The Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception, appeared at Lourdes and spoke to a young girl on February 11, 1858. St. Bernadette was very poor, sickly, bad heart and lungs, and had difficulty learning her schoolwork.  The whole family was basically homeless...they made do in an abandoned jail cell. Disease and droughts brought the family to poverty.  Later when the police were threatening her, they harshly told her to forget Massabielle or she would be sent to jail...To which she replied: "All alone in a room? Why! I could finally have some quiet time for meditation and to prepare for my communion!"

    God chooses and uses the humble, simple and lowly people to outshine anything the worldly spirit could accomplish. 

Her body is incorrupt at Nevers. 
Impressive candlelight processions are the order of the day night at Lourdes today. 
As Bishop Williamson spoke on Christmas Eve, "Trust Our Lady! Pray the Rosary"

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.


St. Bernadette, pray for us! 

Such a great photo. St Bernadette did mention that the blue sash was blown by the breeze. Anyway I probably would never have counted the 6 decades. Catholic culture is so rich indeed. I'll have to research this and see if the 6th decade has a specific mystery...or simply meditating about Our Lady. Now that I think about it, at one of the apparitions St B. was a bit late because she was ill. So Bernadette excused herself, saying sorry to Our Lady. Then St.B. took out a rosary, which Our Lady noticed and remarked : " That is not your rosary..." Hers had broken and had borrowed one.   Our Lady notices even tiny details  as she doesn't know the future. God does give her to know some future events of course, but only God is All-knowing. 
Rosary time +

I thought Our Lady “died” at 72 years old?  There must be some other significance to 63.

According to St Brigitte it was 63 that's why she designed that rosary.

According to St Brigitte it was 63 that's why she designed that rosary.

https://www.lavie.fr/ma-vie/spiritualite/la-vierge-marie-de-a-agrave-z-15633.php

As mentioned above, according to St Bridgitte,  Our Lady was 15 at the birth of Jesus  and lived 15 years after the Ascension. 15 + 15 + 33 = 63. Not dogma. But very probable. Good food for meditation, right?

The Canonically Crowned image of Notre Dame de Lourdes in her Basilica in France holding a Brigittine Rosary as seen by St. Bernadette Soubirous

The Brigittine Rosary looks similar to our regular Rosary, but with an extra decade. The resultant seven Pater beads honour the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the sixty-three Ave Maria beads commemorate the sixty-three years it is believed the Blessed Mother lived on this earth before her Assumption.
The Faithful in that region of France had a long tradition of praying a six-decade Rosary and Our Lady’s reference to this practice is confirmed by the fact that she is depicted as holding a six-decade Rosary in the large ‘Crowned Virgin’ statue in Lourdes.  At the time, there were no mysteries attached to the decades, the faithful merely meditated on Mary's life.  This was the rosary of the peasants.  The Carmelites have since invented mysteries for each decade.

Indulgences
The Brigittine Rosary as a matter of fact was enriched by numerous Popes with Plenary Indulgence for the faithful who will be praying this Rosary.

Yeah, but the 63 Aves and the 7 Paters equal 70, and according to Ven. Mary Agreda Our Lady was 70 when she died.  When OL was 67 Our Lord appeared to her and said 'you have three more years.'  But, the book "Saints to Remember" by the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart, says that OL was 72 when she died.  The book says, "She was in her fourty-eighth year when Our Lord died and rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, in the year 33. And Mary was seventy-two years old when she herself died, and was three days later assumed into Heaven, in the year 58."  I tend to side with the Slaves on this one.