[CHURCH BELL RINGING]
Soubirous.
Soubirous.
- If you go early, maybe you'll find work.
- Hmm.
SOUBIROUS:
Bonjour, Monsieur Maisongrosse.
MAISONGROSSE:
No work for you today.
How can I hire anybody when
there isn't enough to keep me busy?
People don't go to bakers anymore.
No, they go to pastry cooks,
because it's stylish.
Why don't you try the hospital?
The man doing odd jobs
moved to Tarbes yesterday.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Take that stuff clear out to the dump at
Massabielle and burn every bit of it.
It's full of infection and disease.
Why did Christ found the Church?
Christ founded the Church to teach,
govern, sanctify and save all men.
How long did he live on Earth?
Christ lived on Earth about 33 years
and led a most holy life in poverty.
That is correct, except you've omitted
the last and most important word:
"In poverty and suffering".
Never forget that, my child.
For only through suffering can we hope
to gain the kingdom of God.
What is the Holy Trinity?
I said, what is the Holy Trinity?
Didn't you hear me?
Yes, Sister, I heard you,
but I know nothing about it.
Have you ever heard of it?
Maybe I've heard of it.
You puzzle me, my child.
Are you pert, indifferent or only stupid?
I'm stupid, Sister.
I have a poor head for study.
You're also pert.
You're a grown girl, Bernadette,
the oldest in the class.
Ignorance of the Holy Trinity
is inexcusable.
Go to the foot of the class.
What is it, Marie?
I just wanted to say that
my sister Bernadette was sick...
...the day the class learned
about the Holy Trinity.
She misses school a lot.
- She's always ailing.
- What ails her?
They call it "atma" or some such name.
You're trying to say "asthma"?
Yes, Sister.
That's what Dr. Dozous calls it.
She can't breathe.
Sometimes she sounds just like this:
[GIRLS GIGGLING]
[STICK BANGING]
SISTER: Laughter wastes valuable time.
Return to your studies.
Toinette, perhaps you can tell Bernadette
what the Holy Trinity is.
The Holy Trinity is one God
in three divine persons.
God the Father, God the Son
and God the Holy Ghost.
PEYRAMALE:
Sister Marie Therese, bonjour.
SISTER:
Bonjour, Father Peyramale.
Bonjour, children.
GIRLS:
Bonjour, Your Reverence.
PEYRAMALE:
I was passing, I thought I'd stop in...
...to see how many you were preparing
for First Communion.
Six. We were just having a review
of our catechism.
Well.
You all know your catechism?
Yes, Your Reverence.
To learn your catechism
requires great diligence.
I believe such diligence
should be rewarded.
I have some holy pictures.
Would you like one?
Yes, Your Reverence.
Very well.
- Here you are.
- Thank you, Your Reverence.
- As you grow older...
- Thank you.
...you will realize
that in learning your catechism...
...you have given yourselves not only
a foundation of religious teachings...
...but also a doctrine...
- Thank you.
PEYRAMALE: To guide you...
...throughout your lives.
SISTER:
I'm sorry, Father...
...this girl is not deserving.
It is unfair to the others.
They have studied their catechism.
She has not.
Well, that's too bad.
I'm sorry.
This should be an incentive to you, then.
Study hard.
You found work?
Twenty sous.
From the baker?
Where, then?
SOUBIROUS:
Don't ask me.
- You didn't beg?
- Worse.
The stinking filth from the hospital
had to be carted away and burned.
That's the kind of job
they give to Soubirous.
This is where they let him live.
Soubirous the miller,
who made the finest flour in Escoubes...
...lives in a jail
that is too cold and damp for prisoners.
Not good enough
for thieves and murderers...
...but for Soubirous and his family,
sure, let them live here.
Let them freeze in the winter
and roast in the summer.
Let them get sick and die.
Who cares?
BERNADETTE:
Come in, Jeanne.
Maman, Jeanne came along.
She's going to help me
with my studies.
All right, there's always enough
for one more.
- Sit down.
- Oh, please don't.
I'm not a bit hungry.
I'll just watch the others.
Father, Son, Holy Ghost,
he who eats the fastest gets the most.
Justin!
- Where did you learn that?
- You'll go to hell for saying that.
All I said, the one that eats the fastest
gets the most, and it's true.
Now you've said it again.
I've seen pigs with better manners
and cleaner faces.
Get up from the table
and wash yourselves, both of you.
Oh, a mass meeting, eh? How can
anybody sleep with such racket?
- We're sorry, Papa.
- It's cold in here. Fix the fire.
LOUISE:
There's no wood.
So I'm to get the wood too.
I work hard all day long.
All I ask is a little peace and warmth.
What do I get? Cold and chills.
Must I do everything around here?
I'll go hunt for wood, Papa.
- May I go with Marie?
- No, you'll do no such thing.
- You know how easily you catch cold.
- But if I dress warm?
- Please?
BOY: Maman! Maman!
All right, all right.
Only, wrap up good.
Maman! Can I go too?
- No!
- Oh, but please, Maman!
You'll stay and spend the day
asking God for forgiveness...
WOMAN:
Louise!
- Louise!
- What's wrong?
The baby! The convulsions again.
What do I do?
- Help me!
- Be calm, Croisine.
- Go back. I'll be over.
- Please come with me now.
- Can I go with you and look?
- No!
You stay here with your brother.
You can ask for a little forgiveness too.
I want you girls back before dark.
JEANNE:
Come on, Bernadette.
MARIE:
Hurry up!
The last one over the bridge is a goose!
[GIGGLING]
Hola, Bernadette.
BERNADETTE:
Good day, Madame Nicolau.
- Are your parents well?
- Yes, very well, thank you.
And how is your son, Monsieur Antoine?
ANTOINE:
Splendid, thank you...
...and Mademoiselle Bernadette?
I'm well, thank you, monsieur.
Well, I'd better hurry on.
My sister will wonder about me.
May I use your bridge?
- As often as you like, and no toll charge.
- Thank you, monsieur.
ANTOINE: You better let me help you.
That bridge is not so dependable.
Thank you, monsieur.
You're very kind.
Goodbye.
ANTOINE:
Goodbye.
She's growing into a fine young woman,
isn't she?
Marie!
Marie!
Jeanne!
I thought it was the devil himself.
MARIE: You should've seen your face.
JEANNE: Nothing but eyes and mouth.
- You'd be scared too.
- There's the wood.
Come on, follow me.
We'll wade across.
MARIE: That's private property.
- What if it is?
BERNADETTE:
If we take wood, we'll be stealing.
Wood is wood.
Don't be such a fraidy cat.
BERNADETTE: I'm not a fraidy cat.
- Yes, you are too.
Come on, Marie. Let's go.
[SCREAMS]
It's cold!
[SCREAMING]
It's freezing!
Hurry up.
MARIE: Bernadette,
don't you come in that water.
Remember what Maman told you.
- I won't catch cold.
MARIE: Won't you?
You'll get a cough and your asthma
will keep me awake all night long.
Maybe I can jump
across the rocks or something.
MARIE:
Yes, and tumble in.
If you fall in
and get your bottom wet...
...don't ask me to wring you out.
But if I dry my feet real well,
I won't catch cold.
We don't need you anyway.
Come on, Marie, let's go.
Stay there till we get back.
BERNADETTE:
But three can carry more than two can.
JEANNE:
But what if she's not there?
I can't carry this heavy bundle
all the way back into town.
MARIE:
Bernadette! Yoo-hoo!
JEANNE:
You see, I told you she'd sneak off.
MARIE: No, no, she wouldn't do that.
She's here somewhere.
There she is. Bernadette!
Bernadette, come on.
We've got to go home.
JEANNE:
Bernadette, come on, now.
- What are you doing?
- Bernadette!
Maybe she's dead. Holy Mother,
maybe her asthma's killed her.
Nonsense.
If she were dead, she'd be lying flat.
A dead person doesn't kneel.
Why doesn't she speak?
She's trying to be funny.
I'll show her.
Bernadette!
What's the matter?
What's the matter?
That's what we're asking you!
I thought your asthma had killed you.
JEANNE:
Don't just stand there.
Come on, you know we've got
to get home before dark.
I'm coming.
MARIE: We're not gonna wade through
that cold water again.
You go down that side of the river,
and we'll meet you at the bridge.
What cheats you two are.
This water is as warm as dishwater.
- Bernadette!
- You've got bats in your belfry.
That water's freezing.
Well, it isn't now.
Look, my toes are not even white.
What were you doing over there
kneeling in the rocks?
Didn't you see anyone?
Who?
Was somebody with you in that cave?
Somebody was,
and you were praying for forgiveness.
Jeanne!
Come on, tell us who it was.
Well, if I tell you,
you must swear not to give me away.
If Maman should hear of it,
she might take a stick to me.
I swear.
I give you my word, but I won't swear.
Swearing is a mortal sin.
You don't want me to sin like that
just before my First Communion, do you?
Come on, tell us.
Well, I saw a lady.
- And she was all in white.
JEANNE: A lady?
And she wore a blue girdle
and had a golden rose on each foot.
I've never seen anything in my life
so beautiful.
Oh, piff!
What would a beautiful lady be doing
in a filthy place like that?
I don't know, but she was there.
Truly she was.
Come on, let's get away from here.
You take that bundle.
No, I'll take this one.
It's bigger, and you must be tired.
The girls are not home yet?
No.
Madame Millet's coachman was here.
Said there wouldn't be
any more washing for you to do.
Where, then, is the food
going to come from?
Don't ask me. I've been laying here
worrying about that all afternoon.
Bernadette, where have you been?
I've been worried to death.
But we got wood, Maman.
Three bundles. Enough for days.
There are other things to be done
besides that.
Sweeping, cleaning, water to be fetched.
- I'll fetch the water.
LOUISE: I'm at the end of my rope.
Bernadette.
Bernadette!
- Don't run!
- See you at school tomorrow.
Maman, please take this.
She has no business running like that.
MARIE:
She ran all the way home.
We couldn't even catch up to her.
She'll be coughing all night.
Bernadette's all excited...
...because she says she saw a lady
at Massabielle...
...all dressed in white,
with golden roses on her feet.
- What on earth are you talking about?
