XVII. Death and Glory With the end of the Commune, a peace descended upon France. For the time, at least, the nation seemed to want to forget the past. Under the personal religious impetus of … Read More
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal XVI. The Commune and Communists
XVI. The Commune and Communists On May 1, 1860, Catherine celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of her vows. There was no great to-do over the event, for she was not an important personage in the eyes … Read More
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal XV. The “Cross of Victory” Vision
XV. The “Cross of Victory” Vision On February 22, 1848, there erupted the first of the bloody Parisian battles that marked that year of Revolutions. Louis Philippe had grown bored with being a figurehead king … Read More
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal XIV. The Medal and Ratisbonne
XIV. The Medal and Ratisbonne Soon after the apparition of July 18, 1830, Catherine had told her director: “The Blessed Virgin asks another mission of you. She wishes you to establish an order of which … Read More
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal XIII. Three Old Men of Enghien
XIII. Three Old Men of Enghien About a year before pronouncing her vows, Catherine had been removed from the kitchen and given charge of the laundry and clothes room. The change was not necessarily a … Read More
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal XII. Three Anguished Letters
XII. Three Anguished Letters While Catherine was in the thick of trying to convince Father Aladel to have the Medal made and of adjusting herself to her new way of life, a third cruel trial … Read More
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal XI. The Dark Night of a Soul
XI. The Dark Night of a Soul While all this was being done—the making of the Medal, its marvelous spread, and its official acceptance by the Church—Catherine Laboure, hidden away in Enghien, was adjusting to … Read More
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal X. The Medal and its Wonders
X. The Medal and its Wonders Father Aladel had sifted the character of his penitent quite thoroughly by now. He knew her soul, as every priest knows the soul of a regular penitent, better than … Read More
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal IX. The Secret of Forty-Six Years
IX. The Secret of Forty-Six Years In those last weeks of 1830, Sister Laboure was not the only one with difficulties. Father Aladel had his own, and to spare. In a way, the difficulties of … Read More
Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal VIII. The Apparition of the Miraculous Medal
VIII. The Apparition of the Miraculous Medal Outside the convent on the rue du Bac, the City of Paris had grown quiet; people had gone back to their daily living. Charles X retreated to England, … Read More