[Illustration: _SISTER CATHERINE LABOURÉ, The Daughter of Charity, favored with the Vision of the Miraculous Medal in 1830. Died December 31, 1876._] THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL ITS _Origin, History, Circulation, Results_. BY M. ALADEL, C.M. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH, BY P.S., Graduate of St. Joseph's, Emmitsburg, Md. ILLUSTRATED. PHILADELPHIA: H.L. KILNER & CO., PUBLISHERS. COPYRIGHT, 1880, BY JOHN B. PIET. DEDICATION. TO THE MOST COMPASSIONATE VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF GOD, CONCEIVED WITHOUT SIN. _Oh Mary, conceived without sin, Virgin incomparable, august Mother of Jesus, thou who hast adopted us for thy children, and who hast given us so many proofs of thy maternal tenderness, deign to accept this little book, feeble token of our gratitude and love!_ _Oh! may it be instrumental in attracting and attaching inviolably to thee, the hearts of all who read it!_ _O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!_ _AUTHOR'S DECLARATION._ In conformity with the decree of Pope Urban VIII, we declare that the terms miracle, revelation, apparition and other expressions of a similar nature here employed, have, in our intention, no other than a purely historical value, and that we submit unreservedly the entire contents of this book to the judgment of the Apostolic See. PREFACE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLISHER. Since the hour when the Beloved Disciple took the Blessed Virgin to his own, the followers of her Divine Son have always cherished a reverential affection for her above all other creatures. They have regarded her as the ideal of all that is true and pure and sweet and noble in the Christian life, and they have honored her as the most favored of mortals, the greatest of saints, the masterpiece of the Almighty. The peculiar veneration paid to her by the Apostles, was caught up by the first Christians, who regarded her with awe because of her great dignity; and when she died, her memory was held in benediction. But death could not sever her from those who, in the person of St. John, had been given to her for her children. She still lived for the Church. From the time when the faithful took refuge in the Catacombs to the fifth century, when the Council of Ephesus solemnly sanctioned the homage paid to her as the Mother of God, her intercession was often invoked; and from that day, devotion towards her has increased until our own age, when the nations of the earth unite to proclaim her Blessed.