- That's what she told us.
Golden roses on her feet!
She said this lady was standing
on a rock and smiled at her.
She had a rosary of pearls
and a golden crucifix...
BERNADETTE:
Marie!
You told on me,
and you said you wouldn't.
Maman asked me.
- What's this foolishness Marie tells me?
- It's true, Maman.
In the cave at Massabielle,
I saw a most beautiful lady.
A lady? What lady?
I don't know.
Suddenly, she was there,
and then, suddenly, she disappeared.
- Nonsense.
- Oh, no, Maman, she was there.
Her face was so beautiful.
Just to look at her made me feel...
Soubirous!
You hear what she says?
SOUBIROUS: I heard,
and I know why she says it too.
She's showing off.
Makes up a story to feel important.
It always starts the same way,
with fairy tales.
Golden roses on her feet. Indeed!
No, Papa,
I really and truly saw the lady.
Truly, I did.
[KNOCKING]
Come in!
It's for you, dear friend,
for saving my baby today.
Compared to a child's life, it's not much,
but we want you to have it.
Oh, no. No, I can't possibly...
CHARLES: It's the only way we have
of repaying you. Please.
Yes, Louise.
If our friends
are good enough to offer...
...then the least we can do is accept.
But you need the food
as much as we do.
No, my aunt came today
with much more than this.
We are merely sharing
our good fortune with you.
May God bless you both.
Why, this is food enough for days.
BOY: Sausages!
- Just like in the butcher's window.
SOUBIROUS:
What a great omelet the eggs will make.
CHARLES: Ah, Louis!
- Mesdames, monsieur.
SOUBIROUS:
Louis, it's good to see you.
What brings you here,
besides a cold rump?
- You heard about Doutreloux?
- The stableman for Cazenave?
- A horse kicked him, broke his leg.
- The horse broke his leg?
No. Doutreloux broke his leg,
three places.
CROISINE: Mercy, that is bad.
- Mercy, that is good.
Shame on you, Louis!
I mean, it is bad for Doutreloux,
but it's good for your husband.
Cazenave offers you the job.
That's why I'm here.
It pays two francs a day and your lunch.
- Soubirous!
- Two francs a day!
CHARLES:
The lunches are hot.
JUSTIN:
Can I ride on the coach with you?
JEAN:
Me first. I'm older.
Why, you seem surprised.
It was agreed between Cazenave and myself
that I should fill the first vacancy.
But stableman...
Well, I suppose even a miller
can't be too choosy these days.
You may tell Cazenave that I accept.
He knows it. He wants you to be there
at 5:00 in the morning.
Tears, Maman?
Only because I'm so happy.
I'm happy too.
We must celebrate.
- You'll all stay to dinner.
ALL: No.
Nonsense. Dine with us.
- But tonight? I hadn't planned.
- So we change our plan.
We have food, I have a position...
We accepted your eggs.
You must accept our omelet.
I will not hear another word.
Children, help your mother.
A succulent omelet,
with sausages, Maman.
Maman! Maman! Maman!
What is it?
Bernadette...
Speak. Speak!
- She's dead or something.
- What?
She's all white and sick-looking.
Where is she?
They're taking her to Madame Nicolau.
NICOLAU: Oh, please, please,
wait outside. Outside, all of you.
Please leave her at peace.
ANTOINE: It's all right, Maman.
She's opening her eyes.
- Do you feel better now?
- Yes, thank you, madame.
I'll fix you some warm milk.
Thank you very much,
but I don't need anything.
What was the matter? What happened?
The lady was there a long time,
and she spoke to me.
She spoke to you?
What did she say?
She said,
"Will you render me the grace...
...of coming here each day
for 15 days?"
And then she added, " I cannot promise
to make you happy in this world.
Only in the next".
So after church we asked Bernadette
to come with us...
GIRL 1: Well, did you see her?
GIRL 2: No, none of us saw her.
Bernadette said...
Please.
Bernadette!
Are you all right?
Yes, Maman.
There's nothing to worry about.
Nothing to worry about?
Scare me half to death, and you say
there's nothing to worry about.
I left your father's dinner to burn.
I ran through the streets like
a madwoman, and what do I find?
You, sitting there like a...
Like a princess on a throne.
You good-for...!
Don't strike the child.
She's an angel of God.
Angel?
She's the laughingstock of Lourdes.
Come, Maman. Maybe we can get home
before Papa does.
No. I won't budge from this place...
...until you promise me
never again to go to Massabielle.
- Never!
- But, Maman, I can't promise that.
The lady has asked me to return
every day for 15 days.
Promise your mother, Bernadette.
Such excitement's bad for you.
You're sure to be sick from it.
Very well.
I promise you, Maman,
never to go to Massabielle again...
...unless you yourself
give me permission.
And that, I can promise you,
you'll never get.
I'm gonna send you
to your Aunt Bernarde's...
...where you'll forget
this foolishness.
Home with you. And you too.
BERNADETTE: Thank you for
your kindness, Madame Nicolau.
And thank you too, monsieur.
What do you think of it all, Maman?
Things like that bode no good.
As long as I live,
I'll never see anything more beautiful...
...than the face of that girl...
...as she lay there at Massabielle.
One ought not even touch
a being like that.
[SOBBING]
Maman? Maman?
LOUISE: Huh? What is it?
- Bernadette's crying.
What's the matter, my lamb?
Come to Mother. We'll sit by the fire.
Oh, Maman.
The lady was so beautiful.
- Just to think of her makes me feel...
LOUISE: There, there, there.
Girls of your age often see things
that don't exist.
But it passes.
You must just put it out of your mind.
You're a big girl now.
Soon you'll be a woman.
You'll marry a man
and you'll have children...
...just as I did.
Life goes fast...
...my child.
It's hard to believe how fast.
If she stays here, I fear for her health.
She speaks to no one.
She doesn't sleep.
She doesn't eat enough
to keep a bird alive.
Bernarde, could she live with you?
You don't know what it is...
...to have everybody point you out
as the father of "that idiot".
You are also the girl's father.
And you seem to overlook
the fact that you are her mother.
Two people in the world
who should be understanding.
You want to ship her off
like a sack of flour.
- I'm thinking only of...
- Only of yourself.
Bernadette is a simple, honest child.
She hasn't the cunning
to invent anything like this.
She sees this lady. Nobody else does.
Who are you to say that she is wrong
and you are right?
This lady may well be
a heavenly creature.
Heavenly creatures don't appear
in a filthy place like a city dump.
Christ was born in a stable.
This is a wild story Bernadette tells.
But since the lady has asked her to go
to the grotto for 15 days, she must go.
- Oh, I won't allow her to go again.
- You will go with her.
You can't hide your head in the sand...
...as if she were up to
some harmless mischief...
...that doesn't concern you.
This is no joke.
Consider what this means to Bernadette.
- But what'll people say?
- Nothing...
...if you take your place by her side.
All the women of the family
must stand by her.
I'll come.
And when I walk with her,
let anyone dare to laugh.
MAN: " The matter has been put
before the council and approved.
Therefore, fully convinced
that your request is justified...
...I am forwarding your plan,
as well as my recommendation...
CALLET:
Commissioner.
...To the minister of the interior.
Signed, Baron Massey, prefect".
So you see, gentlemen...
...the ceaseless protestations
of your mayor have borne fruit.
The highest authorities are contemplating
bringing the railroad to Lourdes.
MAN 1: Splendid!
MAN 2: Magnificent.
- Commissioner.
- What?
That Soubirous girl. She just went
to Massabielle again. What should I do?
I thought her mother forbade it.
But today her mother went with her.
To think that such a thing could happen
in the middle of the 19th century.
Why, the girl's insane.
Or suffering from hallucinations.
ESTRADE: Your Honor, may I suggest
you act without delay?
But, monsieur, for the mayor
even to acknowledge...
...the existence of such a situation...
...would only give it importance...
...an importance which
the newspapers would not ignore.
It's a matter
for the imperial prosecutor.
No. Unfortunately, the state
has no charges to prefer.
It's up to the police commissioner.
But no one has broken any law.
It's the duty of the district officer.
- Massabielle's in your district, isn't it?
- Yes.
Then take care of it.
Hi.
I ran ahead to tell you
I'm not alone today.
I hope you won't mind.
Maman, Aunt Bernarde and my sister
are with me...
...and some other people followed us.
I'm sorry, but Maman wouldn't let me
come by myself.
I desire that people should come here.
Where is she?
- Is she here?
- Oh, yes.
She's standing there in the niche.
She's greeting you now. See?
Clear out down there, all of you.
Return to your homes immediately.
Did you hear me? I said, clear out.
This is hopeless.
It's more than one policeman can handle.
LACADE:
It's a scandal! It cries to heaven.
Imagine these penny-a-liners having
the audacity to print such a thing.
All France will be laughing at us...
...and Lourdes was going to have
a railroad connection.
I'd even gone so far as to have the plans
drawn up for the depot.
Do you think they'll
be granted to us now?
Never.
Who's going to run a railroad
into a hole...
...where spooks perform their
medieval antics in dirty caverns?
We're dealing with a whole lot more...
...than the mere babbling
of a little swindler or an imbecile.
The entire future of this town
is at stake.
Something must be done
to stop this nonsense, immediately.
- How?
- How?
That's up to you and the prosecutor.
As much as I'd like to put an end
to this stupidity, I'm helpless.
She goes peacefully
to the outskirts of the city.
There she kneels, says her rosary
and goes home again.
Is there anything unlawful in that?
Yes, on the ground that it's
insulting to religious sensibilities.
DUTOUR:
Really?
You can hardly call seeing the
Blessed Virgin in a veritable cesspool...
...complimentary to the Holy Family.
She hasn't claimed to see
the Blessed Virgin.
- The crowd claims that.
- She says she sees a beautiful lady...
...and the visioning
of a beautiful lady...
...can hardly be construed
as a criminal violation.
It better not be,
or else the entire male population...
...would be spending time behind bars.
This is hardly the moment for levity.
Yes, what is it?
Pardon me, sir,
but Dr. Dozous is here to see you.
- Ask the doctor to wait.
DUTOUR: Just a moment.
Dr. Dozous might be very helpful to us.
