Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse1

The Miraculous Medal (french: Médaille miraculeuse), also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces, is a

devotional medal A devotional medal is a medal issued for religious devotion. History In the early church The use of amulets and talismans in pagan antiquity was widespread. The word ''amuletum'' itself occurs in Pliny, and many monuments show how objects of ...

, the design of which was originated by

Catherine Labouré Catherine Labouré (May 2, 1806 – December 31, 1876) was a French member of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and a Marian visionary. She is believed to have relayed the request from the Blessed Virgin Mary to create the famo ...

following her apparitions of the Blessed Virgin MaryAnn Ball, 2003
Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices
'' p. 356 in the

Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal The Chapel of Graces of the Miraculous Virgin (French: ''La Chapelle du Grâce de Sainte Vierge Miraculeuse'') or informally the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, is a Marian pontifical shrine located in Paris, France. Originally cons ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It was made by goldsmith

Adrien Vachette Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette (born 9 January 1753 in Cauffry – deceased 23 September 1839 in Paris) was a French goldsmith best known for the production of ornate gold boxes and the use of unusual and natural materials like tortoiseshell. ...

. According to the teaching of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the use of

sacramental A sacramental in Christianity is a material object or action (in Latin ''sacramentalia'') ritually blessed by a priest to signal its association with the sacraments and so to incite reverence during acts of worship. They are recognised by the Cat ...

s such as this medal prepares people to receive

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...

and disposes them to cooperate with it.

Background

stated that on 18 July 1830, the eve of the feast of Saint

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...

, she woke up after hearing the 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 27 November 1830, Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother returned during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe. She wore many rings set with gems that shone rays of light over the globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words ''Ô Marie, conçue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous'' ("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 The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

crowned with thorns and

Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Roman Catholic devotional name used to refer to the Catholic view of the interior life of Mary, mother of Jesus, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love ...

pierced with a sword. Asked why some of the gems did not shed light, Mary reportedly replied, "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask." Sister Catherine then heard the Virgin Mary ask her to take these images to her

father confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death. Catherine Laboure

Sister Catherine did so, and after two years of investigation and observation of Catherine's ordinary daily behavior, the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

took the information to his

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

without revealing Catherine's identity. The request was approved and medallions were designed and produced through goldsmith

. The

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

in which Saint Catherine experienced her visions is located at the mother house of the Daughters of Charity in

Rue du Bac, Paris Rue du Bac is a street in Paris situated in the 7th arrondissement. The street, which is 1150 m long, begins at the junction of the quais Voltaire and Anatole-France and ends at the rue de Sèvres. Rue du Bac is also the name of a station on ...

. The

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their ...

bodies of Saint Catherine Labouré and Saint

Louise de Marillac Louise de Marillac , also Louise Le Gras, (August 12, 1591 – March 15, 1660) was the co-founder, with Vincent de Paul, of the Daughters of Charity. She is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church in the United S ...

, a co-founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, are interred in the chapel, which continues to receive daily visits from Catholic

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s today.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, the

Marian Cross A Marian Cross is a term to describe a symbolic representation of the close connection of Mary, with the redemptive mission of Jesus. The letter "M" below the cross indicates Mary's presence at the foot of the cross. Miraculous Medal The combinat ...

, a plain cross with an ''M'' underneath the right-hand bar (which signified the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross when Jesus was being crucified).

Properties of the medal

Front side: * Mary stands on the earth, crushing a serpent beneath her feet. Describing the original vision, Catherine said the Blessed Mother appeared radiant as a sunrise, "in all her perfect beauty". * Rays shine forth from Mary's hands. She told Catherine these "symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them." * Words from the vision, originally in French, form an oval frame around the image: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." Reverse side: * A cross-and-bar surmount a large, bold "M". * Twelve stars mark the perimeter. * Two hearts are depicted underneath the "M", the left encircled with a crown of thorns, the right pierced by a sword. From each, a flame emanates from the top.

Symbolism

The elements of the design encapsulate major Catholic dogmas concerning

Mariology Mariology is the theological study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and grace. Chri ...

that have been declared official doctrine by the Catholic Church. Front side: *

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

– Her open arms, the "recourse" believers have in her. * Immaculate Conception, Immaculate – The words, " conceived without sin". * Assumed into Heaven – She stands on the globe, Queen of Heaven and Earth. *

Mediatrix Mediatrix is a title given to Mary, mother of Jesus in Christianity. It refers to the intercessory role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a mediator in the salvific redemption by her son Jesus Christ and that he bestows graces through her. Mediatrix i ...

– Rays from her hands symbolizing "graces". * Protectrix – Crushes the serpent underfoot to proclaim that Satan and all his followers are helpless before her. (

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

3:15). Reverse side: * The large letter "M" – Mary as Mother, Mediatrix. * Cross and bar – Jesus'

Cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

of Redemption for mankind. The interlacing of the M and the Cross shows Mary’s close involvement with Jesus, and points to her role as Mediatrix. * 12 stars – the

Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

and the vision of

Saint John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Geʽez, Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Ze ...

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

12:1: "And a great sign appeared in heaven: A

woman clothed with the sun The Woman of the Apocalypse (or the woman clothed with the sun, el, γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον; Latin: ) is a figure, traditionally believed to be the Virgin Mary, described in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelatio ...

, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." * Left Heart – The

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

of Jesus, Who died for the sins of mankind. * Right Heart – The Immaculate Heart of Mary, who intercedes for sinners. * Flames around both hearts – The burning love both Jesus and Mary have for all people.

Notes

References

* Alma Power-Waters, 2000, ''St. Catherine Labouré and the Miraculous Medal'', Ignatius Press, * ''Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal'', by Joseph I Dirvin, CM, TAN Books and Publishers, Inc, 1958/84.
Association of the Miraculous Medal
* Rene Laurentin, ''Catherine Laboure: Visionary of the Miraculous Medal'', Pauline books and Media, Boston, 2006, .

External links