Bernadette Soubirous is a saint — but not only because Mary appeared to her at Lourdes

Bernadette Soubirous is a saint — but not only because Mary appeared to her at Lourdes

St. Bernadette Soubirous is usually depicted in statues around the world as the confounded peasant girl on her knees at the grotto in rural France. Without a doubt, those apparitions at Lourdes forever changed the life of the 14-year-old girl. The post Bernadette Soubirous is a saint — but not only because Mary appeared to her at Lourdes first appeared on OSV News.

Bernadette Soubirous is a saint - but not only because Mary appeared to her at Lourdes

Pope Leo's prayers in Lourdes Sept. 26-27 brought attention to St. Bernadette Soubirous, the 14-year-old peasant girl to whom Mary appeared 18 times in 1858. However, Bernadette was canonized in 1933 not because of what happened at Lourdes but for the same reason as all saints who have been so honored: a holy life of heroic virtue.