Let's not overlook the vast possibilities
offered by a diagnosis of insanity.
Yes.
- Ask the doctor to come in.
- Yes, sir.
- Will you please come in, doctor?
DOZOUS: Thank you.
LACADE:
Doctor.
DOZOUS:
Bonjour, Messieurs, bonjour.
Hello, doctor.
I'm sorry to interrupt, gentlemen...
...but I've made several visits
to Massabielle...
...for the purpose of observation.
Today I examined the girl.
You might be interested in my report.
Yes, of course.
Won't you sit down?
Splendid. What did you find?
Well, I arrived at the grotto
simultaneously with the crowd.
Immediately, the Soubirous girl
knelt before a niche in the cliff...
...and made a series of courteous,
graceful, reverential gestures.
Did you see anything in this niche?
- No.
- Did anybody else?
No.
Well, then, didn't the crowd
laugh at her?
No.
There was something about her
that precluded laughter.
Her exaltation was so genuine...
...that the observer
almost had the impression...
...that he saw what the child saw.
Then, as we continued to gaze at her,
her face turned as pale as marble...
...and her skin grew so taut...
...that the structure of the skull
appeared clearly marked at the temples.
Considering the possibility
that this was due to cerebral anemia...
...I took her pulse.
It was practically average.
Also, there was no affection
of the nervous system, as in catalepsy...
...or hysteria.
Even her eye reflexes were normal.
Did she speak to this thing in the niche?
Standing close beside her...
...I heard twice in succession...
...a long, drawn-out:
"Yes".
"Yes"...
Wrung from her very depths.
Evidently, she'd been asked
to convey a message...
...because shortly after,
she turned to the crowd and said:
"Pray for all sinners".
Anyone who talks to something
that isn't there is feeble-minded.
Another medical possibility
which I took into consideration.
Wanting to test her mental abilities,
I put this question to her:
"Do you know what a sinner is?"
Without hesitation,
she answered, " Certainly, monsieur.
A sinner is one who loves evil".
That's quite a good answer.
What pleased me was that
she said "loves" and not "does".
Well, after this...
...any diagnosis of feeble-mindedness
was out of the question.
Then she's a swindler.
There's no justification
for such an assumption.
I must presume that you have joined
the ranks of the believers in this vision.
I am a doctor.
I contribute to the Medical Courier.
I'm a member of several
scientific societies.
I trust that is answer enough.
If I have correctly understood
your report, doctor, it is this:
Science excludes fraud.
It excludes mental disease
and a miraculous occurrence.
I venture, then,
to ask science, what is left?
Yes, what is left?
[KNOCKING]
If the Church stops it,
the people cannot blame us.
Precisely. We can sit back
and sympathize with both sides.
A very wise attitude for any government.
LACADE:
Is the dean at home?
HOUSEKEEPER: Yes. Come in.
- Good morning, gentlemen.
DUTOUR: Good morning, Father.
- Come in.
Take off your coats.
I presume the Soubirous girl
is what brings you here.
Yes.
The Church attributes
no religious significance whatsoever...
...to the so-called visions
of Massabielle.
- Sit down.
- I'm very glad to hear that, Father.
- Then you will talk with this girl and...
- No, it does not concern me.
That is a matter for you city officials.
We had hoped
you would cooperate with us.
That I am doing. Sit down.
I have instructed the cantonal clergy
not to set foot in the grotto...
...and to ignore the whole matter.
But Your Reverence has enormous power
over the people here.
It would be appropriate
to raise your voice.
I have no intention of adding further
importance to this turmoil.
Then you force the state
to invoke the law...
...which prohibits the Church from
opening any new place of worship...
...without the consent
of the minister of worship.
The Church has not opened
any new place of worship.
The Church neither sponsors
nor recognizes...
...these heathen gymnastics
taking place at Massabielle.
Then how can you stand by...
...and see your parishioners
carry on these pagan ceremonies?
I understand that they use
a kitchen table as an altar...
...and there they pray.
Yes, on a spot littered with filth,
they pray to God.
Prayer, gentlemen,
is good no matter where it is offered.
Yes, yes.
Well, shall we be going?
Thank you, Father.
- I wish you a pleasant good morning.
LACADE: Good morning, Father.
Good morning, Father.
That sly old fox.
By agreeing with us,
he's dumped the problem...
...right back in our laps.
Unfortunately, the followers of the girl
are citizens of this community...
...and the thought of offending them
is not pleasant...
...with the election coming.
Then why offend them?
Why not refer the matter
to higher authorities?
A very good suggestion, monsieur.
I'll write to the prefect immediately.
"I consider it purely a local problem,
to be solved by local authorities...
...and I do not wish to be involved
in any way whatsoever.
Settle it without delay.
The method I leave entirely
in the capable hands...
...of you and your associates.
Signed, Baron Massey, prefect".
There he sits, like a general,
safely out of the range of fire...
...and orders a handful of men,
without any weapons...
...to wipe out an impregnable fortress.
Our "capable hands".
They're only capable
when there's a ticklish job to be done.
To think that one stupid girl
could cause all this trouble.
Only because there are millions of others
just as stupid as she is.
What can you expect from a peasantry
fed on religious dogmas...
...and nurtured
on superstitious nonsense?
I firmly believe that this girl
and what she stands for...
...is a menace to civilization.
She is dangerous, I admit, but...
DUTOUR:
She's a religious fanatic...
...and every time religious fanaticism
steps forward, man moves backward...
...and that is why
I will fight this vigorously...
...and I'll resort to any measures
to defeat it.
I don't know much
about higher politics...
...but I do know a lot
about burglars and thieves...
...and scamps of all kinds.
I know how to scare them
and apply pressure.
I promise you that if you give me
five minutes with this girl...
...she'll never go near the grotto again.
Try it, by all means. Try anything.
I was thinking of somewhat
the same procedure...
...however, not quite so crude.
There's something about the title
"imperial prosecutor"...
...that makes people quake.
Without raising my voice,
I'm confident...
You can't handle people like this
with silk gloves and fancy words.
We shall see.
Send for two of your policemen.
Just the one.
MARIE: Bernadette!
- You stay here and wait for Maman.
Don't worry her. Tell her I've gone
to the city hall with these gentlemen.
WOMAN: What are you arresting her for?
- Don't interfere with the law.
- The law! Death for the law!
- Death for you too!
Madame Davan! Madame Davan!
WOMAN:
They're arresting Bernadette.
Madame Probert! Madame Probert!
Look what those pigs are doing!
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Do you know who I am?
Oh, yes, monsieur.
You are the imperial prosecutor.
And that title means...
...that I have been appointed
by His Majesty, the emperor.
He has vested in me the power
to punish anyone...
...who perpetrates a fraud
against this community.
Now do you understand my position?
Oh, yes, you're much the same
as Monsieur Jacomet.
A good deal more.
I am his superior officer.
He hunts down the criminals and
swindlers. I send them to prison.
- Oh.
- Now, bearing in mind my title...
...and realizing the extent
of my authority...
...I ask you never again
to go to Massabielle.
Oh, but I must, monsieur.
The lady has asked me.
Now, there you go again
with this lady.
Bernadette, you'll admit
you are very ignorant...
...the worst pupil in the school.
That is true, monsieur,
I am very stupid.
Then take heed
when intelligent people assure you...
...that this lady is only
a childish bit of imagination...
...an absurd dream.
The first time I saw the lady,
I thought it was a dream too.
DUTOUR: There, now.
Now, that wasn't so stupid.
Once you can mistake a dream
for something real, but not six times.
Isn't it strange that
until your first visit to Massabielle...
...your family was destitute?
Now your mother is employed
by a wealthy family...
...and your father has a steady job...
...and your followers have
showered your household...
...with clothing and foodstuffs.
Now, if the court were to decide...
...that your lady represents
a profitable business scheme...
...it would go very hard with you.
I have not accepted one thing,
monsieur...
...because I knew the lady
would not like it.
Look, my child, I am trying to help you.
He's using the wrong technique.
He'll get nowhere.
DUTOUR:
I am not asking you to retract anything.
I merely want you to promise me
that you will accept my counsel.
If I can, monsieur, I will.
Good. Now...
...put your hand in mine...
...and promise me that you will not go
to the grotto again.
That I cannot promise, monsieur.
Let me remind you
that I am the imperial prosecutor.
I know, monsieur.
You told me that before.
Now, listen carefully, Bernadette.
In the next room is Jacomet.
He is cruel and mean.
Furthermore, he believes that everyone
should be treated like a criminal.
If you refuse me,
I will be forced to turn you over to him.
I can promise you it will be horrible.
He will have you cringing and crying
in no time...
...but I can spare you all this
if you will only be reasonable.
Well, what is your answer?
It is the same, monsieur.
I must keep my promise to the lady.
Very well!
I am finished with you.
If you're intent
upon your own destruction...
...go.
Yes, monsieur.
What's your name?
But you know my name, monsieur.
What's your name?
Soubirous, Bernadette.
Before I go further...
...I want you to know I will write down
everything you say.
Such a paper is known as a deposition...
...to be sent to the imperial prefect
at Tarbes.
Besides, we also have Monsieur Estrade
for a witness.
Be very careful what you say.
Now...
...about this lady you claim to see.
Do you know who she is?
No, monsieur, I don't.
What does she wear?
A white veil with a blue girdle...
...and there's a rose on each foot.
She stands quite still,
like a statue in church?
No, she's ever so natural.
She moves about and talks to me.
She greets the people,
and even laughs.
Hmm.
Do your parents believe
this story of yours?
No, monsieur, I don't think they do.
And yet you expect me to believe
when your own parents don't?
If your lady were real,
wouldn't other people see her too?
I don't see why they can't.
She's there.
Now, pay attention.
I'm going to read your answers
back to you...
...so you can confirm their correctness.
"Bernadette Soubirous declares the lady
wears a blue veil and white girdle".
No, a white veil and a blue girdle.
You're contradicting yourself,
you said a white girdle.
You must have made a mistake
in writing it down.
"Bernadette Soubirous declares...
...the lady resembles the statue of the
Blessed Virgin in the parish church".
No, that's not true.
The lady has nothing to do
with the Blessed Virgin in the church.
