Bernadette Soubirous is the saint of Lourdes, France. Visionary and messenger of the Immaculate Conception, she told us the very words of the Virgin Mary, spoken in the native Basque language of southern France and northern Spain. She spoke words teaching the merits of prayer, penance, poverty and the Church. In the first and most widely recognized Marian apparition in modern times, a personal message was also sent to Bernadette: she would not find happiness in this world, but only in the next. She was to die 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 searching for her. At thirty-five, her strong-willed ways gave way to her fragile body and she finally entered her eternal happiness. While she carried with her the knowledge of certain secrets that the Virgin had entrusted to her, one secret remained hidden from us. The most spectacular of all the incorruptibles, Bernadette's miraculously preserved body lay buried in a damp tomb for thirty years until the cause for beatification was raised. Even today, Bernadette's body is a deep source of inspiration and mystery surrounding the ways of the Lord. Bernadette's face has a surreal beauty 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, the body of Sister Marie Bernard was exhumed for examination. The cause of holiness had begun. When the stone was removed from the vault, the coffin was immediately seen. It was transported to the room prepared for this purpose and placed on two trestles covered with a cloth. On one side was a table covered with a white cloth. Bernadette's remains were to be placed on this table. The wooden coffin was unscrewed and the lead coffin opened to reveal the body in a perfectly preserved state. There was not the slightest trace of unpleasant odor. The Sisters 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, sworn in, speak for themselves: “The coffin was opened in the presence of Mgr de Nevers, the mayor of the city, his principal deputy, several canons and ourselves . We noticed no odor.