Saint Bernadette

French peasant girl who saw 14 visions of the Holy Mother at Lourdes; she was canonized in 1933. The eldest of six kids born to a poor French family, she was a gentle child, an asthmatic and delicate. On 11 February 1858, while out gathering kindling with two other kids, she saw her first of 18 mystical visions. There was a reappearance in three days, and then daily from 18 Feburary to 4 March 1858. Where she had prayed before the vision, a spring of clear water bubbled out. Church and state became concerned when people began to converge on Lourdes, finding healing properties in the water and inspiration in the simple girl's story. Bernadette entered a convent in Nevers in 1866 and died there on 16 April 1879. People continue to visit the springs of Lourdes today.