That's enough.
Nothing but a complete confession
could save you now.
Tell me the names of those
in league with you...
...and don't lie,
because I know every one of them.
I don't understand
what you're saying, monsieur.
JACOMET:
Well, I'll tell you.
Certain persons have put you up
to circulating this disgusting story.
They've trained you, stupid as you are...
...to reel off by rote
exactly what they taught you.
Now, tell me. Who are these people?
But you said a moment ago, monsieur,
you knew them.
The police are outside,
awaiting my orders to take you to jail.
But if you promise before this witness
never to go to Massabielle again...
No! I must keep my promise
to the lady.
You want me to call the police?
If the police take me, I can't help it.
And that's not all.
I'll have your parents
thrown into jail too.
The rest of your family will starve.
[KNOCKING]
Come in!
What the devil do you want?
My child, that's all I want.
My child.
Listen, Soubirous, this business
at the grotto has got to stop.
- I won't stand it any longer.
- So help me God...
...that's all I want too.
It's destroying my family.
The girl's a minor.
You're responsible for her.
Forbid her to go out except to school.
Lock her up at home...
...because if you don't,
I'll lock up the whole bunch of you.
Now, get out.
God help you
if I have to summon you again.
Well, monsieur, what do you think of it?
DUTOUR: I think you were extremely
fortunate in having the father break in...
...just when he did.
SISTER: The authorities preventing
her going to Massabielle...
...has made her seem more important
to her schoolmates.
That is most unfortunate.
The children whisper about nothing else.
I'd hoped, with your permission,
to talk to them...
No. The bishop of Tarbes has forbidden us
to recognize the situation...
...and he's right in doing so.
Do you remember that girl in Avignon,
Rose Tamisier?
She claimed to have seen
the Most Blessed Virgin also.
The vicar general of that diocese
was patient and understanding.
Consequently, the people
mistook his attitude for approbation.
Then, later, when the child
was exposed as a fraud...
...the Church was looked upon
as her partner in crime.
Immediately, atheism flared up,
and the anticlerical forces triumphed.
That is not going to happen here.
What I had in mind, Father, could
hardly be construed as approbation.
I plan to make an example of her
in front of the class.
- Ridicule?
- Yes, Father.
You have my permission to try it.
Good day, Sister.
Good day, Father. Thank you.
She can't go on like this.
Night after night.
My poor little one,
what have they done to you?
Speak to me.
If I can't go and see her anymore,
I shall die.
You shall see her.
I don't care what Sister Vauzous says.
You will go again to Massabielle,
and no one will prevent you...
...and if they lock me up,
well, let them.
But you shall see her.
[CHUCKLING]
I hope Baron Massey
subscribes to this paper.
Sounds a little different
from the last editorial, doesn't it?
Listen to this.
"The officials at Lourdes
are to be highly commended...
...for stamping out
these disgusting spectacles".
But I have a feeling they will return
to criticism again tomorrow.
What makes you think that?
Because I am a man
of greater vision than you, monsieur.
Especially when I sit
in this particular chair.
JACOMET: I told them, if they did
this again, I'd put all of them in jail.
Careful, commissioner.
If you do that, I'll have to
release them in 10 minutes...
...and then we would look foolish.
There must be some law to stop them.
- Commissioner...
- I know, they're going to Massabielle.
- You don't have to tell me. I've got eyes.
- They're not going to Massabielle.
- No?
- They've already been.
They were there at 5 this morning.
They're on their way to the dean.
- The dean?
CALLET: Yes.
The girl said the lady gave her
a message for him.
Well, it seems the gods
have finally sided with us.
Gentlemen, maybe now the Church
will be forced to take a stand...
...whether it wants to or not.
SOUBIROUS:
Excuse me, Your Reverence.
What do you want? Who are you?
- Bernadette Soubirous.
- Oh.
So you're the urchin
every idiot in France is talking about.
Do your courtiers and servants
always follow you?
If any of that crowd
dare to enter my garden...
...I'll have them arrested.
Well, speak. What do you want of me?
- The lady told me...
- What lady?
- The lady in Massabielle.
- Don't know her.
She's a beautiful lady
who comes to me...
Is she from Lourdes?
- No.
- Have you asked her name?
Yes, but she gives no answer.
Perhaps she is deaf and dumb.
Oh, no, she speaks to me.
What does she say?
Just now the lady said,
"Please go to the priests...
...and tell them
a chapel is to be built here".
Priests? What does that mean?
It appears your lady
is a confirmed heathen.
The very cannibals have priests.
We Catholics have religious,
each with a specific title.
But the lady did say "priests".
Well, you've come to the wrong place,
anyhow.
Have you any money to build a chapel?
No, I have no money at all.
Then you go tell your lady...
...if she wants a chapel,
she'll need money.
- Yes, Ill...
- And you can also tell her...
...the dean of Lourdes considers it
unfitting for a lady...
...to climb barefoot on rocks...
...and to send gibbering adolescents
with messages.
And, what's more, once and for all,
he demands she leave him in peace.
- Do you understand?
- Yes, Your Reverence.
- I'll tell her everything...
- Just one moment.
Do you see this broom?
- Yes, Your Reverence.
- Then listen carefully.
If you dare to annoy me ever again...
...I'll take this broom,
and, with my own hands, I'll...
[KNOCKING]
PEYRAMALE:
Come in.
BERNADETTE:
I forgot something, Your Reverence.
The lady also said,
"Let processions come hither".
Processions, eh?
And do you think tomorrow
would be soon enough for your lady?
Yes, I'm sure she would be delighted.
Now that I've given you
the messages, ILL...
One moment.
I'll decide when you're to go.
Close the door.
I want you to convey
a message to your lady for me.
You find her quite extraordinary,
don't you?
Oh, yes, Your Reverence.
Good.
We shall find
how extraordinary she is.
I have heard that there's a wild rosebush
growing in the grotto. Is that true?
Oh, yes. Right under the niche
where the lady always stands.
Splendid.
I want you to tell the lady this:
The dean of Lourdes would like her
to perform a little miracle.
He would like her to make
the wild rosebush bloom now...
...this last week in February.
- Do you understand?
- Yes, Your Reverence.
Then repeat what I said.
"The dean of Lourdes would like the lady
to perform a little miracle...
...to make the wild rosebush bloom now,
this last week in February".
Is that correct?
Yes.
I'll tell the lady.
Good day, Your Reverence.
CALLET:
Squad, halt!
JACOMET:
Well, gentlemen...
...I'm off to see the miracle.
Bring me back a dozen roses,
will you, please?
I rather think I'll bring you back
a hundred dozen disillusioned people.
[CHUCKLES]
The dean set no definite time.
Why do you assume
that today's the day?
We don't. Her followers did that.
"It shall be on Thursday," they said.
Why Thursday?
Because someone figured out that she
first saw the lady on a Thursday...
...the lady returned to her
on a Thursday...
...so naturally,
the buds shall burst on a Thursday.
Buds or no buds,
you'll never destroy that girl's faith.
Can you say the same of the crowd?
Wouldn't we be surprised
if the bush did bloom today.
Don't underestimate
the dean of Lourdes.
Who is the best authority on roses
in this district?
Peyramale.
The weather too, for that matter.
You mean you think the dean...?
I merely think it is singularly strange
that Peyramale, of all people...
...picks a rosebush, of all things,
to demonstrate a miracle.
Why didn't he ask the lady
to make the rock into a white horse...
...or change the river water into wine?
[LACADE CHUCKLING]
- Anything yet?
- No.
- Then nothing will happen.
NICOLAU: Shh!
ANTOINE:
Quiet! Keep still.
It's no use, I tell you.
The bush will not bloom.
Shh. Will you keep quiet?
All right, but you will see.
Life is not like that.
I don't see something. Do you?
LAD Y: Go to the spring.
Drink of the water and wash there.
No, not the river.
Not the river?
The spring, yonder. Eat of the plants.
Eat of the plants.
- What's she doing now?
- Shh.
LAD Y:
Drink of the spring and wash there.
To the spring?
Drink of the water and wash myself?
What is she looking for?
She uses her nose like a pig.
Yes, and she roots up the ground.
[LAUGHING]
LOUISE:
Come, darling.
No, no, I must wash myself
in the spring.
LOUISE:
There's no spring here, Bernadette.
There is. There is.
The lady said so.
Come.
[CROWD LAUGHING]
- Citizens!
- Shh!
At last, you've seen with your own eyes
what we officials have known all along...
...that this story of the Blessed Virgin
was born in a sick and warped mind.
You've been duped by an idiot.
I beg of you,
go back to your homes...
...and never return here again.
[MUMBLING]
MAN:
Fall in!
BOURIETTE:
Don't be sad, Antoine.
I told you not to hope too much.
I knew it would not bloom.
You must learn to expect nothing
from God...
...and when you get nothing,
you won't be disappointed.
Keep still.
Go away and let me alone.
From the time we are knee-high...
...they tell us the Blessed Virgin
is loving and good.
Was she good to that girl just now?
Was she good to me? Me, Bouriette,
the finest stone-carver in Lourdes.
I'll never forget that day.
I was carving a statue for the church.
A chip of marble flew off my chisel
and hit me in the eye...
...and, as quick as that,
I was no longer a stonecutter...
...and that's how the Blessed Virgin
repaid me...
...by throwing a stone in my eye.
Ever since, it's been
like looking through a bowl of milk.
Bouriette. Bouriette!
- What is it, Antoine?
- Come here!
Look!
Bernadette said there was a spring,
and they called her insane.
Look at it, Bouriette!
Look at it!
Tell the others. Hurry.
Bouhouhorts! La Grange!
Come back! Look!
Dr. Dozous!
Where is the doctor?
Dr. Dozous.
Dr. Dozous, my eye. I can see!
I put mud on them from the grotto
and now I can see. It's a miracle!
Don't be in such a hurry
with miracles, Bouriette.
Tomorrow at 2, Madame Blanc.
Come here.
- Sit down.
- Yes, doctor.
Fix your eye on the ceiling
and look straight ahead.
BOURIETTE:
Yes.
All I did was put mud on them
from the grotto.
Be quiet.
