Bernadette Soubirous
French saint (1844–1879)
Feast: 16 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, called Bernadette, was born in Lourdes on 7 January 1844. Her family was so poor that they lived in a single basement room of a disused jail, known as the cachot, the dungeon.
On 11 February 1858, aged fourteen, she saw a lady in the grotto of Massabielle, the first of eighteen apparitions. On 25 March the lady told her, in the local dialect, 'I am the Immaculate Conception'. In 1866 she joined the Sisters of Charity at Nevers, where she died of tuberculosis on 16 April 1879.
The miracles
Henri Boisselet — before 1925
A man suffering from tubercular peritonitis was cured after a novena to Bernadette was begun.
Sister Marie-Mélanie Meyer — before 1925
A religious sister suffering from a gastric ulcer was cured after a pilgrimage to Bernadette's tomb.
Archbishop Lemaître — before 1933
An archbishop suffering from a chronic amoebic infection was cured through Bernadette's intercession.
Sister Marie de Saint-Fidèle — before 1933
A religious sister suffering from Pott's disease, tuberculosis of the spine, was cured through Bernadette's intercession.
Her body, found undecayed when her grave was opened in 1909, is often called a miracle, but it is not recorded as one of the miracles approved for her cause. The Lourdes healings are attributed to Our Lady, not to Bernadette.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of Henri Boisselet was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 2 May 1925, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 14 June 1925 by Pius XI. The case of Archbishop Lemaître was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle, opening the way to canonisation. Canonisation followed on 8 December 1933 by Pius XI.
- EBSCO Research Starters - the canonisation of Bernadette Soubirous (the four miracles)
- Wikipedia - Bernadette Soubirous (life, beatification, canonisation)
- Wikidata Q55398 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Bernadette Soubirous (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.