St. Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879

by François Trochu

By far the best book on St. Bernadette and Lourdes. Beautifully illustrated with 77 photographs and images, including lovely photos of St. Bernadette's incorrupt body. Our Lady told her, "I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next." This young French visionary is sure to steal your heart! 416 pgs, PB.

Genres: Biography, Catholic, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Religion, Faith, History

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Abbe Francois Trochu is the author of the biographies The Cure d Ars: St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney and St. Bernadette Soubirous. His work on the Cure d'Ars was originally published in 1927 by Burns Oates and Washbourne. In this definitive biography, Abbe Trochu compiled a great number of extraordinary facts about the saint, based on his life and vocation. It was written using the records and documents of the Church as a guide, and presented with a vivid and accurate picture of one of the most beloved saints of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Reviews

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring!

When I was baptized, a fellow parishioner gifted me a holy card with the image of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Bernadette, apologizing that it wasn’t something better as she didn’t know there was going to be a baptism at the Mass. Back then I didn’t know much about Mary, much less about the saints! So I still have that card and think back to this woman who gave me my first holy card.

Now almost 30 years after I wanted to find out all the details about St Bernadette and got this 800+ page book! It was fascinating and inspiring. And yes, I wanted to read about the apparitions, but no less about St Bernadette’s life afterwards in the convent.

[jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review

A scholarly history of Saint Bernadette. Well written and uplifting. I would recommend this book for all Catholics to read.

[Fr. Daniel Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does an excellent job of describing St. Bernadette's life. She is a saint of the "modern era." Often we don't have very many details about a particular saints' lives and why they are considered to be saints. In this case, we have a lot of information and evidence as to why.

I would divide this book into three parts. The first is the back story (which is relatively short), the second are the apparitions of Mary, and the third is St. Bernadette's life as a nun in a convent. The second part is the most fascinating since it deals with the supernatural. We have an amazing number of first-hand accounts of these apparitions, including many of St. Bernadette's own words about them. While the information is certainly portrayed in a very biased manner, it is not beyond giving a large number of perspectives and explaining how care was taken to avoid fraudulent misunderstandings.

The third part of the book was the driest for me, as it described her level of sanctity, the intensity of her physical suffering toward the end of her life, and why she was beatified. I would point out though that although I found it dry, her outlook as a sister is quite impressive and she remained remarkably humble despite the favors granted to her.

I would recommend anyone interested in learning more about St. Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes. It is very biographical in nature, but it contains many inspirational messages from St. Bernadette's lips and those who knew her well. I got a lot out of the story and I pray that I can somehow find the courage to become as holy as she was.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

St Bernadette of Lourdes, France, lived the simplest of lives.

St Bernadette of Lourdes, France, lived the simplest of lives. This book offers a thoroughly researched life story, complete with related biographies and 19th century accounts. The subject is not romanticized beyond belief. It is worth a read before a trip to visit Lourdes and see the grotto where the young innocent lived and encountered the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice biography on the life of Saint Bernadette. This book covers her entire life, and includes numerous first hand accounts regarding her personality, traits and temperament, as well as her faith. I was never bored reading this, though I did sometimes get lost among names or places. Fortunately, there was a map included, as well as many pictures of people and places referred to.

[Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saint Bernadette Soubirous by Monsignor Trochu is a very detailed biography of the French saint. Written in the somewhat strict, pedantic style of its time, based on primary sources (unpublished interveiws, letters, and other records) it chronicles what the Catholic church and many faithful adherents to it believe--that Bernadette was privileged to share in an intimate communion with one named The Immaculate Conception, Mary, the mother of Jesus. It contains photographs of Bernadette, her family, the grotto, the convent where she lived, and the triple churches at Lourdes. It is the documentary of an extraordinary life, exalted far beyond what her humble origins predicted. Interesting and compelling, it also shows a snapshot of a time of tremendous global change.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so surprised with how informative this book was. I never would have guessed someone could go into so much detail about this poor, hidden Saint. I thought for certain my favorite part would be Section II about the Appirations, but it was rather Section I (early life) and Section III, the convent. There are so many instances where she would say small comments that would make me laugh. I thoroughly enjoyed the commentary on her journal as well. If you want to learn EVERYTHING about her, this is for you.