Then I said a prayer
and now I can see.
Quiet.
It's a miracle, doctor.
It's a miracle!
Be still.
There's no improvement
in this eye, Bouriette.
Four scars on the cornea.
- Same as it was six months ago.
- But I can see!
It's like sheet lightning.
DOZOUS:
Excuse me.
BOURIETTE:
Doctor, everything is bright.
DOZOUS: What you've done
is pressed against the eyeball so hard...
...you've irritated the optic nerve.
For a time, things will seem bright,
but that will pass.
- Take a look at that chart.
- Yes.
- Can you read it with your left eye?
- No, doctor, I can't.
- How about the right?
- No, no, I can't.
- How about both eyes?
- No good, doctor.
There you are.
But, doctor, I never knew how to read.
But I can see!
I can see you, doctor.
I can see everything. It's a miracle.
Come back tomorrow
when you're calmer, Bouriette.
All right, but it's a miracle.
It's a miracle! It's a miracle!
I understand it all now.
Ever since that piece of marble
flew in my eye...
...she's been trying to find a way
to make it up to me.
And at last, she did.
Mortar!
You can see better now, Bouriette?
I see everything.
- There's no hope.
- No. No.
Charles, get Louise Soubirous.
She has always saved him before.
She's not at home. I can't find her.
DOZOUS:
It's too late.
It's better so.
You don't want your child...
...to drag himself through life
a hopeless cripple, do you?
I want my child to live!
No. No!
[MUMBLING]
CHARLES:
Croisine!
Croisine!
Croisine, come back!
- Somebody's coming.
- Who is it?
BOURIETTE: I don't see anything.
CHARLES: Croisine! Croisine!
Croisine, please.
- Croisine, be sensible.
CROISINE: Let me be.
Are you mad?
CROISINE: Take him, O Lord,
or give him back to me.
[BABY CRYING]
Well, doctor?
There can be no question
of innervation...
...and I can find no reason to doubt
the presence of muscular substance.
What does that mean, doctor?
That means that yesterday, the baby's
legs were completely paralyzed...
...and today, they're as sound as yours.
I'm sure you can understand now my
anxiety for confirmation of my findings.
MAN: You're positive
there's not a possibility...
...of error in your previous diagnosis?
DOZOUS:
August 25th...
...high temperature, violent convulsions,
complete paralysis of the legs.
Couldn't we assume a mere atrophy,
due to rickets?
I couldn't.
Then the water at Massabielle...
...must contain an unknown
and powerful therapeutic substance.
At any rate, I must report on this case
to the medical journals.
Mmm. I'd hesitate to do that.
It might make you an object of ridicule.
It won't be an easy thing to write.
I'm not accustomed
to believing things I can't see.
What about you, Father?
You've been very silent.
What do you make of all this?
Well, unlike a doctor...
...a religious must believe
a great many things he cannot see.
Sometimes, I confess,
it's extremely difficult.
Last night, when I came here,
it was very dark.
It's much lighter now.
Good morning, gentlemen.
CHARLES:
And no longer are his legs like dishrags.
Now they're firm and strong.
And without Bernadette,
it couldn't have been.
Let me say a prayer by her bedside.
Heavenly Father, no!
Save your prayers for Mass.
Go home to your wife, Charles.
Tonight you will all have dinner with us.
We will have an omelet 10 feet wide.
Good morning, Maman.
Good morning, Papa.
Good morning, Bernadette.
Good morning, Bernadette.
And then she held him
in that ice-cold water...
...and all of a sudden,
the baby began to cry.
Not a weak, sickly cry,
but a healthy one.
And both doctors agree
a great change took place.
They confess they can't understand it.
It's left them wondering.
What do you think of it, Father?
I, too, am wondering.
WOMAN 1: And you know the baby
was never strong enough to cry before.
Then, on the way home,
the child slept in his mother's arms.
WOMAN 2: When he woke up,
he was smiling and hungry.
The baby began to stir.
He was moving his legs.
WOMAN 3: Since he was born,
his legs were as if they had no muscles.
WOMAN 4:
The doctors couldn't do anything.
[CROWD SINGING]
- This is awful.
- Yes, commissioner.
By sunrise, that whole hillside will look
like a sugar loaf crawling with ants.
- It won't be so bad after tomorrow.
- Why?
She said the lady only asked her to come
for 15 times. Tomorrow makes 15.
This is no longer a curiosity.
It's a disease.
The crowd will come if she's here or not.
- Where are you going?
- No place, monsieur.
- What's in that basket?
- Commissioner, my wife is very sick.
Is your wife in the basket?
- No, monsieur...
CALLET: Let's see.
Monsieur, I thought I could sell
some hot chestnuts and wine.
There we are. Now it's started.
Pretty soon, they'll be selling sausages.
You want sausage?
I've got sausage too.
Go on. Move.
[MAN SHOUTING IN FRENCH]
Well, who is this lady?
She must have a name.
LOUISE:
Didn't you ask her her name?
I've told you to,
time and time again.
Now it's too late.
I did ask her, today.
Well?
What she said I didn't understand.
- Well, speak. What was it?
- You haven't forgotten?
No, I repeated it many times
so I wouldn't forget.
She said,
"I am the Immaculate Conception".
Immaculate Conception?
Immaculate Conception.
Immaculate Conception.
Do you know what it means,
"I am the Immaculate Conception"?
Don't be afraid, my child. I sent
for you to help you, not to scold you.
Well?
No, Your Reverence,
I do not know what it means.
Do you know the meaning
of the word "immaculate"?
Yes, I know that.
An immaculate thing is clean.
Good, and "conception"?
Well, we'll leave that for the moment.
Do you know what we mean
when we speak of the original sin?
Yes.
The original sin
was committed by Adam and Eve...
...when they did not remain faithful
to God but broke his command.
Father Pomian taught you that,
didn't he?
Now, think hard.
Didn't he also speak
of the Immaculate Conception?
No, Father,
I never mentioned that dogma.
It doesn't belong to the pedagogic
material of the elementary class.
Perhaps Sister Vauzous discussed it.
I'm sure she didn't.
Well, you must have heard
the expression somewhere.
Now, try to remember.
Maybe I've heard about it...
...but I don't remember.
Very well. I'll try to explain it.
The Most Blessed Virgin Mary
was preserved free...
...from all stain of original sin...
...even from the first instant
of her presence in her mother's womb.
God did this for her...
...because she was to be
the mother of Jesus Christ...
...a most singular privilege of grace.
Do you understand that, Bernadette?
No, Your Reverence.
Why should you?
Great scholars have racked their brains
about it for centuries.
But perhaps you can grasp
this one thing.
If the Most Blessed Virgin
were to speak...
...she could not say of herself,
"I am the Immaculate Conception".
All she could say would be:
"I am the fruit
of the Immaculate Conception".
Birth and conception are events,
but a person is not an event.
You can't say,
"I am conception. I am birth".
Consequently, your lady is guilty
of an inexcusable blunder.
You must admit that.
The next time I see her,
I will tell her, Your Reverence.
Excuse me, Father.
I promised to look in on Madame Cenac.
- Certainly.
POMIAN: Goodbye, Bernadette.
Goodbye, Father Pomian.
What am I to do with you, Bernadette?
Your eyes seem honest,
your words sincere...
...yet I cannot believe you.
Today, less than ever.
As your confessor, I beseech you,
renounce this falsehood...
...confess that your mother
or your father or your aunt...
...or someone suggested that phrase
that you...
...might become important
in men's eyes.
But I can't confess that. It isn't true.
No one suggested anything to me.
Have you ever thought about your life,
what your future would be like?
Like the future of all the girls
hereabout.
After First Communion,
girls may indulge in proper pleasures.
They go to dances at the festivals,
meet young men...
...and after a time, please God,
they marry and have children.
Wouldn't you like to be such a girl?
Oh, yes. I'd like to go to dances,
have a husband someday.
Then wake up!
Now!
Otherwise, life is at an end for you.
You are playing with fire, Bernadette.
- Commissioner?
JACOMET: Yes?
That spring at the grotto...
...the people are drinking quite a bit
of that water, aren't they?
By the bucketful.
What they don't drink, they carry away
in pots and pans and bottles.
DUTOUR:
That's good.
JACOMET:
Well, they're still at it.
You thought it was bad before,
you ought to take a look at it now.
The sick, lame, canes, crutches,
some of them even look like lepers.
DUTOUR: Listen to this, commissioner.
December 22, 1789.
"All waters contained in springs,
wells, streams, rivers...
...or any other source whatsoever...
...shall not be consumed
by anyone whosoever...
...until the aforementioned waters
have been thoroughly analyzed...
...by a registered chemist".
That's perfect.
You know, I had a feeling
that somewhere in all these books...
...I'd find one old law
that'd suit our purpose.
JACOMET: Now, shall I send my men out
to close the grotto now?
Not so fast.
First, we'll take this to the mayor.
And he will issue a proclamation.
[KNOCKING]
Come in.
Come in, gentlemen.
DUTOUR: Thank you.
I have good news, monsieur.
The holocaust will spread no more.
I have a way to stop it.
JACOMET:
Our troubles are over.
And, ironically enough, it's the waters
of Massabielle that will quench this fire.
It's an old law, 1789.
Look there. Read it.
"In the interest of public health"...
Of course,
with such an important analysis...
...we'll need the opinions
of many chemists...
...and that might take
months and months and months.
I wonder...
I wonder if we're not being
a little too hasty in this.
Perhaps we are shortsighted...
...in dismissing the possibility
of divine power...
...in regard to Massabielle.
For, after all, I'm sure
that you gentlemen as well as I...
...do not want to oppose the will of God.
Your sudden religious fervor
is most touching, Your Honor.
Could it be prompted by the fact
that the devout masses...
...have brought with them
a wave of prosperity to Lourdes?
Monsieur.
But, now that you mention it,
we shouldn't overlook that either.
Our hotels are filled,
our cafs are crowded.
Our shopkeepers have never known
such business.
The railroad will surely take advantage
of this influx of visitors...
...and extend its line here.
Yes, yes, and in that case,
we shall need more hotels.
But, aside from all that...
...I'm thinking mainly
of the thousands of pilgrims...
