November 28 Celebration of Saints
Glass coffin of Saint Catherine Labouré in the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal
Photo by André Leroux, public domain
November 28 Celebration of Saints
Saint Catherine Labouré
Saint Catherine Labouré, D.C. was born into a large farming family in the Burgundy, France on May 2, 1806. Her mother died when she was nine years old, and after her mother’s death Catherine is said to have held a statuette of the Blessed Virgin Mary, kissing it and saying “now you are my mother.”
She was a pious, insightful child who would sometimes have visions. After having a dream about Saint Vincent de Paul, she joined the order he had founded, the Daughters of Charity.
On July 19, 1830, Catherine was awakened to the sound of a child asking her to go to the chapel. There, she found the Virgin Mary, who told her that God wanted her to perform a mission. Mary told Catherine that she would be doubted and her ideas opposed, but that God will give her the grace to persevere.
Mary appeared to her again in late November of that year, appearing inside an oval shape with rays coming from her hands. As the oval rotated she saw the other aspects of the design that is now depicted on the Miraculous Medal.
Mary asked her to relate the design to her father confessor and have it made into medallions, so that all who wear one will receive graces.
The priest investigated her claims and observed Catherine’s daily routine for two years. He then took the details of the medal’s design to the archbishop, who approved the making of the medallion. The medals became popular in France and its words “conceived without sin” would be influencial in the development of the dogma related to the Immaculate Conception.
Catherine spent the next 40 years of her life caring for the sick and elderly. She died on December 31, 1876, at the age of seventy. Her body is in a glass case near an altar in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris.
Catherine Labouré was beatified on May 28, 1933 by Pope Pius XI and canonized on July 27, 1947 by Pope Pius XII. The attributes of her images may include a habit of the Daughters of Charity and the Miraculous Medal. She is the patron saint of the elderly and infirmed, and the Miraculous Medal.
Other Saints for Today
Other saints and the blessed beatified for this day include:
Saint Andrew Trong, Saint Fionnchu, Saint Hippolytus, Saint James of the Marches, Blessed James Thompson, Saint Papinianus and Saints Rufus and Companions.
