re bernadette dates jek cu nih gov writes joe moore writes mary at that time appeared to a girl named bernadette at lourdes she referred to herself as the immaculate conception since a nine year old would have no way of knowing about the doctrine the apparition was deemed to be true and it sealed the case for the doctrine bernadette was years old when she had her visions in four years after the dogma had been officially proclaimed by the pope yours james kiefer i forgot exactly what her age was but i remember clearly that she was born in a family of poverty and she did not have any education whatsoever at the age of the apparitions she suffered from asthma at that age and she and her family were living in an abandoned prison cell of some sort she had to ask the lady several times in her apparitions about what her name was since her confessor priest asked her to do so for several instances the priest did not get an answer since bernadette did not receive any one time after several apparitions passed the lady finally said i am the immaculate conception so bernadette was so happy and repeated these words over and over in her mind so as not to forget it before she told the priest who was asking so when she told the priest the priest was shocked and asked bernadette do you know what you are talking about bernadette did not know what exactly it meant but she was just too happy to have the answer for the priest the priest continued with how did you remember this if you do not know bernadette answered honestly that she had to repeat it over and over in her mind while on her way to the priest the priest knew about the dogma being four years old then but bernadette did not know and yet she had the answer which the priest finally observed and took as proof of an authentic personal revelation of our lady to bernadette note this lady of lourdes shrine has a spring of water which our lady requested bernadette to dig up herself with her bare hands in front of pilgrims at the start little water flowed but after several years there is more water flowing marida spreading god s words through actions mother teresa
