Seventeen
Mediatrix of
Graces: Rue du Bac France
To call Mary Mediatrix of Graces is to contemplate the
extraordinary motherhood given to her by God. Mary's motherhood began with Jesus,
and continued at the Cross when Christ entrusted her to the beloved disciple,
and Saint John to her.
The Church also has seen in this
moment, the expansion of Mary's motherhood towards all members of Christ's
Mystical Body, the Church. A mother cares for her children. Mother Mary
therefore intercedes for the Church and prays for humankind. She accompanies the Church, and points the faithful
towards Christ.
The understanding of Mother Mary as Mother of Graces was
affirmed during one of her apparitions to Saint Catherine Labouré, at the Rue
du Bac Convent in Paris. The apparitions at Rue du Bac underwent an official
canonical investigation by the Catholic Church, and were subsequently
recognised as authentic. In 1836, Archbishop Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen of Paris
formally approved the apparitions. 51
It was in this setting that the apparition in which Mother Mary revealed her role as Mediatrix of graces took place. The apparition provided visual expression of Mother Mary's maternal mediation of grace.
During the night of 18 July 1830, Saint
Catherine was awakened by a mysterious child, who led her to the Rue du Bac
chapel. It is thought that the child was Catherine’s guardian angel. In the
chapel, Catherine stopped near the priest director’s chair in the sanctuary.
She heard a sound resembling the rustle of a silk dress, which marked the
beginning of the encounter with Mother Mary. On that occasion Mother Mary pointed
to the altar where the tabernacle was, and said, “Come to the foot of this
altar. Here, graces will be given to all who ask for them with confidence and
fervour.” 52 Mother Mary thus directed
Catherine and all humankind to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, in order to
receive graces.
On November 27, 1830, Mother Mary
appeared again to Saint Catherine, in the chapel. This time, it was at 5:30 pm,
during meditation. First, Catherine saw something like two living paintings,
one fading into the other, in which Mother Mary stood on a half-globe, her feet
crushing the head of a serpent. In the first image, Mary held a small golden
globe topped with a cross, which she lifted up toward heaven. Catherine then
heard, “This globe represents the entire world and every person.”
In the second image, beautiful rays
of light streamed from the Blessed Virgin’s open hands, which were covered with
jewelled rings. At that same moment, Saint Catherine heard a voice say, “These rays are a symbol of the
graces that I pour out on those who ask them of me.”
Finally, the image turned, and
Catherine saw the reverse side of the medal: the letter “M” surmounted with a
little cross; two hearts below the cross, one crowned with thorns and the other
pierced with a sword; and twelve stars bordering the medal.
In the month of December 1830, during
meditation, Saint Catherine again heard the rustling sound; this time behind
the altar. The same image of the medal appeared near the tabernacle, slightly
behind it. “These rays are
the symbol of the graces that the Blessed Virgin obtains for those who ask them
of her…You will not see me anymore.”
Saint Catherine communicated the
requests of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Father Aladel (her confessor).
Ecclesiastical authority having been obtained, Father Aladel took steps to have
the medal struck.
The first batch of 2,000 medals was
received at the end of June, 1832. Initially, since the Virgin Mary had
promised many graces to those who wear it, the medal was called “The Medal of Our Lady of Grace.”
In February 1832, a cholera epidemic
had broken out in Paris which would cause more than 20,000 deaths. After the
first medals were struck that June, the Daughters of Charity congregation began
to distribute the first 2,000 medals which had been produced.
Cures accumulated, as did protection
from the disease as well as conversions. The people of Paris soon began
referring to the medal as “The Miraculous Medal” rather than “The Medal of Our
Lady of Grace.”
By autumn of 1834, there were already
500,000 medals in existence. In 1835, there were more than one million
worldwide. By 1839, more than 10 million medals had been distributed. In 1876, the
year that Saint Catherine fell asleep in the Lord, it is estimated that over
one billion medals had been distributed. 53
The symbolism of the apparitions at
Rue du Bac is important for understanding traditional Catholic presentation of
Mary as Mediatrix of grace.
Mother Mary is not portrayed as an independent source of Divine Grace, but as
loving Mother who, according to God's providential design, intercedes for and
obtains graces won for humankind through Christ.
The promise of grace at Rue du Bac
was first associated with prayer at the altar, while the November apparition
developed the imagery of Mother Mary's extended hands and rays flowing from
jewels on her fingers. The apparition at Rue du Bac offered a profound visual
expression of Mary’s maternal role in the life of grace.
Through the rays flowing from the
gems on her hands, Mother Mary was presented as loving intercessor through whom
the faithful are invited to seek the graces that come from God. In this sense,
the apparition reinforced the traditional title “Mother of Grace,” while affirming that every
grace ultimately has its source in Christ.
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51. The Miracle Hunter. Rue du Bac, France (1830). Accessed 8 August 2026
https://miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/ruedubac/index.html
https://ourcatholicfaith.org/apparition-17.html
52. International Association of the Miraculous Medal. History of the Apparitions. Accessed 7 September 2026 https://amminter.org/en/history-of-the-apparitions/
53. International Association of the Miraculous Medal. Ibid
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