St. Bernadette Soubirous is a highly popular and venerated saint in the Catholic hierarchy, commonly referred to as St. Bernadette of Lourdes. Bernadette was born into a poor family in Lourdes, France, and spent an uneventful, if impoverished, childhood. Then, when she was fourteen, she and a sister were gathering wood near a river when Bernadette espied a beautiful young woman, dressed in white, emerging from a nearby grotto. The lady did not have much to say that first day; she only prayed the rosary along with Bernadette. On subsequent visits, however, the beautiful lady told Bernadette that she was the “Immaculate Conception”. She also told the young girl to dig in the dirt (and water sprang forth), to instruct the local priests to erect a church on the spot, and to spread the word about the need for repentance in a sinful world. Bernadette stuck to her story for the few weeks of her visions; naturally, this caused great curiosity among the villagers, dismay on the part of law enforcers, and consternation on the part of the Church. Such attention was centered on the little town, especially on Bernadette, that she entered a convent and prepared to become a nun. Never in strong health, Bernadette suffered greatly from a respiratory ailment (probably asthma) and died at the age of thirty-five. Her fame and that of her village grew even stronger after her death. Today almost five million pilgrims visit the holy site of Our Lady of Lourdes in hope of cures from illnesses, and there are some documented cases of otherwise unexplainable “miraculous” recoveries. Bernadette was declared a saint in 1933. We just can’t help adding one amusing little side note: in the 1943 film, The Song of Bernadette, the lovely Jennifer Jones received an Oscar for her portrayal of Bernadette, while Linda Darnell, one of the most scandal-ridden B-movie actresses on the Hollywood scene, made an uncredited appearance as the Blessed Virgin. Oh, irony, thy name is everywhere….

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Almost all living women with some form of the name Catherine today can thank St. Catherine of Alexandria for their moniker. As her legend and cult grew in the Middle Ages, she gained quite a following (particularly among women who began naming their daughters after her in veneration). Often referred to as “Catherine of the Wheel”, St. Catherine was martyred in Alexandria, Egypt around 307 AD yet “herstory” was largely unknown until around the year 800 when her relics were purportedly discovered on Mt. Sinai (apparently her hair was still growing and healing oils were secreting from her body). Um, yah, kind of creepy, but such stories of saintly relics were hugely popular in medieval times and Catherine was a glowing example of the so-called Virgin Martyrs (like Agnes, Barbara and Margaret, for example). Catherine of Alexandria was born a pagan princess at the end of the 3rd century in Alexandria, Egypt, but converted to Christianity before the age of 20. She was renowned for her beauty, intellect, education and articulation. She took her religious arguments to the Roman Emperor Maxentius in an effort to stop the cruel persecutions of Christians under his rule. In doing so, Catherine managed to convert almost all of those around him to Christianity, including his own wife. When Maxentius tried to thwart her by proposing marriage, she refused, declaring herself the wife of Christ to whom she consecrated her virginity. Incensed, the emperor ordered her death on the spiked wheel (a rather cruel method of execution during Antiquity). Legend has it that the wheel miraculously broke and freed Catherine as she prayed. So her executioners switched to Plan B instead: they beheaded her (legend has it that the angels swooped down and carried her off to Mt. Sinai). The name Catherine became a particular favorite among the French after Joan of Arc declared that St. Catherine of Alexandria was one of the saints who appeared to her in a dream instructing her on what she needed to do. St. Catherine is remembered among Catholics as a woman who would not abandon her true faith and stood bravely against the opposition despite the consequences. She is now the patron saint of philosophers and preachers, and her feast day is November 25.

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