Wisdom and Wonder · Week 3 · Grades 9–12
Guided Notes: St. Bernadette Soubirous
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
Lourdes, 1858
Bernadette Soubirous was born on January 7, blank 1, in Lourdes, a market town in the French Pyrenees. Her father, a miller, lost his mill, and the family sank into poverty. By 1858 they lived in a single damp room that had served as the town jail.
Bernadette was asthmatic, spoke the local dialect rather than standard French, and at blank 2 could neither read nor write.
France at the time was proud of its science and its progress. Many educated people regarded popular religion as blank 3. A claim of heavenly visions from an unschooled girl was unlikely to be welcomed by officials, and it was not.
From the grotto to the altar
Write what happened in each year.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1844 | Write your answer |
| 1854 | Write your answer |
| 1858 | Write your answer |
| 1862 | Write your answer |
| 1866 | Write your answer |
| 1879 | Write your answer |
| 1925 | Write your answer |
| 1933 | Write your answer |
The witness and her questioners
On February 11, blank 4, gathering firewood, Bernadette saw a Lady in white in the rock at Massabielle. The Lady asked for prayer and penance, for a chapel, and for people to come in procession. On February 25 Bernadette dug in the mud at her direction, and a spring began to flow.
The police blank 5 interrogated her and warned her to stay away. Her parish priest, Father Peyramale, demanded the Lady’s name. On March 25 Bernadette brought back words she did not understand: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Through every questioning her account stayed the same. She refused money and gifts, though her family badly needed them.
Weigh the evidence
Which feature of Bernadette’s testimony would an investigator most reasonably count in her favor? Circle one.
- A Large crowds came to believe her story
- B She gained nothing and never changed her account
- C She described the Lady in vivid, moving detail
- D Her family and neighbors spoke well of her
Why is that the right answer?
The hidden years
Fame followed Bernadette, and she disliked it. Visitors lined up to look at her and to hear the story once more.
In 1866 she left Lourdes and entered the Sisters of Charity at blank 6, hundreds of miles away. She served as an infirmarian, nursing the sick, and as a sacristan, caring for the chapel. She never returned to Lourdes, not even when the great church at the grotto was completed.
Illness marked most of her religious life. She did not ask for special treatment because of what she had seen. She died on blank 7 16, 1879, at the age of 35.
Apply it
A classmate says, “Catholics have to believe in Lourdes or they are not really Catholic.” Which reply is most accurate? Circle one.
- A True, because a bishop approved it in 1862
- B True, because Bernadette was later canonized
- C False, since the Church takes no position on it
- D False, since approved private revelation is not required belief
Why is that the right answer?
Take a side
When someone makes an extraordinary claim, the more responsible first response is doubt, not trust.
My side: ☐ Agree: doubt first ☐ Disagree: trust first
- The officials of Lourdes doubted Bernadette, and they turned out to be wrong about her.
- The Church also questioned her for four years, and that scrutiny is why its approval carries weight.
- Online, false and edited claims spread quickly, and sharing them can harm real people.
- Treating every witness as a liar is unjust to honest people, especially those with little status.
- Is there a difference between doubting a claim and disrespecting the person who makes it?
My strongest reason, with evidence from the slides:
The best argument for the other side, and my response:
Let us pray
Lord God, you reveal yourself to the humble and the poor.
Give us the courage to speak the truth and the patience to seek it.
Teach us to be still in your presence.
St. Bernadette Soubirous, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Well done!
Bernadette had no platform, no credentials and no wish for fame. Her quiet, consistent witness outlasted every official who doubted her.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Bernadette Soubirous shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: For one week, keep a daily fifteen minutes of silence with no devices. Before you share any surprising claim online, ask two questions her witness suggests: Is it true? Do I gain by saying it?