Street of the Fish: The Apparition of the Miraculous Medal

# Rua do Bac, the Apparition of the Miraculous Medal

## The Street and the Apparitions (Rue du Bac)

The Rue du Bac (7th arrondissement, Paris) is the site where Our Lady appeared three times to novice Catherine Labouré in 1830. During this series of apparitions, Mary requested the creation of the **Miraculous Medal** and revealed the image of the Woman from the Apocalypse.

## The Apparitions of 1830

On July 18, 1830, the eve of Saint Vincent de Paul’s feast day, Catherine was awakened by a luminescent angel who led her to the chapel on Rue du Bac. Mary appeared to her and said: *”There will be times of great danger. The throne will be overturned.”* In November, during a second apparition, Mary showed the image to be minted on the medal.

## The Medal’s Image

Our Lady revealed to Catherine the image of the Woman from the Apocalypse (Rev 12), dressed in sunlight, with the moon at her feet and twelve stars. She also showed the reverse side of the medal, featuring the letter M, a cross, a bar, hearts of Jesus and Mary. The inscription she requested was: *”O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to thee.”*

## Saint Catherine Labouré

Catherine kept the secret of the apparitions for 46 years, revealing them only to her spiritual director. She spent her life as a simple religious caring for the elderly, without seeking recognition. She was canonized in 1947. Her incorrupt body rests on Rue du Bac, where her hand holds the medal she requested from Mary.

**Deepen your studies:** Explore **Mariology**, **Miraculous Medal**, **Marian Apparitions**, and **Post-Graduate Mariology**.

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## Church Magisterium

> *Apparitio Beatae Mariae Virginis Catharinae Labouré in vico Bac Parisiis (1830) approbata est ab Ecclesia: Virgo mandavit fabricari numisma Immaculatae Conceptionis.*
>
> *(The Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Catherine Labouré in the Rue du Bac, Paris (1830), approved by the Church: The Virgin commanded the making of a medal of the Immaculate Conception.)*

– *Congregatio Missionis (Lazaristas), Approbatio canonica (1836)*

📚. **Literal Translation:** The appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Catherine Labouré in the Rue du Bac, Paris (1830), was approved by the Church; the Virgin commanded the making of a medal of the Immaculate Conception.