The
year is 1909, and it's been 30 years since the death of Bernadette Soubirous – a simple but pious girl from a small town in France. Doctors are preparing to perform the first exhumation of her body. And in normal circumstances, the medics might expect to find some degree of natural decomposition. But Bernadette was no ordinary person. As a teenager in Lourdes, Bernadette became notorious for apparently experiencing visions of the Virgin Mary. Wanting to escape the attention, however, she lived out the rest of her days humbly at a Catholic convent in Nevers, France. Yet Bernadette's life was blighted by ill health. And the Frenchwoman passed away at the young age of 35 after a prolonged battle with tuberculosis.
So, when experts came to dig up Bernadette's body in 1909, they were searching for evidence that might explain the supposed divine encounters that had brought her fame as a young woman. And as the team carefully prized the stone slab off her tomb and cracked open the coffin, they were met by an eerie sight. You see, three decades after Bernadette's death, her body remained mysteriously intact.
Saint Bernadette entered the world as Marie Bernarde Soubirous on January 7, 1844. She was born in the French town of Lourdes, near the Pyrenees mountains, along with eight brothers and sisters. Bernadette's father, François, worked at a mill, while her mother, Louise, did laundry for a living. And it's safe to say that the family suffered their share of financial hardship.
Meanwhile, on top of the poverty that Bernadette experienced, she was also beset with sickness. And some say that this could explain why the Frenchwoman never grew beyond 4 feet and 7 inches in height. As a small child, Bernadette fell ill with cholera, and she was afflicted by acute breathing problems for the remainder of her existence.
Bernadette's schooling was also affected in part by her frail health. Her reading and writing skills were poor, for instance, and she only had a limited grasp of French. Instead, Bernadette talked in Occitan – a tongue native to the Pyrenees region in which she lived.
Now at some point in Bernadette's childhood, her family's fortunes slumped so significantly that the 11 of them were forced to live together in a single underground room. And although they dwelt there rent free thanks to a relative of Louise's, the conditions weren't ideal. The makeshift home had in fact once operated as a prison cell, and it was aptly nicknamed “the dungeon.”
Meanwhile, in order to feed their many children, Bernadette's parents were forced to shoulder all manner of work. And for some time, Bernadette herself helped out her former wet nurse, Marie Lagues, in the nearby village of Bartrès. The girl was apparently taken on so that Marie could look after her, but accounts have it that she found herself caring for her former wet nurse's own brood and even ministering to her sheep – all without pay.
Throughout Bernadette's struggles, however, she maintained a strong sense of religious devotion. When the Frenchwoman was chastised for failing to memorize her religious studies, for instance, she reportedly responded by saying, “At least she would always know how to love the good God.” And Bernadette's pious nature certainly didn't go unnoticed by local clergymen.
In fact, a priest called Abbe Arder, from the commune of Bartrès, appeared to be quite taken with Bernadette – despite his limited interactions with her. “She seems to me like a flower surrounded in divine perfume,” Arder apparently mused. On another occasion, he reportedly said of the girl, “Look at this small child. When the Blessed Virgin wants to appear on Earth, she chooses children like her.” But no one could have imagined just how apt the clergyman's description of Bernadette would turn out to be.
You see, in February 1858 Bernadette was out collecting firewood with her sibling Toinette and a playmate called Jeanne. It's said that the girls were exploring a little cave – known as Massabielle, meaning “old rock” – at the bottom of a hillside in Lourdes. Cattle were known to take refuge inside the grotto, and in front of it ran a brook.
The story goes that Toinette and Jeanne crossed the river away from the grotto and continued on their way. Bernadette, however, was apparently reluctant to do the same for fear of getting cold, so she searched for a dryer route. And in the end, the teenaged girl reportedly decided that she'd need to take off her shoes and stockings in order to traverse the water.
After Bernadette then sat down to remove her footwear, it seems she heard a noise that sounded like a gust of wind. Yet almost everything stayed eerily still. Apparently, the only thing that moved with the breeze was a wild rose inside the grotto. Bernadette also claimed that at this point, without warning, a figure appeared from the darkness of the cave.
