The Popes and the Miraculous medal
November 27th is the traditional Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, which offers great hope for our shattered world. It was on this day in 1830 that the Blessed Mother appeared to St Catherine Laboure in the Motherhouse Chapel of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity in Paris, France. Catherine was still in her initial formation when Mary requested the novice nun to have a medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces: they shall wear it around their neck. Great graces will abound for those who wear it with confidence.
The symbols of the Miraculous medal offer a splendid summary of the Christian faith mysteries. A glance at the front of the medal one sees Mary with rays of light descending from her hands. Her standing position is on half of the globe and by her foot she is crushing a serpent. Our Lady told Catherine: These rays are a symbol of the graces that I pour on those who ask of them of me. In the oval of the image there is the prayer: O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you. On the other side of the medal one encounters the letter M climbing on a cross whereas underneath it there is a heart of Jesus accompanied by a crown of thorns as well as the heart of Mary which is pierced by sword. Surrounding this scene entirely are the twelve stars.
When Catherine shared this powerful experience with her spiritual director, Father Aladel, he remained skeptical, and it only after two years that he then requested and obtained permission from the Archbishop of Paris to make the medal.
The medal’s devotion spread like wildfire and immediately the name Miraculous Medal became its eponym. In fact, countless were the physical and, most of all, the spiritual healings which took place thanks to its spiritual efficacy. Seeing this huge flood of grace the Holy See approved the medal as well as its divine origin in 1836. By the time of St Catherine’s demise it is thought over 1 billion medals were distributed.
We can track the interesting and close relationships of the Popes with the Miraculous medal. To begin with, Pope Gregory XVI was instrumental in authorizing the minting of the medal for the whole Church. He personally placed it on his study table, alongside a crucifix, and often gifted it to his many visitors, underlining its importance. Then, Blessed Pope Pius IX, while acknowledging the importance of the medal, approved the Archconfraternity of the Miraculous Medal at the Parish of San Ginés in Madrid in February 1845. This Pope who defined the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was also a fervent proponent of the medal. Blessed Pius IX saw the medal as a forerunner to the Immaculate Conception dogma; he furthermore approved the foundation of the Association of Daughters of Mary, as its emblem.
Pope Leo XIII also bestowed privileges to the medal. It was he who, in 1894, made official the feast of the Miraculous Medal on this November 27th. To bring forward its singular significance he even granted indulgences and accentuated its spiritual meaning. St Pope Pius X also left his mark on the Miraculous Medal devotion by approving the Association of the Miraculous Medal on June 8, 1909. By doing so he consolidated its place within Catholic devotion. His successor, Pope Benedict XV, also granted the Miraculous Medal with important privileges such as indulgences for those who wear it.
Pope Pius IX gave indulgences for the people who prayed the invocation related to the medal and showed inspiring enthusiasm for the Miraculous Virgin image holding the globe. He titled her Queen of Missions and Queen of the World. Pope Venerable Pius XII acknowledged the meaning of the medal by canonizing its visionary, St Catherine Labouré. In so doing he indirectly stated the Miraculous Medal’s authenticity.
Even St Pope John XXIII was a great devotee of the Miraculous Medal. He promoted the devotion to Our Lady of the Globe under the title Queen of Missions. Whilst in Paris as Nuncio he would go to Rue du Bac chapel and prayed many times at the altar of Our Lady. St Pope Paul VI kept promoting the Miraculous Virgin worship by giving new indulgences to those who took part in her honour or wearing the sacred medal. Finally, St Pope John Paul II, visited the chapel of the apparitions in Paris on May 31, 1980. He prayed at the altar of the Miraculous Virgin as well as the tomb of St Catherine Labourè. In his prayer at the Miraculous Medal Chapel at Rue du Bac, Pope John Paul II prayed the following to the Virgin Mary:
On this day in which the Church celebrates the visit you made to Elizabeth when the son of God already lived in your womb, our first prayer will be to praise and bless you! You are blessed among all women! Blessed are you, who believed! The Almighty did wonders for you! The wonder of divine motherhood! And in view of this event, the Immaculate Conception! The wonder of your Fiat! You have been intimately associated with all the work of our Redemption, associated with the Cross of our Savior; your heart was pierced along with his. And now, in the glory of your Son, may you not cease to intercede for us, poor sinners. Watch over the church of which you are the mother. Watch over each of your children. Obtain from God, for us, all those graces that symbolize the rays of light that radiate from your open hands. The only condition is that we dare to ask you, that we approach you with the trust, courage and simplicity of a child. This is how you lead us incessantly towards your divine Son.
O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.
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