Catherine Labouré
French Daughter of Charity and saint (1806–1876)
Feast: 8 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Zoé Labouré was born at Fain-lès-Moutiers in Burgundy on 2 May 1806. Her mother died when she was nine, and she never went to school, running the household instead. At 24 she was admitted to the Daughters of Charity on 21 April 1830.
She received the apparitions of the Immaculate Virgin of the 'Miraculous Medal'; among the medal's fruits was the conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne on 20 January 1842, and at Our Lady's wish the Association of the Children of Mary Immaculate was born. Remarkable for simplicity, charity and patience, she died on 31 December 1876. Her relics rest in the chapel of the apparitions.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
The visionary of the Miraculous Medal, whose holiness lay in simplicity, charity and patience.
Connected on this site
- Vincent de Paul Saint“Catherine Labouré, DC (2 May 1806 – 31 December 1876) was a French member of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and a Marian visionary.” — Wikipedia
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Caterina Labouré
- Wikidata Q242044 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Catherine Labouré (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.