Our Blessed Mother appeared to St. Catherine Labouré in 1830 and told her to have the Miraculous Medal made. During the next 46 years, St. Catherine was aware of the countless miracles God was working through the Medal, yet she chose to remain anonymous.
After his much-publicized conversion to Catholicism—which was sparked by the Miraculous Medal—Alphonse Ratisbonne asked if he could meet the Sister who had seen our Blessed Mother. Nobody knew which sister it was. That was the way St. Catherine preferred it. She wanted nothing more than to humbly perform her daily duties and devote herself to the care of the sick and elderly (due to the great care she gave them, she is called the patroness of seniors).
Right before her death, St. Catherine told her superior that she was the Sister of the Miraculous Medal; up until that point, the only person she spoke to about the apparitions was her confessor. On December 31, 1876, St. Catherine left this earth for heaven, and after her passing, her superior broke the silence about the Sister who had seen and touched the Blessed Virgin Mary.