Later, Bernadette would describe the apparition as a beautiful young woman who was bathed in a sparkling light. The vision reportedly stretched its arms out towards Bernadette, too, perhaps signaling the Frenchwoman to come closer. And apparently, the figure was also carrying an ivory-colored rosary.
According to a 1941 book by Franz Werfel, The Song of Bernadette, the teenaged girl initially felt alarmed by the vision. But something, it seems, compelled her to stay, and she found herself strangely enthralled by the figure. Then, Bernadette was moved to pull out her own rosary and pray. And it's said that when she stopped after around 15 minutes, the apparition suddenly vanished.
Afterwards, Bernadette told her sister Toinette about her strange encounter with the mysterious vision. And although the teenaged girl apparently swore her sibling to silence, it seems that Toinette subsequently told their parents. So it was that word of the apparition in the cave soon spread throughout Lourdes.
Little did Bernadette know, however, that this professed vision was not to be her last. In fact, she would reportedly experience 18 of them between the spring and summer of 1858. The second is said to have taken place on February 14 of that year, when Bernadette visited the cave again after church. And this time, according to reports, the teenaged girl went with her sister Marie and a number of acquaintances.
The story goes that as soon as Bernadette arrived at the cave, she dropped to her knees, claiming that the figure had appeared once more. Yet while it's been reported that Bernadette entered a trance-like state, the other girls were apparently unaffected. Accounts also claim that when one of the group sprayed holy water into the darkness and another smashed a stone on the ground, the vision subsequently vanished.
According to historian Therese Taylor, Bernadette returned to the grotto once again on February 18. And on this occasion, the strange figure apparently instructed the teenaged girl to visit the cave daily for two weeks. This period would eventually be referred to as “la Quinzaine sacrée” – or the “holy fortnight” – and it was to define the rest of Bernadette's life.
It's said that during one of these visits to the grotto, the figure asked Bernadette to quench her thirst from a spring and clean herself in its water. But there was no spring around. And so the story goes that Bernadette dug into the soil and uncovered a bubbling brook. The young woman then apparently took a drink from the water source – starting a tradition that would make Lourdes among the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world.
Before long, the spring that Bernadette is said to have uncovered was producing thousands of gallons of water each day. And it has continued to do so even during periods of little rainfall. Today, the spring is redirected into a reservoir that provides water for pilgrims to bathe in and drink – just as it's believed Bernadette did the same all those years ago.
The discovery of the spring wasn't the last vision that Bernadette claimed to have experienced, though. And during the seventh reported manifestation, the young woman was apparently given an important task. You see, it seems that the apparition wanted the local clergymen to construct a chapel beside the grotto – a directive that Bernadette subsequently passed on to her family.
Prior to this, Bernadette's parents had reportedly been a little ashamed by their daughter's tales and had even tried to prevent her from going to the cave. Yet some locals believed the teenaged girl, and these people were seemingly of the opinion that she'd seen the Virgin Mary. Bernadette herself hadn't yet confirmed this theory, however.
Apparently, though, Bernadette did provide a thorough description of the apparition. According to Taylor's 2003 biography, Bernadette of Lourdes: Her Life, Death and Visions, the young woman described the figure as “a small young lady.” She also reportedly claimed that the apparition was attired in a white shawl and a blue belt. And Bernadette in addition apparently recalled having seen a yellow flower on each of the figure's feet – echoing many religious depictions of the Virgin Mary.
But it seems that Bernadette wouldn't receive any firm indication of who the enigmatic apparition was until one of her final visions. The Frenchwoman claimed that during this hour-long encounter, she repeatedly asked the figure what she was called. And apparently, the vision revealed, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” This was the last time that Bernadette would claim the Virgin Mary had spoken to her, however.
Following Bernadette's visions, she was questioned by religious officials and government authorities. Yet her account never wavered. And in 1862 the church actually declared the teenaged girl's visions to have been real. What's more, the spring that Bernadette uncovered has, according to the Lourdes Medical Bureau, led to nearly 70 miraculous healings.
