Catherine Labouré
A humble French nun whose reported visions led to the creation of the Miraculous Medal, a global symbol of devotion worn by millions.
1806–1876 (age 70)·French Daughter of Charity and saint·Birthday: May 2
Biography
Catherine Labouré lived a life of radical obscurity, which is precisely what she desired. A farmer's daughter from Burgundy, she joined the Daughters of Charity in Paris, seeking a quiet life of service. In 1830, within the chapel of her convent on the Rue du Bac, she reported a series of apparitions of the Virgin Mary. In the most famous, Mary stood upon a globe, rays of light streaming from her hands, and instructed Catherine to have a medal struck according to this vision. With the help of her confessor, the medal—bearing the inscription 'O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee'—was produced and quickly gained popularity for its reported spiritual favors. Catherine's role was kept secret for nearly fifty years; she spent those decades in mundane duties, caring for the elderly in the order's hospice. Only as she lay dying did she confirm her identity as the visionary. Canonized in 1947, she remains an enigmatic figure, a mystic who sought no fame, yet whose simple medal became one of the most widespread Catholic devotional objects.
#1 When Catherine Was Born
The biggest hits of 1806
Catherine's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1806Born
1811Started school
1819Became a teenager
1822Could drive
1824Could vote
1827Turned 21
1836Turned 30
1846Turned 40
1856Turned 50
1866Turned 60
President: Andrew Johnson
1876Turned 70
President: Ulysses S. Grant
Key Achievements
- Reported the 1830 Marian apparitions that led to the creation of the Miraculous Medal.
- Was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1947.
- Served for over forty years caring for the elderly and infirm at the Hospice d'Enghien in Paris.
- Her reported visions contributed to the formal definition of the Immaculate Conception as Catholic dogma.
Did You Know?
Her body was found incorrupt upon exhumation decades after her death and is now displayed in a glass shrine in Paris.
She initially resisted joining her order, waiting until after her father's death to enter the convent.
During her novitiate, she reported seeing the heart of Saint Vincent de Paul, her order's founder, preserved in a reliquary.
The Miraculous Medal is sometimes called the 'Medal of the Immaculate Conception'.
“I saw the Virgin standing on a globe, rays of light streaming from her hands.”
