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The First Miracle
There is no power on this earth that can account for this miracle of preservation of St. Bernadette’s body. It is the awesome power of God that has preserved her body. If you can believe your eyes, look upon this sacred vision and see the miracle of the Lord. If seeing is believing, then see and believe. Incorruptibility is the name given to the situation in which a dead person does not decay after death. The Catholic Church considers it a definite sign for canonization as a saint, but not a necessity. Additionally, the Catholic Church believes that a body is not deemed incorruptible if it has undergone an embalming process or other means of preserving the dead, or if it has become stiff, as do all normal corpses, even when the best preservation techniques are used. Incorruptible saints remain completely flexible, as if they were only sleeping. Incorruptible bodies are often said to have the Odor of Sanctity, exuding a sweet aroma; often described as the scent of roses. Over the years there have been hundreds of Saints whose bodies have been found to be incorrupt - some many hundreds of years after their death. In the image above we see St Bernadette as she appears today - 129 years after her death.
Here are some more picture of St. Bernadette
St. Bernadette as she appears today
in her glass crypt.
The only known photograph
of St. Bernadette at the Grotto
in Lourdes. Photo taken in 1862
In 1863 Bernadette was 19 years old. The bishop allowed her to be photographed in the studio at Tarbes. She had not yet decided on a vocation, and the Sisters of Nevers were not yet enthusiastic about the possibility of receiving her since she was of poor health. Here is a picture of St. Bernadatte at age 19.
Here is a picture of St. Bernadette at age 20 years old in 1864. She is shown in the middle, among the other ladies of the Children of Mary at Lourdes. St. Bernadette was of small stature due to a long history of illness.
On July 4, 1866, two years after choosing in favor of the Sisters of Charity at Nevers, Bernadette left Lourdes for ever to begin her vocation as a nun. Photographs of her family and her departure were hastily taken. St. Bernadette is shown in the middle.
There have been over 6,000 reported miracles at Lourdes since 1858. Of these thousands of reported miracles, only a handful have ever been officially recognised by the Catholic Church as miracles. For a link to the officially approved list of the miracles of Lourdes,
click here.
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