Chapter LXIII: Part IX: VII

PASTORAL LETTER OF THE BISHOP OF TARBES, GIVING HIS
DECISION REGARDING THE APPARITIONS WHICH TOOK PLACE AT
THE GROTTO OF LOURDES.

"BERTRAND-SEVERE LAURENCE, by the divine mercy, and the
favor of the Apostolic See, Bishop of Tarbes, Assistant
at the Pontifical Throne, etc. To the clergy and
faithful of our diocese, health and benediction in our
Lord Jesus Christ.

"Beloved co-laborers and most dear brethren: In
all epochs of humanity, marvellous communications
have taken place between earth and heaven. At the
commencement of the world, the Lord appeared to our
first parents to reproach them with their disobedience.
During the ages which succeeded, we see him conversing
with the patriarchs and prophets. The Old Testament
is often nothing more than a history of the heavenly
apparitions with which the children of Israel were
favored. These favors did not cease with the Mosaic
law; on the contrary, they became, under the law of
grace, more striking, more numerous. In the infancy
of the church, those times of bloody persecution, the
Christians received visits from Jesus Christ and the
angels, who came, sometimes, to reveal to them secrets
of the future or to deliver them from their chains;
at other times, to strengthen them for combat. Thus
it was, according to a judicious writer, that God
encouraged those illustrious confessors of the faith,
when the powers of earth united to strangle in its
cradle that truth which was to save the world.

"These manifestations from the other world were not the
exclusive lot of the first centuries of Christianity.
History attests that they have been continued from age
to age, for the glory of religion and the edification
of the faithful. Among these heavenly apparitions,
those of the Blessed Virgin occupy a prominent place,
and have been an abundant source of blessing to the
world. As the traveller journeys over that part of
the earth which has been the home of Christianity, he
everywhere meets temples consecrated to the Mother of
God; and many of them owe their origin to an apparition
of the Queen of heaven. We already possess one of these
blessed sanctuaries, founded four centuries ago, on
account of revelations made to a young shepherdess,
where thousands of pilgrims repair yearly to kneel
before the throne of the glorious Virgin Mother Mary to
implore her for special favors.[213]

"Thanks be to God Almighty!--for, among the treasures
of his infinite bounty, he has reserved for us another
favor. He desires that, in our diocese of Tarbes, a
new sanctuary should rise to the glory of Mary. And
what instrument has he made use of to communicate his
merciful designs? One which would be the very weakest
in the eyes of the world--a child of fourteen years,
Bernadette Soubirous, one of the daughters of a poor
family of Lourdes."

Here the bishop gives a summary of the apparitions. The reader is aware of them already. Mgr. Laurence then proceeds to discuss the facts:

"Such, in substance," he further continues, "is the
account we ourselves heard from Bernadette, before the
commissioners assembled to re-examine the affair.

"Thus, this young girl has seen a being calling herself
the Immaculate Conception, who, although appearing
in human form, was neither seen nor heard by any of
the numerous spectators present at the scene. It was
consequently some kind of a supernatural being. What is
to be thought of such an event?

"You are well aware, dearly beloved brethren, that the
church exercises a wise deliberation in determining
supernatural facts, and that she demands certain
proof before admitting them to be divine. Since the
original fall, man has been liable to many errors,
particularly in this matter. If not led astray by
his reason, now weakened, he has suffered himself to
become the dupe of the evil one. Who does not know that
the devil sometimes transforms himself into an angel
of light, in order to draw us into his snares? Thus
the beloved disciple warns us not to believe every
spirit, but to try the spirits if they come from God.
This trial we have made. The event of which we are
treating has been, for four years, the object of our
solicitude; we have followed it throughout its various
phases. We have consulted the commission, made up of
pious, learned, and experienced priests, who have
examined facts, questioned the little girl, weighed
and deliberated concerning all. We have, also, invoked
the authority of science, and remain firmly convinced
that the apparition was supernatural and divine, and,
consequently, that what Bernadette saw was really and
truly the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Our conviction
is based upon the testimony of Bernadette, but, more
especially, upon the events which have transpired, and
which can be explained only by supposing some heavenly
intervention.

