SAINT CATHERINE LABOURE

 

INFANCY AND ORPHANHOOD   

Fain-les-Moutiers is a small village in Burgundy, not far from Dijon, of only 200 inhabitants.  Big farmhouses are situated around the church.  As soon as you enter the village, a tall tower attracts one's attention: it is the pigeon loft of the Laboure farmhouse, with its 600 pigeons.  Catherine is born in these surroundings on May 2, 1806.  She was fondly called Zoe, the name of the saint of the day she was born.  She is the eighth child of the ten children of Peter Laboure and Magdalene Gontard.   

On October 9, 1815, when Catherine was only nine years old, her mother died unexpectedly, leaving her grief-stricken.  Filled with tears, she recalls a prayer her mother would ask her to faithfully recite each night.  She goes to her mother's room, takes the image of the Virgin and says:  

"You will be my mother from now on."

Her recourse to the Virgin on that night was not a mere refuge of a timid child.  She established with Her a bond of faith coming from a free and responsible person. 

VOCATION

At the age of 12, Catherine is all a farm girl.  She assumes the role as mother of the family and woman of the house.  Her older sister, Marie Louise, aged 23, had already started her postulancy with the Daughters of Charity in Langres.   

As woman of the house, Catherine is the first to get up and her principal chore is to attend to the kitchen.  Aside from this, she also has milk the cows, distribute the fodder, bring the flock to the communal drinking trough, prepare the food for the pigs, get the eggs from the henhouse, fetch water from the well... 

When she was 14, Catherine had a dream... 

"I was praying in the church of Fain.  The one celebrating the Mass was an old priest, who looked at me.  I wanted to flee. He then said to me: "You will find me again one day.  God has plans for you..."

Catherine waits until she turned 21 on May 2, 1817 to inform her father of her decision to become a Daughter of Charity.  Her father rejects this idea!  He has already given to God one daughter and had always said that he would not give another one.  He sends her to Paris to help her brother Charles who owns a bar and liquor store.  Charles is very happy to have his sister with him but he soon discovers her suffering.  He talks to their father, who still does not want to hear anything about it.  Catherine's brothers agree among themselves to put her in a pension house run by the wide of Hubert, one of her brothers, which is near Fain-les-Moutiers.  There, in Chatillon-sur-Seine, she learns to read and write.   

The Daughters of Charity have a house in Chatillon and Catherine goes to see them.  What a surprise!  A painting at the entrance of the house catches her attention.  The priest she had seen in her dreams was St. Vincent de Paul! 

Seeing how happy Catherine was with the Sisters, Hubert resolves to talk again with their father, convinces him and ends up accepting the vocation of his daughter.  Catherine then bids goodbye to Fain-les-Moutiers.

SEMINARY LIFE

Catherine is admitted into the seminary of the Daughters of Charity at rue du Bac 140, Paris on April 21, 1830.  She had been told that the formation would be tough but she was prepared for anything-  Nothing is too much for her, more so now that she is following the desires of her heart.  

A few days later, she receives news which brings her overwhelming joy:  the relics of St. Vincent will be solemnly transferred on April 25 from Notre-Dame to St. Lazare, the chapel of the Priests of the Mission, Vincentian Fathers. 

Life in the seminary is dedicated to working, praying and studying.  For 10 to 12 months, the Sisters prepare themselves to be Daughters of Charity.  Nothing distinguishes Catherine from the rest.  

However, on July 18, a little before midnight, Catherine hears a voice:  

"¡Sister! ¡Sister! Get up immediately and come to the chapel; the Blessed Virgin awaits you!" 

She stands up and sees a young boy in shining light beside her bed.  She follows him to the chapel, which is lighted... she waits there, a little bit restless.  Catherine narrates: 

"I heard a certain sound... Someone comes to sit on the chair... I doubted if it was the Blessed Virgin.  It was then that the child spoke to me, but not as a child, but as an adult, in a loud voice and with strong words.  Then, looking at the Virgin, I moved towards Her, with my knees on the steps of the altar, my hands resting on the lap of the Blessed Virgin.  There I passed some moments, the sweetest moments of my life."

During this first encounter, Mary speaks lengthily with Catherine.  She tells her that she entrusts her with a mission; she tells her not to be discouraged by difficulties, but to come and pray to Jesus in the Eucharist.  

Four months later, on November 27, 1830, Mary appears again to Catherine:  

"It was time for afternoon prayer; I was in the chapel with all the Sisters; I saw the Blessed Virgin standing, holding in her hands the globe and offering it to God. Rays of light shone forth from her fingers, symbol of the graces that she grants to those who ask for them."

"Then, I saw an oval around the Blessed Virgin, with this prayer:  The oval turned, and I saw the letter M, and on top a cross, and under it two hearts: the heart of Jesus, crowned with thorns; and the heart of Mary, pierced by a dagger; and a voice told me: have a medal struck according to this model; whoever wears them with confidence will receive abundant graces."

Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

FIRST ASSIGNMENT: HOSPICE OF ENGHIEN

Sr. Catherine leaves the seminary on February 5, 1831.  She has been assigned to the hospice of Enghien, a home for the aged located in the town of Reuilly, a poor district in the southeast part of Paris.  The property is a large one and houses fifty poor elderly persons.  Seven Sisters serve this community.   

Being the youngest, the heavy chores are relegated to Catherine: the kitchen, poultry yard and the farm.  The good sense and competence of the peasant girl of Fain-les-Moutiers does wonders.  Despite the scarce resources of the house, she is very creative and prepares delicious plates for the good of all.  

Even if she has multiple tasks to do, Catherine does not cease thinking of the mission confided to her.  As per the advice of the Blessed Mother, she had spoken with Fr. Aladel, who knows her well.  At first, he does not believe her but little by little, he allows himself to be won over by the simple stubbornness of Catherine.  

The first medals are made in 1832, with the approval of the Archbishop of Paris.  Catherine receives her Medal in the first week of June together with the rest of her community.  No one had taken notice and no one knew the secret.

A terrible epidemic of cholera takes hold of Paris.  In all the districts, deaths are by the thousands; a Sister in Catherine's community is among the first victims.  In order to fight this unstoppable plague, the people pray and the Daughters of Charity distribute the medal.  They ask the sick to recite the prayer the Virgin Mary had left to Catherine: "Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." Unexpected cures and extraordinary conversions then happen!  

Since February 1834, before any story on the apparitions had been published, the medal is popularly called "miraculous", the name that remains until now! 

Catherine does not forget the mission that the Virgin had asked her to transmit to Fr. Aladel: 

"The Blessed Mother wants you to begin a mission... You will be its founder and director.  It is about a Confraternity of the Children of Mary to which the Blessed Virgin will grant abundant graces.  Many indulgences will also be granted... Many feasts will be celebrated.  The month of Mary will be celebrated with much pomp in many places."  

The Association was organized in 1838, when Fr. Aladel was third assistant and collaborator of Fr. Etienne, then Procurator of the Mission.  Benigna Hairon, born in Beaune in 1822, started in said city at the age of 16 years, a group of Children of Mary on December 8, 1838.  The Association was constituted on February 2, 1840.  From then on, it started to spread to other places.  On July 20, 1847, Pope Pius IX granted in a written rescript the authority "to establish an Association under the patronage of the Immaculate Virgin in the schools administered by the Daughters of Charity".   

THE WAR AND THE COMMUNE

Emperor Napoleon III declares war on Prussia on July 19, 1870.  France falls rapidly and the people rise up against the emperor.  A great popular movement, called The Commune, takes hold of Paris.  The district of Reuilly is in the middle of the conflict.  

The Sisters tend the wounded of both camps.  The combatants invade the convent.  Catherine is detained and brought to the police station.  They ask her to denounce "The Valentine", one of the fanatic refugees, who has made her suffer a lot.  But Catherine keeps quiet; for the Daughters of Charity, all human beings deserve to be respected, even the worst kind.  

LAST YEARS

On May 31, 1871, Sr. Catherine finds herself again with her hospice, her garden, her porter's desk.  There is joy in the air.  The poor, more numerous after so many upheavals, are very happy to see her again at the reception area, always welcoming and generous.  They know that they are her favorites.  

Catherine has already turned 65 years old but she continues to get up when the bells rings at four o'clock in the morning. In her old age she is strong.  Her prayer life is exemplary: she maintains herself straight, without moving, with her hands barely resting on the pew, her clear gaze fixed on the tabernacle or the statue of the Virgin.  

She feels her strength ebbing away.  It is December 1876 and she no longer goes out.  She is weaker and her death is drawing near.  She calmly assures them: 

"I will not see the end of this year."

December 31, 1876: the year is ending and Catherine is still alive.  Death does not seem to be imminent.  She receives communion and the Sisters pray the rosary with her.  Gently, with a smile on her lips, she draws her last breath at seven o'clock that evening.  That same night, at dinner, Sr. Juana tells the Sisters:

"There is nothing more to hide. Catherine was the one who saw the Blessed Virgin and was commissioned by her to have the miraculous medal struck." 

On January 3, 1877, there is a long procession around the three gardens of Reuilly.  A great multitude has come.  The funeral is a real triumph for someone who always wanted to remain unknown.   

Catherine is declared saint by Pope Pius XII on July 21, 1947.  Today, her body can be found in the chapel of the Miraculous Medal, at rue du Bac 140, Paris.  This chapel has become a pilgrimage shrine.  Crowds of people respond to the invitation of the Virgin Mary: 

"Come to the foot of this altar: there graces will be poured out in abundance to all who ask for them with fervor."