Bernadette Soubirous is the saint of Lourdes, France. Visionary and messenger of the Immaculate Conception, she told us the same words of the Virgin Mary, spoken in the native Basque language of Southern France and Northern Spain. He spoke words teaching the merits of prayer, penance, poverty and the church. In the first and most widely recognized Marian apparition of modern times, Bernadette was also given a personal message: she would not find happiness in this world, but only in the next. He died twenty-one years later, in 1879, after a prolonged and painful illness. She remained hidden in a convent about 300 miles from home, a refuge from interrogations and pilgrims who never stopped looking for her. At thirty-five, her strong-willed ways gave way to her frail body and she finally entered eternal happiness. While she carried with her the knowledge of some secrets that the Virgin had given her, one secret remained hidden from us. The most spectacular of all the incorruptibles, Bernadette's miraculously preserved body remained buried in a damp grave for thirty years, until the cause for beatification was undertaken. Even today, Bernadette's body is a profound source of inspiration and mystery surrounding the ways of the Lord. Bernadette's face is surreally beautiful, and will always remain for us the face that looked into the eyes of the Mother of God. After thirty years undisturbed in the tomb, Sister Marie Bernard's body was exhumed for examination. The cause of sainthood had begun. When the stone was lifted from the vault, the coffin was immediately visible. It was taken to the specially prepared room and placed on two trestles covered with a cloth. On one side was a table covered with a white tablecloth. Bernadette's remains were to be placed on this table. The wooden coffin was unscrewed and the lead one was dissected to reveal the body in a perfect state of preservation. There wasn't the slightest trace of an unpleasant odor. The nuns who had buried her thirty years earlier only noticed that her hands had fallen slightly to the left. The words of the surgeon and the doctor under oath speak for themselves: "The coffin was opened in the presence of the bishop of Nevers, the mayor of the city, his principal deputy, some canons and ourselves. We did not notice any odor.