stated that on 19 July 1830, the eve of the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, she woke up after hearing the voice of a child calling her to the chapel, where she heard the Virgin Mary say to her, "God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world." On 27 November 1830 Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother returned during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe. She wore many rings set with gems that shone rays of light over the globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words Ô Marie, conçue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous. As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns and Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. Asked why some of the gems did not shed light, Mary reportedly replied, "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask." Sister Catherine then heard the Virgin Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions, and saying "All who wear them will receive great graces." . Sister Catherine did so, and after two years of investigation and observation of Catherine's ordinary daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine's identity. The request was approved and medallions were designed and produced through goldsmith Adrien Vachette. The chapel in which Saint Catherine experienced her visions is located at the mother house of the Daughters of Charity in Rue du Bac, Paris. The incorrupt bodies of Saint Catherine Labouré and Saint Louise de Marillac, a co-founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, are interred in the chapel, which continues to receive daily visits from Catholic pilgrims today. Pope John Paul II used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, the Marian Cross, a plain cross with an M underneath the right-hand bar.
Properties of the medal
Front side:
Mary stands on a globe, crushing a serpent beneath her feet. Describing the original vision, Catherine said the Blessed Mother appeared radiant as a sunrise, "in all her perfect beauty."
Rays shoot out from Mary's hands, which she told Catherine, "symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them."
Words from the vision form an oval frame around Mary: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."
Reverse side:
A cross-and-bar surmounts a large, bold "M".
Twelve stars disperse around the perimeter.
Two hearts are depicted underneath the "M", the left lapped with a crown of thorns, the right skewed by a sword. From each, a flame emanates from the top.
Symbolism
The elements of the design encapsulate major Marian tenets and of the Catholic faith. Front side:
Mother – Her open arms, the "recourse" we have in her.
Immaculate – The words, "conceived without sin."
Assumed into Heaven – She stands on the globe.
Mediatrix – Rays from her hands symbolizing "graces."
Our Protection – Crushes the serpent.
Reverse side:
The large letter "M" – Mary as Mother, Mediatrix.
Cross and bar – Jesus' Cross of Redemption. Interleaving of the M and the cross shows Mary’s close involvement with Jesus, which also implied her role as mediatrix
12 stars – 12 Apostles; also recall the vision of Saint John as experienced in Book of Revelation 12:1: "And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars"
