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The Miracle Record

St. Bernadette Soubirous

Incorruptibles Image

The story in one line

Bernadette Soubirous’s body was found in an unusually preserved state at exhumation.

The basic story

Bernadette Soubirous died at Nevers in 1879. The official Nevers sanctuary says that inspections of her body in 1909, 1919, and 1925 each found it intact, and her body remains enshrined there today.

Historical setting

Bernadette's incorruptibility record begins after her 1879 death and later exhumations at Nevers, where officials and witnesses documented the condition of her remains.

Nevers, France Inspections: 1909, 1919, 1925 Enshrined today
The shrine of St. Bernadette Soubirous at Nevers.
The Nevers sanctuary preserves Bernadette Soubirous in a glass shrine and still presents her body as part of the pilgrimage experience. Official sanctuary image

Death

April 16, 1879

The Nevers sanctuary dates Bernadette’s death to April 16, 1879, at age thirty-five.

Religious house

Saint Gildard, Nevers

She spent her last thirteen years there with the Sisters of Charity of Nevers.

Body inspections

1909, 1919, 1925

The official sanctuary says each inspection found the body intact.

Public shrine since

August 3, 1925

The sanctuary says Bernadette’s body has been in a glass shrine in the main chapel since her beatification year.

The story

Section titled “The story”

Bernadette Soubirous died at Nevers on April 16, 1879 and was buried at Saint Gildard.[1]

The official sanctuary in Nevers states that during the process for her beatification and canonization, three inspections of her body took place in 1909, 1919, and 1925, and that each time the body was found intact.[1]

Her body is now kept in a shrine in the main chapel at Nevers, where the sanctuary explicitly presents it as part of Bernadette’s continuing witness.[1] [3]

Primary-source file

Section titled “Primary-source file”
Official sanctuary body record Her body

The sanctuary gives the three inspection dates, states that the body was found intact each time, and notes the 1925 placement in the chapel shrine.

sainte-bernadette-soubirous-nevers.com Official sanctuary history Bernadette - history at Nevers

This page gives the main chronology of Bernadette’s Nevers years, death, and canonization.

sainte-bernadette-soubirous-nevers.com Official sanctuary guide The sanctuary

The sanctuary guide notes that Bernadette’s body has been in the glass shrine since August 3, 1925 and describes the places pilgrims still visit there.

sainte-bernadette-soubirous-nevers.com

Nevers after Lourdes

Section titled “Nevers after Lourdes”

The Nevers sanctuary presents Bernadette’s later life as part of the shrine record. After arriving in 1866 to enter the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, she lived there for the rest of her life in ordinary religious service, largely removed from the public prominence of Lourdes.[2]

The same sanctuary history says Bernadette spent thirteen years in Nevers before her death at age thirty-five.[2]

Publicly documented chronology

Section titled “Publicly documented chronology”
  • July 7, 1866: Bernadette arrived at the Mother House in Nevers.[2] [3]
  • October 30, 1867: the sanctuary says she made her first commitment to religious life with the Sisters of Charity of Nevers.[1]
  • April 16, 1879: Bernadette died at age thirty-five and was buried in Saint Joseph’s Chapel in the garden.[1]
  • 1909, 1919, 1925: three body inspections took place during the beatification and canonization process, and the sanctuary says the body was found intact each time.[1]
  • August 3, 1925: following beatification, Bernadette’s body was placed in the glass shrine in the main chapel where it remains today.[1] [3]
  • December 8, 1933: Bernadette was canonized.[1]

Recorded details

Section titled “Recorded details”

The cited sanctuary record includes:

  • Bernadette’s central place in the history of Lourdes[1] [2]
  • the three exhumations carried out in connection with a formal sainthood cause[1]
  • the shrine in Nevers still presenting the body publicly for pilgrimage and prayer[1] [3]

Public shrine record

Section titled “Public shrine record”

The official shrine states that the body was inspected three times over sixteen years and each time reported intact, and that in 1925 Bernadette was beatified and placed in the shrine where she remains today.[1] [2] [3]

References

Section titled “References”
  1. Sanctuary of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, Nevers. “Her body.” Official sanctuary page describing Bernadette’s burial, the inspections of 1909, 1919, and 1925, and the enshrinement of her intact body in the main chapel. Available at: https://www.sainte-bernadette-soubirous-nevers.com/en/pages/bernadette-3/her-body/
  2. Sanctuary of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, Nevers. “Bernadette.” Official sanctuary summary of Bernadette’s life in Nevers, burial, beatification, canonization, and continuing shrine devotion. Available at: https://www.sainte-bernadette-soubirous-nevers.com/en/pages/bernadette-3/history/
  3. Sanctuary of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, Nevers. “The sanctuary.” Official guide page noting that Bernadette’s body has been in the glass shrine since August 3, 1925 and describing the current pilgrimage setting at Nevers. Available at: https://www.sainte-bernadette-soubirous-nevers.com/en/le-sanctuaire/