Saint Catherine Laboure (May 2, 1806 – December 31, 1876) was a Marian visionary who relayed the request from the Blessed Virgin Mary to create the Miraculous Medal worn by millions of Catholics and even non-Catholics today.

She was born at Fain-lès-Moutiers, Burgundy, France to the farmer Pierre Labouré, the youngest of nine children. When Catherine was nine years old, her mother died on October 9, 1815. Pierre's sister suggested that she care for his two youngest children, Catherine and Tonine, and after he agreed, the sisters moved to their aunt's house at Saint-Rémy, a village 9 km from their home.

As a young woman she became a member of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity, a nursing order founded by Saint Vincent de Paul. She was extremely devout, of a somewhat romantic nature, given to visions and intuitive insights (she'd chosen the Daughters of Charity after a dream about St. Vincent). Having lost her mother at an early age she was very fond of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it is not surprising both that she prayed to meet her, and subsequently claimed that her prayer was answered.

Catherine stated that on the night of July 19 1830, the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, she woke up after hearing a voice of a child calling her to the chapel, where she heard the Virgin Mary say to her, "God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world."

On November 27, 1830, Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother returned during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, wearing many rings of different colours, most of which shone rays of light over the globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus and Sacred Heart of Mary underneath. Asked why some of her rings did not shed light, Mary reportedly replied "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask." Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions. "All who wear them will receive great graces."

Catherine did so, and after two years' worth of investigation and observation of Catherine's normal daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine's identity. The request was approved and medallions began to be produced. They proved to be exceedingly popular. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception wasn't official yet, but the Medal with its "conceived without sin" slogan was probably influential in popular approval of the idea. Pope John Paul II used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, a plain cross with an M underneath the right-hand crossbar.

Catherine lived her remaining years as an ordinary nursing sister. She was pleasant and well-liked by patients and her fellow nuns. Just before her death, she revealed that she was the sister to whom the Blessed Mother had given the images for the Medal. Exhumed in 1933, her body was found incorrupt, and it now lies in a glass coffin. Many visitors comment on Catherine's lovely blue eyes. She was canonized on July 27, 1947, by Pope Pius XII.

St. Catherine Laboure is the namesake of a private elementary school in St. Louis, Missouri

External links

• The Early Years of Saint Catherine Labouré (http://www.miraculousmedalchurch.org/CatherineLaboure.htm)
• Lives of the saints: Catherine Labouré (http://magnificat.ca/cal/engl/11-28.htm)
• A hagiography of Catherine with full explanations of the visions and the Medal. (http://www.amm.org/catherine.htm)