72 TIME-LIFE MIRACLES OF FAITH
to convince her superiors of the need for the medal, but the
Bishop of Paris eventually ordered 20,000 of them to be
made and distributed.
In February 1832, a cholera epidemic hit Paris. As citi-
zens began to succumb to the disease, nuns distributed
the medals. Though thousands died, the medal seemed to
work wonders: Cures were reported, as were conversions.
Now referred to as the Miraculous Medal, Catherine’s cre-
ation is still worn today by believers worldwide, a symbol
of the power of faith and trust.
Heal the Sick
LOURDES, FRANCE, 1858
It was a chilly afternoon in Lourdes, France, and Marie-
Bernarde “Bernadette” Soubirous was out with friends
collecting firewood. When Bernadette, 14, looked up from
the alcove where she had stopped, she saw the young Mary
standing near a wild rosebush, dressed in brilliant white
with a blue waistband, yellow roses on each foot. Bright
light and golden clouds surrounded her. She reached out
to Bernadette, who took out her rosary beads and prayed.
Mary smiled, then disappeared, but only temporarily.
Over the next few months, the Virgin Mother would reap-
pear to Bernadette 17 more times.
The alcove was an odd place for a holy vision. It was lo-
cated on public land at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains
and was used primarily to graze farm animals and dump
garbage. When Bernadette got home and described what
had happened, her mother told her not to go back. Still,
Bernadette found herself returning to the grotto again and
again, each time greeted by Mary, who told her, “I do not
promise to make you happy in this world but in the other.”
Word of Bernadette’s visions spread through town, and
she found herself followed by a growing band of locals
who watched her go into trances and receive her visions.
Authorities tried to contain the excitement, accusing Ber-
nadette and her family of perpetuating a hoax from which
they could profit.
When, on one occasion, Bernadette dug into the mud
of the grotto and drank the dirty water, her followers be-
gan to doubt her sanity. But as she drank, the water began
to run clear. When a visitor came a few
days later and plunged her injured arm
into the water, she regained move-
ment. The water in the grotto—now
a shrine—is still said to have healing
properties, and the site attracts more
than six million visitors a year.
Teach the Children
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN, 1859
“I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief,”
Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, announced
in December 2010. His audience at the Shrine of Our Lady
of Good Help applauded and cried. The historic moment
marked the first-ever Catholic Church–sanctioned vision
of Mary in the United States, on that very spot, a century
and a half earlier.
Adele Brise had been carrying a sack of wheat to the
mill, on a four-mile walk through farmland in what is now
the community of Champion. Suddenly, she saw a woman
standing among the maple and hemlock trees, radiating
light. The woman was clothed in white with a yellow sash
and had a crown of stars on her flowing hair. The vision
scared Brise, 28, who had emigrated from Belgium with
her farmer parents. She prayed until it disappeared.
A week later, Brise was walking the 11 miles to mass and
saw the woman again. She was no less frightened. After
church, she sought out the priest, who told her to ask the
apparition what it wanted.
When the woman appeared a third time, Brise followed
the priest’s instructions. “Gather the children in this wild
country,” said Mary, “and teach them what they should
know for salvation.”
Brise was not a nun, but she began to spend her days tire-
lessly walking miles to her neighbors’ homes and teaching
them the Catholic doctrine and traditions. By 1868, Brise’s
father had built a chapel on the site where Mary had ap-
peared; it became known as Notre Dame de Bons Secours
(“Our Lady of Good Help” in French, the family’s native
language). A convent of the Sisters of St. Francis of As-
sisi was constructed, as was a boarding school where Brise
could continue her teaching.
In 1871, the most devastating forest
fire in American history ripped through
northeast Wisconsin, burning over a
million acres and killing 1,500 people.
As flames raged, Brise took as many
people as she could into the church.
When the fire died, the landscape sur-Mary smiled, then disappeared, but
only temporarily. Over the next few
months, the Virgin Mother would
appear to Bernadette 17 more times.UNPARALLELED DEVOTION
Though Adele Brise (opposite)
never became a nun, she
dedicated every day following
her visions to Mary’s promise, a
testament to her spirit of loving
embrace and holy education.MARY AND THE SAINTS