Perryville, Missouri, is the home of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and the Association of the Miraculous Medal. Our mission is to bring the world to Jesus through devotion to our Blessed Mother and her Miraculous Medal.
In honor of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, we invite you to send your petitions today to her national shrine for remembrance in our annual Miraculous Medal Novena of Masses, November 18-26, and during the feast day Mass of the Miraculous Medal on November 27. Please request your 2021 Miraculous Medal 15-month Planner so you can keep track of the many special Marian feast days as well as those days which are important to you.
I also invite you to burn a Votive Light for your intentions. Your candle will remain lit here at our Lady’s national shrine as a symbol of your prayers. Please indicate your desire to burn a Votive Light on the enclosed reply form.
If you would like to ask for our Blessed Mother’s holy intercession, we can help by placing your petitions near the altar of our Lady’s national shrine. We will pray for your special needs. Mary does not want any of her children to despair or feel hopeless. She is waiting to hear your prayers and has promised to present your needs to her Son if only you trust in her loving care.
The story of our Lady’s gift to the world is miraculous! Mary appeared to Sister Catherine Labouré in Paris, France, on November 27, 1830. Sister Catherine, who was a novice with the Daughters of Charity, was praying with the other sisters in the chapel when she heard the rustling of a garment. As she looked toward the sound, Catherine saw Mary standing on a globe, holding a golden ball that she seemed to be offering to God. Rays of light streamed from Mary’s ringed fingers as the ball disappeared and Mary’s hands swept to her sides.
Mary asked Catherine to have a medal made in the likeness of the vision she had just presented, and the young sister immediately accepted the mission. Catherine endured many trials before the first medal was struck, but the first order for 20,000 medals was quickly distributed. Soon, all the engravers in Paris were making the medals and could not keep up with the demand. In fact, so many miracles happened for those wearing Mary’s medal that people began calling it the Miraculous Medal. By 1840, only ten years later, tens of millions of medals had been distributed around the world, and today, the Association of the Miraculous Medal based here in Perryville, Missouri, continues this mission from our Lady.
In the years since her apparition to Saint Catherine Labouré, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal has touched the lives of hundreds of millions who have worn her medal and trusted in her intercession. The testimony below is one of many similar notes we receive every year here at our Lady’s shrine.
Dear Father,
I received my Miraculous Medal from the Association in November of last year. I put the medal on even though I didn’t know much about its history. I am a convert to the Catholic faith. At that time, my husband had just undergone two heart surgeries after which he suffered a small stroke. He was in bad shape, but received great care at an acute rehab facility and then at a nursing home. My husband has fully recovered. The doctors said that he is a ‘miracle,’ but I know it was through our Blessed Mother’s intercession and God’s grace that he survived. During this ordeal, I wore my Miraculous Medal every day and asked our Blessed Mother to intercede on my husband’s behalf. I will continue to wear my medal every day. Thank you for sending it to me.
When Sister Catherine saw the vision of Mary with brilliant rays streaming from the rings on her fingers, she noticed that rays did not flow from some rings. Mary told Catherine, "These gems from which rays do not fall represent graces for which people forget to ask."
To help you remember to ask our Lady for God’s graces, use your 2021 Miraculous Medal 15-Month Planner. As I stated earlier, it lists Marian feast days. It also includes spiritual benefits for members of the Association and gives the dates of feasts, novenas, and octaves here at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. It will remind you, as you write your own scheduled dates and events, that Mary brings Jesus to you every day of your life.
I thank you for your support of our Lady’s Association, and look forward to remembering your special intentions during this year’s Miraculous Medal Novena of Masses. May our Lady obtain for you and your loved ones the eternal grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Sincerely yours in Mary,
Fr. Kevin McCracken, C.M.
Spiritual Director