Meanwhile, in the same year as Bernadette's professed visions, the mayor of Lourdes had requested that the water from the grotto be tested. And an expert had found that the spring – despite its raised mineral content – contained nothing that could have explained the verified cures. However, according to Bernadette, the secret ingredients behind the miracles were simply belief and worship. She reportedly said, “The water will have no virtue without faith.”
In the meantime, Bernadette's calls for the construction of a church at the cave led to various places of worship being built in Lourdes. The land closest to the grotto itself became known as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. And today the holy site attracts millions of devotees from across the globe each year.
But while Lourdes thrived as a pilgrimage site following the visions, Bernadette herself was apparently eager to escape the exposure that they had brought her. As a result, she traveled over 400 miles from her hometown to live at a religious institute run by the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. And it was here that Bernadette finally grew to be literate.
In 1866 Bernadette also became a novice nun. And she lived out the rest of her days in Nevers in solitude and prayer. According to reports, Bernadette was admired by those around her for her piety, warmheartedness and keen humor, and these attributes were apparently untiring even in the face of continual illness and physical suffering.
Eventually, though, in April 1879, Bernadette succumbed to her long battle with tuberculosis. And yet although the nun had been in immense discomfort, she'd apparently continued to pray right up until her death. It's said that Bernadette's last words were thus: “Blessed Mary, Mother of God, pray for me! A poor sinner, a poor sinner.”
Bernadette's body was subsequently interred at the Saint Gildard Convent in Lurcy-le-Bourg – a commune not far from Nevers. However, the church dug up her body in 1909. And shockingly, despite the fact that Bernadette had been dead for 30 years, her remains were remarkably preserved. Even though the cross and rosary that lay in the coffin had both rusted, the corpse was practically free from signs of decay.
According to Roman Catholicism, God allows for the remains of religiously significant individuals to avoid decomposition. A corpse that somehow resists this natural decay is referred to as incorrupt. And Catholics believe this to be an indicator that the owner of the body is a saint.
Given Bernadette's professed divine visions, there may have been cause to suspect that she was deserving of this holy title. And this perhaps explains why her coffin was reopened. In any case, the inspection was carried out by physicians Dr. David and Dr. Jourdan, who later testified that there had been no odor nor any visual indications of decay.
In fact, a document that was signed by both doctors following their examination describes in great detail how Bernadette's remains lacked the expected signs of decomposition. The report comments on the body's “perfectly preserved” hands and fingernails, for instance, as well as its intact facial features. What's more, the nuns who had readied Bernadette's remains for entombment three decades prior claimed that she appeared the same as she had done back then.
Now in order to be considered officially incorruptible, a body must be well preserved in vigor and hue and appear almost living. There should be no signs of normal decomposition or odor, either, nor any clear explanation as to how this condition might be the case. And when it came to Bernadette, her remains certainly seemed to fit the bill.
This wasn't the last time that Bernadette's remains were disturbed, mind you. Following the first exhumation – after which her body was washed and redressed before being returned to its resting place – the coffin was opened again in 1919. And just as before, there was apparently a distinct lack of odor. This time, however, the corpse's skin had undergone some discoloration – although it's likely that this had been caused by people touching it back in 1909. Meanwhile, the skin had become desiccated, and there was some evidence of mold.
At this point, Dr. Comte – one of the experts performing the examination – removed a few parts of Bernadette's body in order to send them to Rome in anticipation of her being made a saint. Then, in 1925, the nun's remains were exhumed for a third and final time. And the corpse was subsequently transferred to a new resting place in Nevers' Chapel of St. Bernadette.
Since then, Bernadette's body has been displayed in a glass casket. Wax molds are now in place over the face and hands in order to disguise the darkened color of the skin. And fascinatingly, in order to achieve a likeness, these coverings were created especially by a Parisian company, using photographs from when Bernadette was alive and an impression of her face.
After being declared blessed in 1925, Bernadette was officially made a saint by Pope Pius XI on December 8, 1933. Her resting place in Nevers, meanwhile, continues to be a significant pilgrimage destination, as does the town of Lourdes. And even 140 years after the famous nun's death, there is still no explanation as to why her body has remained so mysteriously unchanged – except, of course, by means of divine intervention.
