La Capilla de Nuestra Señora de la Medalla Milagrosa

"O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you." This invocation, repeated in numerous prayers, was revealed to Catherine Labouré during an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary on November 27, 1830, in Paris. The young novice saw the Virgin Mary during Vespers in the chapel of the convent of the Daughters of Charity, located on the Rue du Bac, France. This was the second time she had seen her, as the first apparition had been in July, when Mary confided to her that she had a difficult mission to fulfill. Above the altar of the chapel, two panels appeared to the nun, each presenting the two sides of a medal. At the same time, the novice Labouré, who was 24 years old at the time, heard the voice of the Virgin Mary saying to her: "Have a medal struck like this model. All who wear it with confidence around their necks will receive great graces." A request that Our Lady reiterated to the novice in December of the same year, again in the chapel on the Rue de Bac. The medal of Our Lady was minted in 1832 with the authorization of the Bishop of Paris, Monsignor de Quellen. A few years later, in Rome, the immense graces produced by prayer, adherence to the faith of the Church, and the wearing of this medal were recognized. Known throughout the world as the Miraculous Medal, it reminds us of the miraculous nature of God's active love for humanity. The representation of Mary on the medal with 12 stars around her head also served as inspiration for the design of the European flag, as mentioned by its creator, Arsène Heitz. In her three apparitions to Catherine Labouré, Mary spoke of the graces and gifts of God that she desired to extend upon the earth, because humanity no longer prayed. Mary's words were: "Come to the foot of this altar, here graces will be poured out upon all who ask of me with trust and fervor. These rays are the symbol of the graces I pour out upon those who ask of me. This globe represents the entire world, especially France, and each person in particular. Have a medal minted according to this model; those who wear it with trust will receive great graces." The medal is the extension of trust in God. A confidence that Catherine Labouré lived in silence. No one knew until after her death that she had apparitions, only her spiritual father, Father Aladel. In 1917, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan who died in the Auschwitz concentration camp, replacing a father, adopted the medal as the distinctive symbol of the Pious Union of the Militia of the Immaculate Conception, which he founded in Rome. On July 27, 1947, Pope Pius XII canonized Sister Catherine Labouré, seventy years after her death. Since then, the Saint rests at the foot of the altar where she saw the Virgin, in the chapel on the Rue du Bac in Paris. Prayer: Blessed are you among women! Blessed are you who believed! The Almighty has done wonders for you! The wonder of your divine motherhood! And now, in the glory of your Son, you do not cease to intercede for us, poor sinners. You watch over the Church of which you are Mother. You watch over each of your children. You obtain from God for us all those graces symbolized by the rays of light radiating from your open hands. On the sole condition that we dare to ask for them, that we approach you with the trust, boldness, and simplicity of a child. And precisely in this way, you unceasingly direct us to your Divine Son. Amen (Prayer of John Paul II, May 31, 1980, in the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal) http://www.mariedenazareth.comhttp://...