...who come here daily
with hope in their hearts.
If they derive any benefit
from the water at Massabielle...
...who are we to deprive them of it?
Then, too, think of the vast number
who cannot come to Lourdes.
For them, we could...
...bottle the miraculous water...
...and it could be sold at a nominal fee
all over the world.
DUTOUR:
Your Honor...
...will you dictate the proclamation
to close the grotto...
...or would you rather
that I contact Baron Massey...
...and ask for permission
to do it myself?
Very well, I'll do it.
But I think you gentlemen
are making a big mistake.
Now, why not think it over for a time?
[DOOR CLOSES]
Courreges, take a proclamation.
[DOOR OPENS]
Come in, commissioner.
- Any trouble?
- Oh, no.
We finally wiped out this epidemic.
No. To wipe out an epidemic,
you must eliminate the cause.
I'll have the grotto patrolled
night and day. Nothing can happen now.
Perhaps nothing can happen
at the grotto.
Since the lady is a figment
of Bernadette's imagination...
...she can see her anyplace.
Beside the river,
in the hovel where she lives...
...or, if she wishes,
on the very steps of the city hall.
The next fence we build must be
around her imagination.
Have you ever heard of Dr. Deboe?
Yes.
I've just written him, asking him
to come to Lourdes for a few days.
Just a moment.
Come along. The imperial prosecutor
wants to see you.
- You can't take her. She's done nothing.
- Come on.
I'll go, Maman.
Don't worry. It won't be long.
Why must you keep plaguing her?
She's tired and ill.
Leave her alone!
CALLET:
Please...
I never felt that Dr. Dozous' examination
of the girl was extensive enough.
Well, after all,
Dr. Dozous is a general practitioner.
Advances in psychiatry
have been so rapid...
...that only a specialist
could hope to keep up with them.
Do you think the girl is insane,
monsieur?
My dear doctor, I am a great respecter
of medical science...
...therefore, I think that as a layman
I am not qualified to have an opinion.
However, I do think
that the bare facts...
...should be permitted
to speak for themselves.
Day after day,
she stood before a hole in a rock...
...and conversed with the Blessed Virgin.
Such delusions
are a usual symptom of paranoia.
I have many paranoiacs in my clinic
who claim visions...
...oftentimes followed by
a tendency towards violence.
Has she been allowed
to come and go as she pleases?
I had planned to put her
under restraint...
...but Dr. Dozous' favorable diagnosis
made that impossible.
I trust that your examination, doctor,
will not be a cursory one.
I can assure you,
it will be most extensive.
It may be necessary to place the child
in an institution under observation.
Unfortunately, with paranoiacs...
...observation sometimes
takes a long time.
After all, a psychiatrist
is not an orthopedic surgeon...
...who can set a broken bone
on the spot.
Yes. Yes, I understand.
[KNOCKING]
Come in.
Eyes closed.
Now the other foot.
Why are you so unsteady?
Because I am very tired, monsieur.
All right, you may sit down now.
- How many hours in the day?
- Twenty-four.
- How many days in the week?
- Seven.
How much is seven times five?
Thirty-five.
How much is 17 times 18?
I do not know, monsieur.
Well...
Would you know the answer, monsieur,
if you hadn't figured it out before?
DEBOE:
Hmm?
Not so fast, young lady.
Don't bother. She'll go directly home.
We can take her from there.
Here we are, doctor.
[KNOCKING]
Father Peyramale.
Have I the honor
of addressing the dean of Lourdes?
You have that honor.
How can I serve you?
Hadn't we better go elsewhere
and discuss this matter?
It is you, gentlemen, who have chosen
this place of action, not I.
What do you want?
I'm from the medical department...
...of the provincial administration.
There are evidences of definite
anomalies in this girl Bernadette.
I wish to place her under observation.
I am a professor of psychiatry and
neurology at the clinic of Tarbes.
DUTOUR: If she does not willingly
submit to this examination...
...we will be placed
in the unfortunate position...
...of being forced
to invoke the law of 1838.
This is the most shameless piece
of hypocrisy I have ever encountered.
I warn you,
I shall expose this hypocrisy.
And I shall raise such a voice
throughout all France...
...the reverberations will send petty
politicians toppling from their seats.
Come here, Bernadette.
I know this child.
So does the imperial prosecutor.
She is neither a maniac nor a menace
to her fellow men.
If you still intend to take her,
gentlemen, well and good.
But, rest assured, I shall not stir
from this girl's side.
Now, call the police.
And when the police do come,
what then?
When they come, I shall say to them,
load well your guns...
...for your path lies over my dead body.
Well?
- I'm sorry...
- Come, Bernadette.
Mother Superior
has asked me to watch over you.
I'm sorry to have caused you
this trouble.
I welcome the opportunity of talking
to you before I leave Lourdes.
- You're leaving?
- Tomorrow.
I've been recalled to the motherhouse
of our order at Nevers.
The dean of Lourdes is on his way
to speak to the bishop of Tarbes...
...in your behalf.
I want you to know that although
you've used your wiles successfully...
...on a great many people...
...there is one person remains
who does not believe you.
That person is myself.
I've never wanted you
to believe me, Sister.
If that's one of those
disarming answers of yours...
...that is supposed
to strike one silent...
...you need not waste it on me.
You should be thankful, Bernadette,
you did not live in former times.
Creatures who boasted
of equivocal visions...
...and produce springs as if by magic...
...were burned at the stake.
I have prayed for you, night after night,
and I shall continue...
...so that your soul
may not be destroyed...
...by the frightful danger
to which you are exposing it.
- And now, good night, Bernadette.
- Good night, Sister.
However, above all that,
I come in the cause of justice.
The authorities are scheming
and plotting this girl's destruction.
It is not the practice of the Church
to interfere with the authorities...
...and, particularly in the case
of Bernadette Soubirous...
...we will rigidly adhere to our policy
of remaining aloof.
In my opinion, a change
in our policy is now necessary.
That opinion is not shared by an amazing
number of equally worthy ecclesiastics.
I realize that.
I also realize that none but myself
has talked to this child.
I've begun to wonder if she isn't a true
vessel of grace and a worker of miracles.
No, stop.
My dear dean...
...only the Congregation of Rites
can determine if a given phenomenon...
...is a genuine miracle or a deception.
True.
That's all I ask, that an Episcopal
Commission be set up to investigate.
Two or three questionable cures are not
sufficient to cause an investigation.
One questionable cure...
...was sufficient to cause a multitude
to travel hundreds of miles.
BISHOP:
Very well.
- I will convoke such a commission.
- Thank you.
Providing certain obstacles
can be surmounted.
You fully realize, of course,
just what this will mean?
The commission can render only
one of three decisions.
First, " You're an imposter,
little Soubirous.
Hence, away with you to a prison
for juvenile delinquents".
Second,
"You're a madwoman, little Soubirous.
Away with you to an asylum".
- Third...
- "You are the rarest of mortal beings...
...little Soubirous".
Just when do you think the commission
will begin its work?
The scientists, the chemists,
the geologists...
...can't conduct research
with the grotto boarded up.
- A letter will force them to open it.
- No.
The emperor must command
that the grotto be opened.
Then the commission may assemble.
Not the other way around.
- When will you ask the emperor?
- Never.
I've not the slightest intention
of mentioning it.
He will not know that I even contemplate
convoking a commission.
[CHUCKLES]
- My attitude puzzles you, doesn't it?
- Frankly, yes.
I am giving your lady a chance
to prove herself to me.
If she is the Blessed Virgin...
...then nothing is impossible for her,
and she will overcome the emperor.
However...
...if she is overcome,
then she's a fraud.
The grotto will remain boarded up.
And she and any thought of the
commission will vanish into thin air.
I wonder, my dear dean, who will win.
The emperor or the lady.
CALLET:
Stay where you are!
You're under arrest.
Okay, go down.
I'll watch them from here.
Name, age, occupation.
Jacques Gozos, 46, carpenter.
- Charge?
- Stealing water from Massabielle.
- One franc and costs.
- But I haven't got it, monsieur.
Two days in jail, then. Take him away.
- Next case.
MAN: Bruat, woman.
Bruat, woman.
Name, age, and occupation.
Bruat, Leontine, 34, governess.
Commissioner?
Bruat? Madame, are you by any chance
related to Admiral Bruat?
He is my husband.
- I am Vital Dutour, imperial prosecutor.
- How do you do?
Won't you come into my office
and sit down, please?
I was arrested and led through
the streets like the rest.
I do not wish to be treated differently
now that I am here.
Madame, this is most distressing.
You are the bearer of a great name.
When ladies of your station exhibit their
contempt for the law by breaking it...
...what is the poor civil servant to do?
Punish them as you would the others.
Very well. I require you to pay a fine
of one franc and costs.
Delighted, monsieur.
And here are a hundred more...
...for my fellow criminals
who are without funds.
And, now, please, may I have the bottle?
The bottle is confiscated.
But I don't believe it will remain so,
monsieur...
...for I filled it at the desire
of very high personage.
May I ask who this personage is,
madame?
Her Majesty, the Empress Eugnie.
I have the honor to be the governess
of His Highness, the prince imperial.
Take it, madame.
I begin to see the folly
of being the only one to do one's duty...
...in a feeble-minded world.
His temperature is quite normal now.
Thank God! I was right.
The water is miraculous.
I'm sure it is, madame.
EUGNIE: Loulou, my darling,
you'll be well now, my sweet.
Louis...
Loulou is better!
The water from Lourdes made him well.
Let us say, sire,
the waters did the prince no harm.
He had only a slight cold.
His forehead was on fire with fever!
LECRAMPS:
Never more than two degrees.
It was diphtheria or scarlet fever.
I know it. I feel it.
Please, my dearest, don't excite
yourself. Come and sit down.
Loulou has had a number of attacks
like this, and he's always gotten well.
I tell you, Louis,
it was the water that saved him.
That's a very frivolous observation.
You do an injustice
to the doctor's prescriptions.
You're an atheist, Louis!
That's the most stupid thing
a sovereign could be.
You're worse than an atheist.
You haven't the humility to thank God
for the grace he's accorded us.
[DRUM ROLL]
"By order of His Majesty, the emperor...