"The testimony of the little girl affords all the
security that can be desired. Her sincerity cannot be
doubted. No one who comes in contact with her can fail
to admire her childish simplicity, candor, and modesty.
While everybody is engaged in discussing these marvels,
she keeps silence; she speaks only when questioned,
and then relates everything without affectation, and
with touching ingenuousness. She returns unhesitating,
clear, and precise answers to the questions which are
put to her, and conveys the impression of most perfect
conviction of what she says.

"Though subjected to rude trials, she has never been
shaken by threats. The most generous offers she has
rejected with perfect disinterestedness. Always
perfectly consistent, she has maintained her original
statements throughout the numberless examinations
she has undergone, without adding or withdrawing
anything. The sincerity of Bernadette is, therefore,
incontestable. We may add, it is uncontested. Those who
have opposed her have rendered her this homage at least.

"But, admitting that she has not intended to deceive
others, has she not been herself deceived? Has she
not imagined that she saw something where nothing,
in fact, existed? Has she not been the victim of a
hallucination? The good sense displayed in her answers
reveals an accurate mind, a quiet imagination, and
a sound judgment, surpassing her age. Her religious
sentiments have never possessed the character of
enthusiasm; nothing has been remarked about the
young girl indicating intellectual disorder, or any
eccentricity of character, any alteration of the
senses or morbid affection which predispose her to
imaginations of this kind. She has had this vision,
not once, but eighteen times; then, it has appeared
suddenly, when nothing could have prepared her for what
was about to take place; and, during the fortnight when
she daily expected it, she saw nothing for two days,
though placed in circumstances entirely similar to
those of the previous occasion.

"But what took place during the time of these
apparitions? A complete transformation was effected
in Bernadette herself. Her countenance assumed a new
expression, her features were lit up; she saw things
which she had never seen before, and heard a language
which she does not ordinarily understand, but of which
she preserved the memory. These combined circumstances
do not admit the possibility of hallucination. The
little girl has really seen and heard a being who calls
herself the Immaculate Conception; and, since we cannot
explain this phenomenon naturally, we are forced to
attribute it to a supernatural cause.

"The testimony of Bernadette derives additional force,
its confirmation, we should say, from the wonderful
events which have accompanied it throughout.

"If the tree is to be judged by its fruits, we can
certainly say that the apparition described by the
little girl is supernatural and divine. For it has
produced supernatural and divine effects. What,
then, has happened, dearly beloved? Scarcely was the
apparition made known, when the news spread with the
rapidity of lightning. It was known that Bernadette was
to visit the grotto daily for a fortnight. The whole
land is astir. Streams of people flow to the place of
apparition. They await, with religious impatience,
the solemn hour. And when the girl appears, rapt and
absorbed in the object of her ecstasy, the witnesses
of this prodigy, moved and softened, are melted in a
sentiment of admiration and prayer. The apparitions
have now ceased, but the throng continues. Pilgrims
come from distant lands. Every age and rank and
condition is to be seen kneeling before the grotto.
What sentiment moves these countless visitors? Ah!
they come to the grotto to implore the special help of
the Immaculate Mary. They prove by their recollected
mien that they breathe the divine atmosphere which
surrounds these hallowed rocks, already become famous.
Christian souls are strengthened in virtue; men frozen
up by indifference are brought back to the practice of
religion; hardened sinners are reconciled to God when
Our Lady of Lourdes has been invoked in their behalf.
These wonders of grace, which are complete and lasting,
can have no author save God. Do they not strikingly
confirm the truth of the apparitions? If we now pass
from effects wrought for the salvation of souls to
those which concern the healing of bodily ills, how
many prodigies must we not recount?"

Our readers have not forgotten the breaking forth of the spring, at which Bernadette drank and washed, before the assembled crowds. It will be superfluous to repeat these details. The bishop continues:

"Sick persons have made use of the water, and not
without success. Many, whose diseases have resisted
most energetic treatment, have suddenly recovered
health. These extraordinary cures have been noised
abroad. Invalids from all quarters have sent for this
Massabielle water, when unable to transport themselves
to the grotto.