[Jennifer Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. This book is a translation from the original French language so at times the nature of the book gets lost in translation. Some of it is kind of monotonous, it's sloggy in the middle. The best part is the last half when Bernadette entered into the convent and the account of her life there. You really begin to understand the merit that suffering produces in its victims. Her suffering is absolutely heroic. Be patient with this book. It's absolutely worth reading.

[John C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authentic and Instructive to Those Who Wants Salvation

For those who thirst beyond the fountain of the Lourdes Apparitions. This is a deep dive into the heart of Bernadette. It is a detailed account on how a simple peasant girl continued to meticulously cultivate a humble soul even after Heaven privileged her with 18 visits from Its most Holy Saint.

[Siobhain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fabulous history of the apparitions at Lourdes and biography of St. Bernadette. This is my second saint biography by Francois Trochu. His books are thorough without being boring and inspiring without being saccharine. I highly recommend this book to lovers of Our Lady and of St. Bernadette.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring. Detailed. If you are a fan of reading biographies of saints, you will probably love this one. I found it fascinating and hard to put down. It took me a bit to start and then I finished most of it like I was in a race. My feelings about this saint after reading this book are overwhelming.

[medina family · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book about a beautiful soul

My husband and I were on pilgrimage to Lourdes this year of 2024. I feel liked we missed a lot in the short time we were there. Reading this book, I want to go back again and again. Our Blessed Mother picked the most perfect of her children.

[unknown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book

I gave a five star rating because not only is it an interesting story, but it is so factual. The personal writings were touching and real. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone young or old. Loved it!💕

[MaryAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read

I was enthralled and could rarely put it down! Inspiring to say the least! What a truly beautiful person! I'm glad I was able to read more about her life!

[Gary Sites · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good biography of a fascinating young woman. The many photos were an excellent addition.

[Jeanne Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I want to plan a bucket list trip to Lourdes.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a remarkable saint!

[William H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the finest biography of Bernadette of Lourdes that I have read. I visited Lourdes in July, 2011, and it was an awe inspiring experience.

I was very pleased that Abbe Trochu made it clear that Bernadette's identification of the beautiful lady she was seeing as the Immaculate Conception was probably the greatest miracle of Lourdes. If Bernadette had lied about seeing the Virgin Mary, she would have used terms that she was familiar with, like the Blessed Mother or the Virgin Mary. But to use a heavy duty theological expression, the Immaculate Conception, of which she knew nothing and could not possibly have made up herself, proves that Bernadette could only have gotten these words from the Virgin Mary herself.

I was shocked to find out how a couple of the haughty nuns at Nevers
who were of a higher social class than Bernadette, daughters of a
lawyer and a general, treated Bernadette and were jealous and envious of her. Bernadette deserved better treatment than she got at that convent as far as I am concerned.

I do think the younger sisters treated her very well and that they all treated her well when she was obviously dying of bone cancer.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the best biographies I've ever read, and although it is very well written, captivating, and well formatted, I think that the subject, St. Bernadette, may be the reason why it was so good. I will need to reflect more to decide whether or not to change the rating to five stars, but this book is certainly one of my favorites.
I am still humbled by who and what she was, how she lived her life, and if I can find someway to share one of her traits or strengths, then I will certainly improve who I am. This book has changed the way I view what the right way is to think and act.
The author does a great job of capturing other people's impressions, Bernadette's thoughts, in both a historical and contemporary view. He also mixes in the appropriate amount of light-hearted events and comments that prevent the book from becoming too serious or overwhelming.

[Edward Donato · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Inspirational Work

This is a deeply researched work, which provides all the possible detail that one could want about Saint Bernadette and her experience at Lourdes. The author's portrait of Bernadette as a humble, poor, relatively uneducated woman, yet one chosen by God to engage the Virgin Mary, should be a lesson for those people whose life's purpose is the pursuit of wealth, status, and power. "For what doth it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but ........

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. Couldn't recommend more highly to those who like Catholic spiritual reading, and especially hagiography. Trochu writes far more than "just a biography" - this book expands the soul.

[Jacqueline Roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

difficult to read and the author was very biased.

[Jae Roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult read. The author is definitly biased in his subject matter.