Bernadette Soubirous

Marie Bernarde Soubirous (known as Bernadette) was born on January 7, 1844, in Lourdes. She is renowned for having witnessed eighteen Marian apparitions in the Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes in 1858. These apparitions, in which the Virgin Mary introduced herself as the Immaculate Conception, led to the recognition of miracles and the development of a globally famous Marian shrine. In 1866, Bernadette entered the convent of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, where she spent the rest of her life in humility and service, despite fragile health. She died on April 16, 1879, and was canonized on December 8, 1933, by Pope Pius XI. Her body remains incorrupt.