...the ordinance of May 10th
is hereby revoked and nullified.
As of this date,
the grotto shall be opened.
Signed, Louis Napoleon".
[CROWD CHEERING]
[CHUCKLES]
I must say, my dear dean...
...your lady wastes no time
in accepting a challenge.
[COUGHING]
[CROWD SINGING]
The lady has had sweet revenge.
[HICCUPS]
I'm being transferred to Alais.
Perhaps I should say demoted to Alais.
Yes, I rather expected you would be.
I, too, received a letter this morning.
Yeah? What hole are you headed for?
In my case, the lady wanted
even sweeter revenge.
I am to stay here for a while,
at least...
...and watch the thing I fought against
blossom like a fruit tree.
[SNEEZES]
It's the influenza again. I can feel it.
Evidently, the lady intends to leave me
exactly as she found me.
- Some hot wine, Duran.
- Oui, monsieur.
BERNADETTE:
And then I ran to the other side...
...and ate of the grass and the herbs
as the lady had asked me to.
I can't understand the lady demanding
anything so repulsive of you.
It doesn't fit into the description
that you gave of her...
...that she bade you act like an animal.
Do you act like an animal
when you eat salad?
Go on.
Then I looked for the spring.
Since I couldn't see it...
...I supposed the lady meant
that it was below the ground.
So I began to scratch and dig
with my fingers.
To be considered a miracle...
...the healing must be as sudden
as a bolt of lightning.
It must be from one moment to the next.
Further proof is necessary...
- to look for the spring.
Since I could not see it...
...I supposed the lady meant
that it was below the ground.
So I began to scratch and dig...
- look for the spring.
Since I could not see it...
...I supposed the lady meant
that it was below the ground.
There is still
the possibility of deception.
Further proof is necessary.
The evidence is insufficient.
[KNOCKING]
Come in, Bernadette.
BERNADETTE:
I'm sorry to be late...
...but my brother had a frostbitten nose.
- Come by the fire.
- I had to rub snow on it.
March is coming in like a lion, isn't it?
- Sit down, Bernadette.
- Thank you, Father.
Sorry I was unable to attend
your sister's wedding Thursday.
Father Pomian tells me it was lovely.
Yes, we had lots of cakes,
one with figures on it.
It was ever so nice.
I suppose she'll give up her position
with Madame Millet.
Yes, they're going to live on a farm...
...but Madame Millet's
going to take me as housemaid.
So I heard today.
That's why I wanted to talk to you.
Oh, it's not hard work,
and the pay is good.
You know, it's strange, Your Reverence.
The lady once told me
I could never be happy in this world...
...but I am.
Happier than I've ever been.
I've got a position, and...
And Monsieur Antoine
is a splendid young man.
Bernadette...
...have you any idea of what the
bishop's commission has been doing?
The gentlemen have examined and tested
all the people who have been cured.
That's true. What of yourself?
Don't you think that you and your case
are part of their task also?
I've answered all
the gentlemen's questions.
I hope they won't ask me anymore.
The commission is now engaged...
...in writing a very important report
about you.
It admits the possibility that
you were chosen by the powers above...
...and that your hand alone...
...brought forth the spring
responsible for miraculous cures.
Don't you understand what that means?
No.
It means that the greatest
and the wisest men in the Church...
...will be watching you for decades...
...and then perhaps long after the rest
of us are dead and thought of no more...
...you will...
- But that's dreadful.
I don't want it. It can't be.
It's no small matter.
No, no.
No!
Tell me, aren't the Sisters
in the hospital and in the school...
...good and kind?
BERNADETTE:
Yes.
Yes, they are. They're very sweet.
Could you imagine yourself
as one of them someday?
BERNADETTE:
Dear God, no. That's far above me.
I just want to go and work
for Madame Millet as housemaid.
Please.
My dear child.
To you,
the Most Blessed Virgin condescended.
This places a responsibility on you.
You can't suddenly play truant...
...run away from your destiny
as though it were school...
...and become an old widow's servant.
A long time ago, I told you
you were playing with fire, Bernadette.
Your lady was heavenly fire.
Heaven chose you...
...and now there's nothing left for you
but to choose heaven.
Isn't that true?
Yes.
You'll like the life
with the Sisters at Nevers.
Their order is beautiful and lofty
and very much involved in practical life.
Everything you have said is true,
Your Reverence...
...and I will do exactly as you say.
- But...
- You're worried about your family?
You needn't.
You may stay with them until summer.
It'll take that long
before the report is fully complete...
...and I've arranged for your father
to be established in the mill.
There, he can practice the trade
for which he was meant...
...and your family can live
without fear of poverty.
No, no, no, no.
Bernadette.
Just one moment.
I've something more to say.
Although, as a member
of the commission, I shouldn't say it.
Now, mind you,
I have full faith in you...
...but there's always been one detail
which I never could help but doubt.
It's the words "Immaculate Conception".
If you could ever admit that this
phrase was not spoken by the lady...
...things might be very different.
If you could retract
this single incident...
...then there might be, somewhere
in this world, a little corner...
...where you could hide
and lead a normal life.
Would you like a little time
to think it over?
I don't need time, Your Reverence,
because I have never lied to you.
Did I speak of lying?
And...
...I don't want a little corner
to hide in.
Good day, Your Reverence.
[CROWD CHATTERING]
Bernadette.
May the patron saint of travelers
watch over you.
- Thank you.
WOMAN: That's what we gave her!
Two will make my journey doubly safe.
Go along, Junior. Go along.
Go on, Junior.
I don't want to say it. It sounds silly.
You owe your life to Bernadette.
You say it exactly as I taught you.
GIRLS: We're going to miss you.
- I'm going to miss you too.
Bernadette, if I live to be 100,
I shall never forget this hour...
...for it was you who snatched me
from the jaws of death and... Here.
A St. Christopher! How thoughtful.
LACADE:
Well, well, well, Bernadette.
I shall be only a moment.
I'm sorry to be late.
I was making a speech at the depot.
So my old and dear friend
is leaving Lourdes.
Bernadette, never will I forget those
first days of trial and tribulation...
...when practically we alone
stood side by side...
...facing a doubting world.
- Always, I'll remember...
- Pardon me, Your Honor.
The Sisters in the carriage
grow impatient.
And I've not yet said goodbye
to my family.
- Will you excuse me?
- Certainly, certainly.
Here's something to enjoy
on your journey.
- Thank you, monsieur.
- And this.
May the ever-watching
patron saint of travel...
...hover over your carriage
and guide you safely to your destination.
BERNADETTE:
Thank you, monsieur.
I...
...wanted to say goodbye in here.
[LOUISE SNIFFLES]
Keep well wrapped up,
and remember that...
Maman, I don't need a shawl.
Nonsense.
It'll be windy, and your asthma...
Louise.
This is no time to talk about shawls.
So much to say
and so little time to say it.
When the time comes,
one can say nothing.
One can only feel.
BERNADETTE:
Goodbye, Papa.
Goodbye, my child.
Goodbye, Maman.
Goodbye, Bernadette.
Say goodbye to Madame Nicolau and...
And her son.
Please, dear Sisters,
I know you've waited so long.
But may I have another moment?
We must reach Toulouse before dark.
Oh, nothing can happen to us.
Look, I have enough protection
for even the horses.
Very well, but hurry.
I said goodbye once this morning,
I know...
...but I have a little something
for you.
Don't worry, it's not a St. Christopher.
You have only four.
I blessed five this morning.
Someone must be late.
Bernadette...
...sometimes to express
certain things in a letter is difficult.
So wherever you may go...
...if ever you should need me...
...just send me this.
I shall understand and come immediately.
Your Reverence...
...if only you knew
how much this means to me.
Goodbye.
POMIAN: Goodbye, Bernadette,
and God bless you.
For you, mademoiselle.
Monsieur, they are so beautiful.
I didn't come to say goodbye
with the others because...
...there was something
I wanted to tell you.
What was it, Monsieur Antoine?
Well, I...
I wanted to say...
Well, my mother is getting old.
She and I are used to each other.
We get along very well.
So I've decided never to take a wife...
...because a mother-in-law
and a daughter-in-law...
...well, that doesn't work out so well.
I'm going to stay unmarried too.
Well, that's what I
wanted to say to you.
And now I wish you luck
on your journey, Bernadette.
Goodbye, Antoine.
You are the postulant from Lourdes?
Yes, Mother Superior.
What is your name?
Soubirous. Bernadette Soubirous.
How old are you?
Just past 20.
What can you do?
Oh...
Nothing that amounts to much.
In the world, what would you like
to have been?
I always thought I could have been
a good servant girl.
Is that you, Sister Marie Therese?
Yes, Mother Superior.
This is the mistress of the novices.
Look to her for guidance.
This is Bernadette Soubirous,
a new postulant.
We know each other.
The postulant will start
in the kitchen tomorrow.
You will be asked to wash dishes,
scrub floors, sweep corridors.
In brief, do all the lowly tasks
that need to be done.
But, please observe,
I do not command you.
I am merely proposing this.
If you do not feel equal to it,
or if it is repellent to you...
...physically or spiritually,
I wish you would say so now.
Oh, no, Mother Superior,
I'm very happy to work in the kitchen.
Good. Sister Marie Therese
will show you to your cell.
With your permission...
...there is one other matter
to be considered.
The postulant bears a name which
has made a great noise in the world.
But among us,
great names have no meaning...
...although they may have been acquired
through far greater effort.
We disassociate ourselves
from all we have meant to the world...
...and all it has meant to us.
Moreover, the name "Bernadette"
is a childish and trivial diminutive.
Quite right.
Before actually entering
upon your novitiate...
...you will want to choose
another name.
Under the circumstances,
it would be best to do so now.
Have you given the matter any thought?
No, I haven't.
What was your godmother's name?
Bernarde.
Then surely you'll be happy to bear
the name of Marie Bernarde, my child.
SISTER:
This way, Marie Bernarde.
[ORGAN PLAYS]
[WOMEN SINGING]
This cell is not to your liking,
Marie Bernarde?
Yes, Sister, it is quite to my liking.
You will learn to be comfortable in it.
A convent is no prison.
No force is exercised here.
