meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
History Daily

The Miracles of Lourdes

History Daily

Airship | Noiser | Wondery

History

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

February 11, 1858. A young peasant girl in France claims to have had visions of a divine woman in a cave, leading to Lourdes becoming a site of pilgrimage and the girl becoming Saint Bernadette.


  • Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.


History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.

Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad-free.

0:04.1

Listen with Wondry Plus in the Wondry app.

0:06.0

As a member of NoisorPlus at noisor.com or in Apple Podcasts,

0:10.6

or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com.

0:31.6

Thank you. It's February 11, 1858, near the small town of Lourde in southwest France. By the treeline banks of a river, 14-year-old Bernadette Subirut waits anxiously as her younger sister

0:39.1

and a friend wade through the icy water in search of firewood on the other side. Being left behind

0:45.4

is something Bernadette is all too familiar with. Since contracting cholera as a toddler, she's

0:51.0

suffered from asthma and is often sick. But she's feeling strong today and is

0:55.7

determined to play her part, so she continues down the riverbank searching for a place where it might

1:00.8

be safe for her to cross. She finds a spot where the water looks shallower and she sits on the

1:06.4

ground to remove her shoes and stockings. As she does, she notices that the wind picks up.

1:12.0

But as she looks up at her surroundings, Bernadette realizes her hair's not moving,

1:16.6

the trees are still, the grass is calm, and yet she can still hear the wind. As she tries to

1:22.1

make sense of what's happening, her eyes are drawn to the imposing limestone rock face on the

1:27.0

opposite side of the river.

1:28.3

There something is moving. A small, wild rose quivers as if it's caught in a breeze.

1:34.3

And behind it is what looks like the opening to a small cave.

1:38.3

As Bernadette watches, a bright light emerges from inside.

1:42.3

She shakes her head, convinced she's imagining it all.

1:45.0

The light remains, then it too begins to move.

1:49.0

Bernadette clutches her rosary beads as the light grows brighter, comes nearer, and suddenly

1:54.0

coalesces into the shape of a young woman. Terrified, Bernadette tries to make the sign of the cross on her chest, and she finds she cannot move,

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Airship | Noiser | Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Airship | Noiser | Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.