French bishop says people today can identify with St. Bernadette

Published: 2007-11-28

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- People today can identify with the weaknesses of St. Bernadette Soubirous and the message of her Marian apparitions, said a French bishop whose diocese includes Lourdes. Everyone has limitations and flaws, Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes and Lourdes said Nov. 27. The eldest of nine children, St. Bernadette was illiterate and her family was so poor that they lived in a former prison, he said. But St. Bernadette had a "kind of wisdom" and was "strong in the head," and Mary chose her, said the bishop. When the 14-year-old girl was with Mary, she always was confident, Bishop Perrier told Catholic News Service through a translator. Noting that today people are expected to be successful and make money off of their own experiences, he said St. Bernadette "made a choice to remain poor, and she was always very humble." St. Bernadette entered religious life in 1862 and remained hidden from the world. Bishop Perrier was in Washington to discuss the yearlong celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions at Lourdes.

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