Miraculous Medal

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
Statue depicting Our Lady of Graces of the Miraculous Medal
LocationParis, France
Date18 July 1830
27 November 1830
WitnessSaint Catherine Labouré
TypeMarian apparition
Approval1836[1] (Archbishop Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen, Archdiocese of Paris)
Venerated inCatholic Church
ShrineChapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Paris, France
PatronageSpecial graces, miracles of healing, conversions, believers
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is located in Rue du Bac, Paris

The Miraculous Medal (French: Médaille miraculeuse), also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces, is a devotional medal, the design of which was originated by Catherine Labouré following her apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary[2] in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal of Paris, France.

The medal, a sacramental, was made by the goldsmith Adrien Vachette.[3] According to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, sacramentals,[4] by the Church's prayer, prepare the faithful to receive grace and dispose them to cooperate with it.[5]

Background

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Catherine Labouré stated that on 18 July 1830, the eve of the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, 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."[6]

On 27 November 1830, Catherine reported that the Virgin Mary returned during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe. She wore many rings set with gems[7] 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 crowned with thorns and the Immaculate Heart of Mary 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". Catherine then heard the Virgin Mary ask her to take these images to her confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions, and saying "All who wear them will receive great graces".[8]

Saint Catherine Labouré

Catherine did so, and after two years of investigation and observation of her ordinary daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine's identity. The request was approved and medallions were designed and produced through the goldsmith Adrien Vachette.[9][10]

The chapel in which Catherine experienced her visions is located at the mother house of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul in Rue du Bac, Paris.[11] The incorrupt bodies of Saint Catherine Labouré and Saint Louise de Marillac, a co-founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, are interred in the chapel.[12]

Pope John Paul II used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, the Marian Cross, a plain cross with an 'M' underneath the right-hand bar (which signified the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross).[13]

Properties of the medal

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The Miraculous Medal design was executed by Adrien Vachette based on Saint Catherine Labouré's visions

Front side:

  • Mary stands on the earth, crushing a serpent beneath her feet. Describing the original vision, Catherine said Mary appeared radiant as a sunrise, "in all her perfect beauty".[14]
  • Rays shine forth from Mary's hands. She told Catherine these "symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them".[14]
  • 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".[15]

Reverse side:

  • A cross-and-bar surmount a large, bold letter '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.[16]

The 2004 Enchiridion Indulgentiarum grants the partial indulgence to the faithfuls of Christ who use a crucifix or cross, a crown, a scapular, a medal blessed by a priest.[17]

Symbolism

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The elements of the design encapsulate major Marian teachings that have been declared doctrine by the Catholic Church.

Front side:

  • Mother – her open arms, the "recourse" the faithful have in her
  • Immaculate – the words, "conceived without sin"
  • Assumed into Heaven – she stands on the globe, Queen of Heaven and Earth
  • Mediatrix – rays from her hands symbolizing graces
  • Protectrix – crushes the serpent underfoot to proclaim that Satan and all his followers are helpless before her (Genesis 3:15).

Reverse side:

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Dirvin, Fr. Joseph. "Saint Catherine Laboure of the Miraculous Medal". EWTN. Archbishop de Quelen [decided] to institute a canonical inquiry. He appointed Monseigneur Quentin, Vicar General of Paris, to conduct it. The sessions were opened on 1836. The findings of the Canonical Inquiry of Paris completely vindicated Catherine. The court extolled her character and virtue, and placed wholehearted credence in her visions. Two important conclusions were reached: that the Medal was of supernatural origin, and that the wonders worked through it were genuine.
  2. ^ Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices Archived 2016-10-11 at the Wayback Machine ISBN 0-87973-910-X p. 356
  3. ^ "AMM - Miraculous Medal Story". www.amm.org. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  4. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 1674.
  5. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 1670.
  6. ^ Dirvin, C.M., Joseph I. (1958). Saint Catherine Laboure of the Miraculous Medal. Tan Books & Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-89555-242-6.
  7. ^ "I saw rings on her fingers, three rings to each finger, the largest one near the base of the finger, one of medium size in the middle, the smallest one at the tip. Each ring was set with gems, some more beautiful than others ..." Catherine Labouré, quoted in John Delaney, A Woman Clothed With The Sun, Doubleday, 1960, p. 77.
  8. ^ Glass, Joseph (20 December 2012) [1911]. "Miraculous Medal". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018.
  9. ^ McMenamin, M. 2010. Precisely dated early versions of the Miraculous Medal. Numismatics International Bulletin, v. 45, nos. 3/4, pp. 43-48.
  10. ^ Mack, John (2003). The museum of the mind: art and memory in world cultures. British Museum.
  11. ^ Mauriello, Rev. Matthew R. (1996). "The Miraculous Medal". Fairfield County Catholic. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  12. ^ Callbeck, Cara. "Pilgrims in Paris and a Lesson for Lent", Ignatian Spirituality
  13. ^ "The Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II", Liguorian
  14. ^ a b "The Meaning of the Miraculous Medal". The Divine Mercy. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  15. ^ "The Meaning of the Miraculous Medal". www.marian.org. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  16. ^ "The apparitions and the Miraculous Medal | Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse". www.chapellenotredamedelamedaillemiraculeuse.com. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  17. ^ Enchiridion Indulgentiarum. quarto editur, Normae de indulgentia, 15

References

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48°51′04″N 2°19′26″E / 48.850974°N 2.323770°E / 48.850974; 2.323770

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