The Lourdes Medal

Firstly, “La Manufacture Joaillière d’Occitanie (La Séral)” is the former “Société d’Editions Religieuses et d’Articles de Lourdes”: based in Lourdes itself since its foundation in 1946, it has never moved from there!

Founded and long run by locals from Lourdes, it is also the locals who work there every day, sometimes spanning several generations within the same family.

Its history began in response to the influx of pilgrims visiting the Sanctuary following the Apparitions of 1858 to the young Bernadette Soubirous. In response to their requests to take a little piece of the Marian town home with them, the staff at the Manufacture Joaillière d’Occitanie gradually began to craft medals bearing the image of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Brass, aluminium, gold, silver, precious metals and more modest materials… a wide range of metals pass through the expert hands and machinery of the workshop. A genuine expertise has also been developed in the use of blue glass enamel, a symbol of the Blessed Virgin who appeared here.

This so-called ‘grand feu’ enamel is produced from metal oxide powder capable of withstanding high temperatures of over 1,000°C (hence its name, ‘grand feu’). The work of the enameller is, here, a true art form.  It is what sets the medals of the Manufacture Joaillière d’Occitanie (formerly SERAL 1946) apart.

This is also why, since 2020, it has been designated an “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” (Living Heritage Company), a true recognition of all the work it has accomplished.

Over the years, the small business has grown and created new products: medallions with an insert of Lourdes water, and more colourful medallions thanks to different enamelling techniques and the introduction of epoxy resin…

It also owns theMalespine® brand: a well-known brand of Lourdes water lozenges in their little cobalt-blue tins. The lozenges are manufactured in one of France’s leading centres for this type of confectionery: Vichy! The Lourdes water is sent there, and the Manufacture Joaillière d’Occitanie (formerly SERAL 1946) collects it for the packaging of the pastilles. These have been recognised by papal blessing since the late 19th century.

Although it nearly disappeared in an accidental fire on 29 February 2012, it managed to recover.  75 per cent of the factory was destroyed by fire; it had to be demolished and completely rebuilt. This event left a deep impression not only on the employees but also on all the people of Lourdes, who were finally reminded of this flagship of Lourdes’s industrial heritage, which had been forgotten for a time.

The Covid period also left its mark, but the team is now more united than ever and deeply involved in the life of the company. Twenty-one people now work at La Manufacture Joaillière d’Occitanie (formerly SERAL 1946).