Devotees will celebrate on Monday, Nove. 28, the Memorial of Saint Catherine of Laboure (Santa Catalina de Laboure), a popular French Marian visionary who relayed the request of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the creation of the Miraculous Medal.
Pilgrims from around the world traditionally visit her major shrine at the side altar of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris, France (one of three apparition sites), where her incorrupt body lies.
Incidentally, the Catholic Church marked the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on Sunday, Nov. 27, coinciding with the First Sunday of Advent.
Saint Catherine was a member of the nursing order of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. She spent forty years caring for the aged and infirm which made her the patron saint of seniors.
She had visions of the Blessed Mother at least three times in the year 1830 when Mary related to her a special request to create the Miraculous Medal, with the promise that “all who wear it will receive great graces.”
The medal was formally acknowledged by the archbishop of Paris and the Roman Catholic Church in 1832. Minted in the same year, the medal of the Immaculate Conception was done exactly as Our Lady appeared, within an oval frame, standing upon a globe, with a visible large letter “M” surmounted by a cross and the medallions of the Two Hearts.
Born in Burgundy, France on May 2, 1806, St. Catherine died on Dec. 31, 1876. Pope Pius XII canonized her on July 27, 1947.
Today, the Miraculous Medal is worn by millions of devout Catholics around the world.