BernadetteApparitions4

With no sign of awkwardness or self-consciousness, the child took the Rosary from her pocket and crossed herself in her usual profound manner; Monsieur later commented that if the sign of the Cross is made in Heaven, it must be as Bernadette made it that morning. All the while she was praying she kept on looking up into the niche, like one who was waiting. Suddenly, her whole appearance was once more transformed and she began to smile. Estrade said she "was no longer Bernadette; she was one of those priviledged beings, the face all glorious with the glory of Heaven, whom the Apostle of the great visions has shown us in ecstasy before the throne of the Lamb".

All doubt removed, the men present removed their hats and fell to their knees. They were in no doubt that the child did indeed see a heavenly Lady in the hollow of the rock. Now the child appeared to be listening; she seemed grave and serious and would occasionally bow low. At other moments she seemed to be asking questions. She appeared transfused with joy whenever the Lady answered her. At points, the conversation was interrupted and the Rosary would continue, with the young child never for a moment taking her eyes off the beautiful sight she beheld. The vision lasted for an hour. At its conclusion, Bernadette moved on her knees toward the rose bush and there she kissed the earth. The radiance of her face slowly faded, before she rose and left in the company of her mother.

Afterward, Bernadette was asked what the Lady had said on this occasion. She replied that the Lady had entrusted her with three secrets, but that these concerned no-one but herself. She also said that she was allowed to reveal these three secrets to no-one, not even her confessor; for many years afterward, people (including priests and bishops) tried their best to make the seer give up her secrets. But Bernadette carried them with her to the grave.

By now the newspapers were taking notice of the events at the Grotto. The local paper, the Lavedan, took a particular interest; unfortunately, its reports were neither accurate nor favourable. It promised to keep its readers informed of the "craze" concerning the "cataleptic" girl who had claimed to see "the Mother of the Angels". Events at the Grotto were about to take a new turn. Until this point, the visions had appeared to be more or less personal in nature; the prayer taught by the Lady and the three secrets She had revealed all concerned Bernadette alone. Now, however, the universal nature of the Apparitions was about to become apparent. There were "four hundred to five hundred" people at the Grotto that day, as reported to the Lieutenant of Police by Constable Callet of the local gendarmarie.

Immediately upon her arrival, Bernadette commenced her Rosary as she always did. Before a decade had been completed, the ecstasy began; the child leaned forward and her face was lit with a heavenly smile and once more she began to reflect the grace of She whom she beheld. She smiled and - without lowering her eyes - made a number of graceful bows.

After several minutes, the ecstasy was interrupted; Bernadette turned to face the crowd and, referring to the long trailing rose bush, asked, "Who has touched the briar?". The bush had been shaken by a young girl who was trying to get as close as possible to the visionary. The Lady had moved from the niche high in the rock, but had not disappeared; She had descended into the larger hollow at the base of the Grotto. Bernadette heard herself called and the ecstasy resumed, the child kneeling at the opening of the larger vault, within which the Vision was standing.

Again Bernadette listened to the words of the beautiful Lady. The child's face appeared sad and her arms fell to her side. There were tears upon her cheeks. She turned once more to face the crowd and three times she repeated, "Penitence...penitence...penitence!". This was heard distinctly by those standing close to her, who quickly spread the words they had heard. Bernadette had given her first public message. The seer returned once more to her former place and the vision continued, while the entire crowd remained silent - struck by the sincerity on the face of the child.
One person, however, had not lost the power of speech; the Lourdes quarter-master pushed his way toward the girl, and when he had reached her he asked - "What are you doing, you little actress?". Bernadette was not even aware of his presence, much less intimidated by it. His only response was his own - "And to think that such follies can take place in the nineteenth century!".

The events of this day caused the on-lookers to re-assess what they believed about Bernadette and her visions. At the time, what was happening was unclear - only later did the true nature of that day's apparition become clearer. Afterward, the day would never be forgotten. The narration of the scene is given by Mademoiselle Elfrida Lacrampe, whose parents owned the Hotel des Pyrenees at that time, and who had the joy of being present as the marvellous events occurred. This morning, the vision began even before dawn.

"It was not yet light; we had a lantern to light us. Bernadette did not keep us waiting long", she recounts. Bernadette approached in the company of her aunt, walking rapidly toward her destination; as she came nearer, she called to the crowd, "Let me pass, let me pass!".

Mademoiselle Lacrampe continues -

"At this moment, when nearly all the sightseers had arrived, there were, I think, about four hundred people in front of the Grotto and under the rocks near the Gave. Approaching her place, Bernadette raised her dress a little so as not to muddy it, then knelt down. I was standing on the right, up against the rock, almost beneath the niche where the Apparition used to come.

"The child had not recited a decade of her beads when all of a sudden she set off on her knees and began to clamber in this way up the slope that led to the interior of the Grotto. She passed in front of me, a short distance away. On reaching the entrance to the vault, she gently - and without pausing - pushed aside the branches that hung down from the rock. From there she went on towards the back of the Grotto. The crowd was pressing close behind her.

"When she reached the back of the Grotto, Bernadette turned about and came back, still on her knees, down the same slope. I witnessed there a tour de force and I ought to have marvelled more at the ease and dignity of this child's movements in such a posture and on deeply sloping ground that was very uneven and strewn with stones which jutted out sharply here and there. At the time I saw nothing in Bernadettes movements, apart from the tour de force, but a ridiculous wriggle, for it seemed to me purposeless."

Mademoiselle Lacrampe lost sight of the child at this moment, being surrounded by the pressing crowd. But Aunt Bernarde was more fortunate,

"Everyone was astonished. Finding nothing, the child turned off towards the river" she stated.