A Return To Lourdes: A Conversation With Catherine Bennett
We talked with Catherine Bennett, owner of Tresor Bleu, a vintage medal boutique that honors history, faith and our common journeys. Catherine says she loves how many of these medals have had their own journeys around the world, with years of prayer, years of wear. Most of the medals were originally acquired through Catholic pilgrimages. Catholic pilgrimages in France date back to the Middle Ages, but peaked in the late 19th to mid 20th Century, after the Apparitions at Lourdes (1858) through after World War II. Catherine says that while people still travel and take pilgrimages to these places, modern consumerism has broken the magic of having a memento so special it could only be from one place, one time, with one blessing. These items are special. Not only to the eventual recipient, but to all who wore them before. If only they could talk!
And actually, recently, one of them kind of did…enjoy this sweet story provided by Catherine:
We talk a lot about the stories of our medals and their journeys through time: if our medals could only talk. One of our 1908 vintage Lourdes medals has had a particularly interesting journey this year that will continue through 2019 and beyond.
The medal was originally blessed and given as a pilgrimage medal to one of the tens of thousands of visitors to Lourdes in 1908, the 50th Anniversary celebration of the miraculous Apparition and the waters that appeared. Trésor Bleu then found the medal in the Netherlands, likely owned by a Dutch or Flemish pilgrim. It's a timeless, rare piece made of 825 French silver with a classic image of Bernadette and Mary in the Grotto on one side, and the reverse stamped in relief the actual words spoken to Bernadette by Mary, in French.
Recently TrésorBleu received an order from, of all places, Lourdes, France. Clearly this 110 year old medal was destined to return home. Shortly after the medal's arrival to Lourdes, the customer reached out to us with photos, telling us it was being gifted to the lead in a brand new musical production, Bernadette de Lourdes by people involved with the production as a celebration of the debut of the song "Why Me?" or "Pourquoi Moi?"
Eyma Schären, a 16-year old French native, has been blessed with the necklace, but also has been blessed with the voice of an angel. She will play Bernadette Soubirous. Eyma wore the medal at the live debut of the single "Pourquoi Moi," or "Why Me?" which has now been released in 6 languages including English. You can listen to the English version HERE, and the French version HERE. The visions at Lourdes in 1858 forever changed the girl and the lives of millions who have made pilgrimages to Lourdes for healing, hope, and forgiveness. Trésor Bleu is honored to play a small part in the pilgrimage of this medal and of this story.
To check out Catherine’s shop, visit tresorbleu.com.
This is a sponsored post.