The physical pains were accompanied by those of the soul. She had to endure the onslaught of a sea of temptations a thousand times; Sometimes she was assailed by doubts about whether God had abandoned her or if she would finally even be saved from it. Nevertheless, Bernadette persevered, directing all her efforts to cling to the Mother of God, and let herself be guided by Her.
“Penance, penance and penance”
On April 16, 1879, during Holy Week, Bernadette asked her religious sisters to pray the Rosary together. During her prayer the saint gave her last breath, adorned by her serene smile, the kind she always gave when she was in the presence of Mary. According to the testimony of those who accompanied her at the time of her transit, the saint managed to say: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, poor sinner… sinner.” Those were her last words.
Today, his body remains incorrupt in the chapel dedicated to him in Nevers (France), the city where he died.