Marian Minis - Our Lady of Lourdes

This is a reproduction print of an original watercolor of Our Lady of Lourdes, from the Marian Minis collection. The collection was created as part of an art challenge to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in the month of May. Marian Minis are only available in 5"x7" prints.

Our Lady of Lourdes is said to have appeared to St. Bernadette, a young French girl, in 1858.

In 1861, St. Bernadette wrote, "I had gone down one day with two other girls to the bank of the river Gave when suddenly I heard a kind of rustling sound. I turned my head toward the field by the side of the river but the trees seemed quite still and the noise was evidently not from them. Then I looked up and caught sight of the cave where I saw a lady wearing a lovely white dress with a bright belt. On top of each of her feet was a pale yellow rose, the same colour as her rosary beads.

"At this I rubbed my eyes, thinking I was seeing things, and I put my hands into the fold of my dress where my rosary was. I wanted to make the sign of the cross but for the life of me I couldn’t manage it and my hand just fell down. Then the lady made the sign of the cross herself and at the second attempt I managed to do the same, though my hands were trembling. Then I began to say the rosary while the lady let her beads slip through her fingers, without moving her lips. When I stopped saying the Hail Mary, she immediately vanished...."

St. Bernadette returned every day for two weeks to that spot, where Our Lady spoke to her and instructed her dig in the ground there for a spring, to see that a chapel was built on that spot, and to pray for people around the world. She did - and the site is still a holy place that Catholics visit today...bathing in the spring water has healed many people miraculously. I was able to visit Lourdes in 2003 - a great blessing indeed.