Chapter 8
The postulant from
Lourdes
“I have to tell you what I saw and know”
When the lady vanishes for the last time, the brief public life of
Bernadette Soubirous ends. In accordance with her wishes, she quietly and
progressively withdraws from the world. Meanwhile, excitement over the
shrine – still unauthorised by the Church – continues to grow, as do
numerous miracle reports. From the neighbouring valleys, and beyond,
pilgrims stream to the grotto. Cures also occur away from the shrine by the
application of the spring water. On 16th October 1858, Madelaine Rizan
(born 1800) is dying in the Pyrenees town of Nay. Following an attack of
cholera in 1832, she has been bedridden and paralysed down one side. On
17th October her daughter brings her some Lourdes water. She drinks a few
sips and applies some to her face and body. Suddenly her illness vanishes.
Marie Moreau, sixteen, (born 1841) suffers severe visual
impairment “bordering on blindness.” Her father goes to the grotto and
obtains water. On 8th October 1858, the girl goes to bed with a bandage
soaked in Lourdes water over her eyes. The next morning Marie removes
the bandage and discovers her sight is fully restored.
During this early period supplicants report fifteen major cures –
cures worked with the swiftness of Gospel miracles. At the Rue des Petits-
Fosses strangers continue to arrive and some curious people seek interviews
with Bernadette. Having made her First Communion, on 3rd June 1858,
Bernadette leaves school and remains at home, in accordance with the
custom of her time. There the visits continue – ten, even twenty a day – and
Bernadette patiently repeats her story, never varying from the essential facts,
handling questions with maturity and modesty well beyond her years.
“Show us how the lady bowed...how she made the sign of the cross...tell us
the whole story over again.”
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