Flora Cantábrica

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STUDY OF THE CATECHISM

At the end of June 1857, the one who was his nurse accepted Bernardita in his house in Bartrès, promising that he would make her go to school and the catechism. But the reality was that they made her work a lot as a shepherdess for her flocks of sheep and cows. He was not given the opportunity to go to school or catechism, except rarely; but in the many hours of solitude in the field, God spoke to her heart and she learned to talk to Him. She got up early, helped the lady dress the little ones, arranged the house with the maid Juana María and then went to the barn, accompanied by the puppy Pigou, who always went with her to the field. At the foot of a centenary chestnut tree, he built with stones a little altar, on which he placed a picture of the Virgin Mary and prayed a dozen of the rosary.

However, Bernardita was not happy. She wanted to learn and one fine day when a neighbor of Lourdes went to visit her, she gave her this assignment for her parents: I am bored here. If you have no problem, go see my parents to tell them to come get me. I wish to return to Lourdes to attend class and prepare for first communion

On 28 January 1858 he returned to Lourdes. He was already 14 years old. The next day, with her parents’ permission, she went to the hospice school, run by nuns. She was immediately enrolled and prepared with Father Pomian, who gave the instruction of catechesis. At that time, he could not read or write, nor could he speak French, only the patois of the region, and he was ignorant of almost everything of the catechism