If you do not feel capable
of our obedience...
...you will find the door is always open.
Good night, Marie Bernarde.
Good night, Sister.
SISTER:
Marie Bernarde.
Yes, Sister?
What are you thinking about?
About my family.
Worldly remembrances
have no place in this house.
We're here
for the purpose of concentration.
Not for reverie and woolgathering.
Yes, Sister.
- You find this work repellent?
- Oh, no, Sister, I...
Then let's show our willingness to serve
God and not hesitate in our tasks.
Yes, Sister.
Sister Marie Bernarde is limping.
Yes, I've noticed it.
I'm afraid it is a worldly desire
to become the center of attention.
I shall speak to her.
Sister Marie Bernarde.
- Come here, please.
BERNADETTE: Yes, Sister.
I wish to speak with you.
Certainly, Sister.
Would you have me finish prayers first?
What I have to say
is just as important for your soul.
- We will speak in your cell.
- Yes, Sister.
Excuse me, Mother Superior.
Sit down, Marie Bernarde.
I've been wanting
to talk to you for a long time.
Why do you limp?
Oh, it's nothing, Sister.
Limping gains sympathy
from the other Sisters. Is that it?
But I never...
You forget, I've known you
for many years.
In the outside world,
you were celebrated.
From all over France,
people came just to gaze upon you.
Here, you are a nonentity.
- You find that difficult, don't you?
- Oh, no.
The temptation to cling to your eminence
is undoubtedly too strong for you.
Truly, Sister...
...never have I said or done anything
to attract attention.
I wish only to be one of
the Sisters here, nothing more.
Ten years ago I was forced to doubt you.
I have not changed.
I have never told you an untruth.
I have tried to believe you.
Only God knows how hard I've tried...
...but I cannot.
What is it you don't believe?
What everyone else is willing to believe.
The lady?
I did see her. I did.
Many agree with you,
even the Holy Father in Rome...
...but I do not. I cannot.
What do you know of suffering?
Nothing.
In all our sacred history...
...the chosen ones have always been
those who have suffered.
Why, then, should God choose you?
Why not me?
I cannot answer that.
I know what it is to suffer.
Look at my eyes.
They burn like the very fires of hell.
Why?
Because they need sleep. They need
rest, which I will not give them.
My throat is parched
from constant prayer.
My hands are gnarled
from serving God in humiliation.
My body is pain-racked
from stone floors.
Yes, I have suffered, because I know
it is the only true road to heaven.
And if I, who have tortured myself,
cannot glimpse the Blessed Virgin...
...how can you, who have never
felt pain, dare to say you've seen her?
I don't know why I was chosen.
You are a hundred times more worthy.
If only I could find evidence.
If only you could give me some proof...
...maybe then I could believe.
Maybe then these monsters
of doubt and hate...
...would stop consuming my very soul.
For the love of God, Sister,
give me some proof!
I wish I could help you.
But I have never suffered.
I've never...
Perhaps I can help you.
It may be there is proof for you.
Well, doctor?
Well, in addition to the large tumor
on the knee...
...she has tuberculosis of the bone.
She has never complained of pain?
No.
Has she?
She never mentioned it.
I can't understand it.
She's had this affliction
for a long time.
The constant pain and suffering which
is so characteristic of this disease...
...is too horrible to describe.
SISTER:
Oh, God.
I have tried to storm the gates of heaven
by sacrificing myself.
I know now that we must be chosen...
...that we must be graced
as you have graced this child.
God forgive me.
I've persecuted her,
and I did not believe her...
...because I was filled
with hate and envy.
God help me to serve this chosen soul
for the rest of my days.
God help me!
God help me!
You seem a trifle stronger today, Sister.
Yes, thank you, Mother Superior, I am.
SUPERIOR: Sister Marie Therese and I
have been discussing the possibility...
...of your taking a trip.
Trip?
We could make the journey to our
convent at Lourdes in easy stages.
Lourdes?
Should not you, of all people,
take advantage of the benefit...
...that's come to the whole world
through you?
That cannot be done.
SUPERIOR:
And why not?
The spring is not for me.
Why should not the spring work
in your case of all cases, Sister?
The spring is not for me.
Did the lady tell you that, my child?
She said, " I cannot promise you
happiness in this world.
Only in the next".
The spring is not for me.
Thank you, doctor.
In that case, Father,
we must notify the bishop immediately.
He wants to hear from Marie
Bernarde's lips a final confirmation.
Sister Marie Bernarde,
we shall read to you...
...the final protocol
of the Commission of Investigation...
...assembled in 1858.
It contains a record of all the testimony
which you offered at the time.
We ask nothing of you,
except that you confirm that testimony.
Do you feel equal to that?
Yes.
OFFICIAL: " On February 11th,
in the year of our Lord, 1858...
...I, Bernadette Soubirous,
was sent in the company...
...of my sister Marie
and my friend Jeanne Abadie...
...to fetch firewood in the forest".
Do you confirm this?
I did see her.
OFFICIAL:
"At a location known as Massabielle...
...I rested while my sister and friend
crossed the River Gave".
Do you confirm this?
I did see her.
"For a time, nothing happened...
...and then, suddenly, I noticed...
- I did see her!
...the grotto was shaking.
I thought this strange"...
I did see her.
I did see her.
I...
...did see her.
[CROWD SINGING]
You're not sorry
you came back to visit us?
No. For five years,
I've been stationed in Languedoc...
...a stinking hole if ever there was one.
Now that I see this, I realize
what a paradise I've been living in.
You see, my friend, how deeply
hell reaches into human life.
Poor ignorant sheep. Why do they come?
Because they have faith.
Because they're desperate.
Because occasionally someone is cured.
And because some hypochondriac,
due to emotional excitement...
...forgets a malady that never existed.
Oh, yes, we have hundreds of those.
But we have many, many other cases
that aren't so easy to explain.
Yesterday, there was a woman
with lupus, tuberculosis of the face.
Suddenly, she discovered
a nose and a mouth...
...where only minutes before...
...there was nothing
but one large, decaying cavity.
Please, doctor...
...I'm not a gullible sheepherder
from the Pyrenees.
We have pictures in the office.
Would you care to see?
Gentlemen, what's the use?
This same argument has been going on
for a great many years...
...and, I'm afraid, will go on
for a great many more.
To those who believe in God,
no explanation is necessary.
To those who do not,
no explanation will suffice.
BOY: Your Reverence.
- Adolar.
A message. Your housekeeper
thought it was important...
...and asked me to bring it.
- Thank you.
This is the first. You remember him,
the Bouhouhorts child?
- Is that all, Your Reverence?
- Yes, thank you, Adolar.
[DUTOUR COUGHING]
ESTRADE: Have the doctor give you
something for that cold.
DUTOUR:
No.
It's just a little laryngitis I picked up
from the drafty train last night.
It will be gone by tomorrow.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
- Good day.
- Good day, dean.
And I give you full permission,
dear doctor...
...to write down in your big book...
...that my amazing recovery
was due solely to the Lady of Lourdes.
If I kept such a book...
...I would write you down
merely as a skeptic...
...who I promise will leave Lourdes
at least...
...wondering.
Not I, doctor. Not I.
This place only succeeds in revolting me.
Once it was a dull
but pleasing little village.
Now look at it. A tremendous sponge...
...sopping up the infection of the world.
- Good morning, Monsieur Jones.
JONES: Morning, Dr. Dozous.
- Gentlemen.
- Good day, monsieur.
- You look better today.
Yes, doctor, I think I feel much better
today, thank you.
[COUGHS]
Monsieur Jones' voice
has a lot in common...
...with Monsieur Dutour's.
Don't you think?
Yes, now that you mention it.
Monsieur Jones has cancer of the larynx.
[SINGING]
PRIEST: Holy Mary.
ALL: Pray for us.
PRIEST: Mother of God.
- Pray for us.
- Holy Virgin of virgins.
- Pray for us.
- Mother of Christ.
- Pray for us.
- Mother of divine grace.
- Pray for us.
PRIEST:
Mother most pure.
DUTOUR:
I am a stranger here.
I am not like
these thousands of souls...
...flickering brightly and hopefully
in the darkness.
My pride has always stood
between them and me.
The pride of being
a superior human being.
But now I know that we are all
a wretched, animal species...
...distinguished from the insects only
by nerve centers and false reasoning.
A hungry cancer is feeding
at my throat.
Tomorrow, I'll crawl back
to Languedoc...
...hide in some hole of death
and be heard of no more.
I'll be alone, alone and desolate.
And why not? It's logical.
I'll be alone
because I have loved no one...
...no one and nothing,
not even myself.
Nothing.
Nothing.
PRIEST: Queen of Apostles.
ALL: Pray for us.
- Queen of Martyrs.
- Pray for us.
PRIEST:
Queen of All Saints.
Pray for me, Bernadette.
- Your Reverence.
- My child.
I didn't lie to you.
God knows you didn't.
They questioned me...
...again and again.
I saw her.
Tell them I saw her.
They won't believe me.
Yes, my little one. You saw her.
And you will see her again.
I'm not so sure.
Maybe I haven't suffered enough.
You've suffered enough, my child,
for the heaven of heavens.
No.
I know about sick people.
We all exaggerate a little.
Our pains aren't so terrible.
I believe...
Sister.
Sister.
Are the pains worse?
What day is this?
Wednesday.
Wednesday?
Tomorrow...
Tomorrow will be Thursday.
The lady...
Madame...
Madame...
Madame...
The lady won't come here,
Your Reverence.
I'll never see her again.
You will, my child.
No.
No, I was stupid and lazy.
I didn't even know
what the Holy Trinity was.
Where are you, madame?
Where are you?
She's gone.
PRIEST:
Behold, my beloved, speaketh to me.
Arise, make haste, my love, my dove,
my beautiful one.
I won't see her.
PRIEST:
For winter is now past...
I'll never see her again.
Divine flowers
yield their sweet smell...
Never...
Never...
I'll never see...
Let thy voice sound in my ears,
for thy voice is sweet.
I love you.
I love you.
NUNS: Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Holy Mary, mother of God...
...pray for me.
Pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
You are now in heaven and on earth.
Your life begins, O Bernadette.