"How many infirm have been cured, how many afflicted
families have been consoled!

"If we wished to call for their testimony, countless
voices would be lifted up in acknowledgment of the
sovereign efficacy of this water. We cannot here
enumerate all the favors obtained; but what we are
obliged to say, is, that the Massabielle water has
cured desperate invalids who had been declared
incurable. These cures have been worked by the use of
water devoid of any healing properties, according to
the acknowledgments of skilful chemists, after rigorous
analysis. Some cures have been wrought instantaneously,
others after using the water twice or thrice as a drink
or lotion. Moreover, these cures are permanent. What
power has wrought them? Some organic power? Science
answers negatively. They are, therefore, the work of
God. But, they refer to the apparitions; these are
their source; these have inspired the sick people with
confidence. Hence, there is an intimate connection
between the cures and the apparitions. The apparition
is divine, because the cures bear the seal of divine
power. But that which comes from God is true; and,
therefore, the apparition which Bernadette saw and
heard, and which gave itself the name of the Immaculate
Conception, is the Blessed Virgin herself. Well may we
cry out: The finger of God is here! _Digitus Dei est
hic._

"How, then, can any one fail to admire the economy
of divine Providence? At the end of the year 1854,
the immortal Pius IX. proclaimed the dogma of the
Immaculate Conception. The whole earth re-echoed the
words of its supreme pastor; Catholic hearts trembled
with joy, and everywhere the glorious privilege of
Mary was celebrated by _fêtes_, which will ever remain
graven in the memory of those who witnessed them. And,
behold, three years afterward, the Blessed Virgin
appears to one of our children, and says: I am the
Immaculate Conception: here will I have a chapel built
in my honor. Does she not seem to desire to consecrate
by this monument the infallible oracle of St. Peter?

"Where will she have this monument erected? At the foot
of our own Pyrenees, where many strangers meet from all
parts of the world to seek health at our waters. May we
not say that she invites the faithful of all nations
to come and honor her in the new temple which shall be
built to her?

"Citizens of Lourdes, rejoice! The august Mary
condescends to cast upon you her merciful eyes.
She desires to build beside your walls a sanctuary
stored with blessings. Thank her for this token of
predilection; and, since she lavishes her motherly
tenderness upon you, show yourselves her children by
imitating her virtues, and by a fixed attachment to
religion.

"It is with joy that we acknowledge the fruits of
salvation which the apparition has already caused to
spring up abundantly among you. Eye-witnesses of the
events at the grotto and their happy results, your
confidence has been as great as your conviction has
been strong. We have ever admired your prudence and
docility in following our counsels of obedience and
submission to the civil authority, when for some weeks
you were hindered from visiting the grotto, and were
forced to restrain in your own hearts the sentiments
inspired by what you had there beheld during the
fortnight of the apparitions.

"And you, our well-beloved children, open your hearts
to hope. A new era of grace and benediction has
dawned upon you; you are called to share in what has
been promised to all. In your prayers and canticles,
henceforth, you will mingle the name of Our Lady
of Lourdes with the blessed titles of Our Lady of
Garaison, of Poeylaün, of Héas, and of Piétat.

"From these sanctuaries the Immaculate Virgin will
watch over you, and cover you with the shield of her
protection. Yes, beloved co-laborers and dearest
brethren, if, with hearts full of confidence, we fix
our glance upon this 'Star of the Sea,' we shall pass
without fear of shipwreck through the tempests of life,
and arrive safely in the haven of eternal bliss.

