Boly Mill

Bernadette was born at the Boly watermill on 7 January 1844. She was the eldest of nine children, of whom only four reached adulthood. Family life revolved around the mill, where her father, François Soubirous, a miller by trade, worked. When she was just a few months old, Bernadette went to live with Marie Laguës, her wet nurse from Bartrès, between November 1844 and April 1846. Bernadette’s mother, who had suffered severe burns, was no longer able to breastfeed her. Bernadette remained very fond of Marie, whom she called her ‘second mother’. She spent the first ten years of her life at Boly Mill, which she affectionately called the ‘mill of happiness’.

Bernadette was born on 7 January 1844 at the Boly mill. She was the eldest of nine siblings, of whom only four reached adulthood. Family life revolved around the mill, where her father, François Soubirous, a miller by trade, worked. When she was just a few months old, Bernadette was entrusted to Marie Laguës, a wet nurse from Bartrès, from November 1844 until April 1846. Her mother, who had suffered severe burns, was unable to breastfeed her. Bernadette was very fond of her and regarded her as her ‘second mother’. She spent her first ten years at the Boly mill, which she affectionately called the ‘mill of happiness’.

Bernadette was born on 7 January 1844 at the Boly mill. She was the eldest of nine children, only four of whom reached adulthood. Family life was organised around the rhythm of the mill, where her father, François Soubirous, worked as a miller. From November 1844 to April 1846, when she was just a few months old, Bernadette was entrusted to the care of Marie Laguës, her wet nurse from Bartrès. Her mother had suffered severe burns and was no longer able to breastfeed her. Bernadette remained very fond of her and regarded her as a ‘second mother’. She spent the first ten years of her life at the Boly mill, which she affectionately nicknamed the ‘mill of happiness’.

Bernadette was born on 7 January 1844 at the Boly Mill. She was the eldest of nine siblings, five of whom, however, died at a young age. Her father, François Soubirous, was a miller by trade, and the family’s life revolved around the mill. When Bernadette was just a few months old, she was taken to her wet nurse, Marie Laguës, in Bartrès, where she stayed from November 1844 to April 1846. Her mother was no longer able to breastfeed her herself following a severe burn. Bernadette remained very close to her wet nurse and referred to her as her ‘second mother’. She spent the first ten years of her life at the Boly Mill, which she affectionately called the ‘Mill of Happiness’.

Bernadette was born on 7 January 1844 at the Boly mill. She was the eldest of nine brothers and sisters, only four of whom would reach adulthood. The mill was at the heart of family life, where her father, François Soubirous, worked as a miller. When Bernadette was just a few months old, between November 1844 and April 1846, she was entrusted to the care of Marie Laguës, her nanny in Bartrès. Her mother, who had suffered severe burns, was no longer able to breastfeed her. Bernadette was very fond of her and described her as a ‘second mother’. She spent her first ten years at the Boly mill, which she affectionately called the ‘mill of happiness’.

Bernadette was born on 7 January 1844 at the Moulin de Boly mill. She was the eldest of nine siblings, of whom only four reached adulthood. Family life revolved around the mill where her father, François Soubirous, a miller by trade, worked. Between November 1844 and April 1846, Bernadette, then just a few months old, was entrusted to the care of Marie Laguës, a wet nurse from Bartrès. Her mother, who had suffered severe burns, was no longer able to breastfeed her. Bernadette remained deeply attached to her wet nurse, calling her ‘her second mother’. She spent her first ten years at the Moulin de Boly, which she would come to call ‘the mill of happiness’.