From the desk of the Tar Heel disciple:
July 16, 2026 (#117)
The Final Apparition to Bernadette at Lourdes
The first apparition of Our Lady to the young girl (later Saint) Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) took place at the grotto of Massabielle, by the River Gave de Pau, outside of Lourdes, France, on February 11, 1858. There were 17 apparitions after that, the last of which took place on the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16, of that same year.
It was during the 16th apparition, on March 25th, that the young Lady dressed in white revealed herself to Bernadette as “the Immaculate Conception.” In the following month, on April 7th, the Blessed Virgin appeared yet again to Bernadette. On this occasion, absorbed in ecstasy at the sight of the Holy Mother of God, Bernadette showed no awareness of the flame of a lighted candle that was underneath one of her hands for several minutes. After the apparition, upon the examination by a doctor, there were no signs of burning on the hand at all.
There were no apparitions in May or June. However, on June 3rd, the feast of Corpus Christi, Bernadette received her First Holy Communion. She was asked which gave her the greatest pleasure, to receive Our Lord or to converse with the Blessed Virgin at the grotto. Bernadette replied, “How can I say? The two things go together. No comparison is possible between them. What I do know is that I was very happy on both occasions.”
On the morning of July 16, Bernadette received Holy Communion for the third time. Later that day, she felt an inspiration to return to the grotto and, accompanied by her aunt, she quickly hurried off. The civil authorities had erected a wooden boarding that closed off access to the place. Bernadette and her aunt subsequently withdrew to the far bank of the River Gave, where they knelt in the direction of the grotto.
There, at the time of the evening Angelus, Bernadette cried out, “There she is! There she is! She's saluting us! She is smiling upon us across the boarding!” Bernadette immediately fell into a state of prayerful ecstasy. No words were reported to have been spoken between the two, but Bernadette later declared that she had never seen so beautiful a smile as she saw on the Blessed Mother's face, gazing upon her that day. And so, the series of 18 apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to Saint Bernadette concluded, on July 16, 1858.