"WHEREFORE:

"Having consulted with our venerable brethren, the
dignitaries, canons, and chapter of our cathedral
church;

"The holy name of God having been invoked; following
the rules laid down by Benedict XIV., in his work
on _Beatification and Canonization of Saints_, for
discerning true and false apparitions; seeing the
favorable report of the commission charged with the
examination of the apparition at the grotto of Lourdes,
and the facts connected with it;

"Seeing the written testimony of the medical doctors,
whom we have consulted in reference to the numerous
cures obtained by use of water from this grotto;

"Considering, in the first place, that the fact of the
apparition, whether in regard to the effects produced
upon her who saw it, or its other extraordinary
results, cannot be explained by natural means;

"Considering, secondly, that the cause cannot be other
than divine, by reason of the effects which have
followed its operation, such as the conversion of
sinners and derogation from the fixed laws of nature,
namely, miraculous cures, which can only come from him
who is the author of grace and nature;

"Considering, finally, that our own conviction is
strengthened by the immense and spontaneous concourse
of the faithful, which has never ceased at the grotto
since the first apparitions, and whose only object is
to implore favors or return thanks for those which have
been already obtained;

"In response to the just impatience of our venerable
chapter, of the clergy and laity of our diocese, and of
so many pious souls who have long been calling upon the
ecclesiastical authority for a decision which prudence
has caused us hitherto to refrain from giving;

"Desiring, also, to satisfy the wishes of several
of our colleagues in the episcopate, and of many
distinguished strangers to our diocese;

"Having invoked the light of the Holy Ghost, and the
assistance of the Blessed Virgin,

WE HAVE DECLARED, AND HEREBY
DECLARE AS FOLLOWS:

"Art. 1. We, decide that the Immaculate Mary, the
Mother of God, really did appear to Bernadette
Soubirous, on the eleventh of February, 1858, and on
several days following, altogether eighteen times, in
the Massabielle Grotto, near the town of Lourdes; that
this apparition has every guarantee of truth, and that
the faithful have solid reason for believing it to be
certain.

"We submit ourselves humbly to the judgment of the
Sovereign Pontiff, to whom belongs the government of
the universal church.

"Art. 2. We authorize in our diocese the worship of
Our Lady of the Grotto of Lourdes; but we prohibit any
particular prayers, any canticle, any book of devotion,
to be published on this subject without our written
approbation.

"Art. 3. In conformity with the desire of the Blessed
Virgin, several times expressed during her apparitions,
we propose to build a shrine on the site of the grotto,
which has now become the property of the Bishop of
Tarbes.

"This edifice, on account of its steep and rocky
foundation, will require great labor and expense.
We need, therefore, to carry out our design, the
assistance of the priests and faithful of our own
diocese, of our country, France, and also from abroad.
We appeal to all generous hearts, and particularly to
all persons of every country who are devoted to the
worship of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

"Art. 4. We address with confidence all institutions
of either sex consecrated to the education of youth,
to the congregations of the 'Children of Mary,' to the
confraternities of the Blessed Virgin, and other pious
societies of our own diocese, and throughout France.

"This, our pastoral, shall be read and published in
all the churches, chapels, seminaries, colleges, and
hospices of our diocese on the Sunday following its
reception.

"Given at Tarbes, in our episcopal palace, under our
seal and signature, and the counter-signature of our
secretary, January 18, 1862, being the feast of the
Chair of St. Peter at Rome.

"✠ BERTRAND-SRE., _Bishop of Tarbes_.

"By order, FOURCADE, _Canon-Secretary_."

VIII.

In the name of his see, or, rather, in that of the church, Mgr. Laurence purchased from the town of Lourdes the grotto and the surrounding lands, and the whole group of Massabielle rocks. M. Lacadé was still mayor. He it was who proposed to the municipal council to cede to the church, the bride of Christ, those places which had been consecrated for ever by the appearance of his heavenly Mother. He, also, signed the deed of transfer.

M. Rouland authorized the sale, and also the erection of a church in perpetual memory of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to Bernadette Soubirous, in memory of the fountain and the numberless miracles which had attested the heavenly visions.

While the vast temple dedicated to the Immaculate Conception was slowly rising, stone upon stone, Our Lady of Lourdes continued to shower blessings and graces upon her clients. At Paris and Bordeaux, in Perigord, Brittany, and Anjou, amid solitary and rural scenes and in the heart of popular cities, Our Lady of Lourdes was invoked, and answered with unquestionable signs of her power and goodness.

Before closing our recital and presenting the picture of things as they now exist, let us narrate two of these divine histories. One of them forms an episode in the life of the writer of these pages which nothing can ever efface from his memory. We give it as we wrote it down nearly seven years ago.