters of Charity, was reinforced. Labouré began her noviciate on April 21, 1830 at the convent on the rue du Bac in Paris and on, January 30, 1831, she took her vows. It is at this Convent that she had the visions of the Virgin Mary that led to the creation of the

Miraculous Medal The Miraculous Medal (french: Médaille miraculeuse), also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces, is a devotional medal, the design of which was originated by Catherine Labouré following her apparitions of the Blessed Virgin MaryAnn Ball, 20 ...

Visions

Vincent de Paul

In April 1830, the remains of

were translated to the Vincentian church in Paris. The solemnities included a

novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...

. On three successive evenings, upon returning from the church to the rue du Bac, Catherine reportedly experienced, in the convent chapel, a vision of what she took to be the heart of de Paul above a shrine containing a relic of bone from his right arm. Each time the heart appeared a different color: white, red, and black. She interpreted this to mean that the Vincentian communities would prosper, and that there would be a change of government. The convent chaplain advised her to forget the matter.

Blessed Virgin Mary

Labouré stated that on July 19, 1830, the eve of the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, she woke up after hearing the voice of a child calling her to the chapel, where she heard the Virgin Mary say to her, "God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world". On November 27, 1830, Labouré reported that Mary returned to her during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe; rays of light came out of her hands in the direction of a globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." As Labouré watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter ''M'' surmounted by a cross, and the stylized

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

and

Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Roman Catholic devotional name used to refer to the Catholic view of the interior life of Mary, mother of Jesus, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love ...

underneath. Asked why some of the rays of light did not reach the earth, Mary reportedly replied, "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask." Mary then asked her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions. "All who wear them will receive great graces." Labouré did so, and after two years of investigation and observation of her normal daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing her identity. The request was approved and the design of the medallions was commissioned through French goldsmith Adrien Vachette. They proved to be exceedingly popular -- the

was quickly adopted by millions of the Catholic faithful. It also played an important role in the proclamation by Pope Pius IX of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

on December 8, 1854. The dogma of the

had not yet been officially promulgated, but the medal, with its "conceived without sin" slogan, was influential in popular approval of the idea. File:Catherine Labouré.jpg, Portrait of Sister Catherine at the time of the apparitions File:Paris - Maison des Filles de la Charité - 136-140 rue du Bac - 005bis.jpg, Convent of the Sisters of Charity, 136-140 rue du Bac, Paris File:Chapelle de la Médaille Miraculeuse @ Paris (33392223870).jpg, Detail from the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris

Later life and service to the poor and elderly

Plaque Catherine Labouré, 77 rue de Reuilly, Paris 12

Immediately after taking her vows, Labouré was sent to the Hospice d'Enghien, located in the village of Reuilly, which, at the time, was slightly outside the city limits of Paris. She spent the next forty years there, caring for the elderly and infirm. For this, she is called the patroness of seniors. During this time, she not only cared for the sick, but also worked on the hospice's farm, looked after the poultry and cleaned the stables. Her life was notable for her devotion to the poor and elderly and for her humility and profound silence.

Death and legacy

Labouré died in the Hospice on December 31, 1876, at the age of 70. Her body was later moved and is now encased in glass beneath the side altar in the Chapel of Our Lady of Graces of the Miraculous Medal in 140

Rue du Bac, Paris Rue du Bac is a street in Paris situated in the 7th arrondissement. The street, which is 1150 m long, begins at the junction of the quais Voltaire and Anatole-France and ends at the rue de Sèvres. Rue du Bac is also the name of a station ...

. Her cause for sainthood was declared upon discovery that her body was

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of thei ...

. She was beatified on May 28, 1933, by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

and canonized on July 27, 1947, by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. Labouré's feast day is observed on November 28 according to the liturgical calendar of the

Congregation of the Mission The Congregation of the Mission ( la, Congregatio Missionis) abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists. is a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated ...

, the

and the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. ...

. She is listed in the ''Martyrologium Romanum'' for December 31.

Gallery

File:Bac.Catherine.Cercueil.jpg, The incorrupt body of Saint Catherine Labouré File:Miraculous medal.jpg, The

of Our Lady of Graces File:Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse1.JPG, The

Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal The Chapel of Graces of the Miraculous Virgin (French: ''La Chapelle du Grâce de Sainte Vierge Miraculeuse'') or informally the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, is a Marian pontifical shrine located in Paris, France. Originally cons ...

File:Bac M Miraculeuse.Autel2.jpg, The Our Lady of Graces Chapel's altar in

Citations

General bibliography

* ''Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal'', by Joseph I Dirvin, CM, TAN Books and Publishers, Inc, 1958/84. * ''Saint Catherine Labouré and the Miraculous Medal'', Alma Power-Waters, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1962. * ''The Life of Catherine Labouré'', by René Laurentin, Collins, 1980.

External links

* Full text of official biography. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laboure, Catherine 1806 births 1876 deaths People from Côte-d'Or Daughters and Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul French Roman Catholic saints Marian visionaries 19th-century Christian saints Catholic Mariology Incorrupt saints Vincentian saints Christian female saints of the Late Modern era Canonizations by Pope Pius XII