The Green Scapular is a lesser-known sacramental within Catholic tradition, yet it carries a profound history of faith and conversion. Its origin is attributed to the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Sister Justine Bisqueyburu in the 19th century. This article delves into the life of Sister Justine, the circumstances of the apparitions, and the spiritual impact of the Green Scapular.

Biography of Sister Justine Bisqueyburu

Marie-Justine Bisqueyburu was born on November 11, 1817, in Mauléon, a picturesque region in the Lower Pyrenees of France. Coming from a humble family, she faced adversity from an early age, being orphaned as a child. After the loss of her parents, she was raised by her maternal aunt, who instilled in her a deep Catholic faith and a sense of duty toward those in need.

During her youth, Marie-Justine displayed a natural inclination toward religious life and spiritual contemplation. Seeking a more defined vocation, she entered the Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul in Paris on January 28, 1840. This religious institute, known for its dedication to serving the poor and sick, attracted Justine because of its charism and commitment to the most vulnerable.

Upon arriving at the motherhouse on Rue du Bac, Justine began her preparatory retreat and formation as a novice. It was during this crucial period that she began to experience a series of mystical visions that would change the course of her life. These visions, in which the Virgin Mary appeared to her, not only strengthened her personal faith but also led her to take on a special mission in promoting Marian devotion. Her novitiate was deeply marked by these supernatural manifestations, which prepared her for a life of service and dedication to others.

Throughout her religious life, Sister Justine was distinguished by her tireless charity and commitment to prayer. Her companions noted in her an unwavering serenity and confidence, qualities that made her an example of humility and devotion. Although her apparitions were initially unknown outside her community, they eventually became a spiritual legacy that inspired the creation of the Green Scapular, a sacramental aimed at conversion and the salvation of souls.

The Apparitions of the Virgin Mary

On January 28, 1840, at 140 Rue du Bac in Paris, while Sister Justine was praying before a statue of the Virgin Mary, the Blessed Mother appeared to her dressed in a white robe that fell to her feet and a mantle of heavenly blue, with her long hair uncovered by a veil. This first experience marked the beginning of a series of mystical apparitions that confirmed Sister Justine’s spiritual mission.

After several similar apparitions, on September 8, 1840, the feast of the Nativity of Mary, the Virgin Mary appeared again to Sister Justine while she was praying in the community of Blangy, in Seine-Maritime. On this occasion, the Virgin Mary held in her right hand a heart from which burning flames emerged, symbolizing her pure love for humanity, and in her left hand, she displayed a green scapular with a unique design.

The scapular consisted of a single piece of green cloth; on the front, it bore an image of the Virgin Mary holding her heart in a maternal gesture, while the reverse depicted a heart pierced by a sword, crowned with a cross, and surrounded by the words: “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”

During these visions, Sister Justine received an interior message that this scapular was to be created and widely distributed as an instrument of conversion and salvation, especially for those distant from the faith. The Virgin Mary assured her that those who wore it with faith, or for whom it was offered, would receive extraordinary graces, particularly at the hour of death. These experiences reinforced Sister Justine’s mission and solidified the Green Scapular’s place in Catholic tradition.

Subsequently, Sister Justine shared these visions with her superiors and with Father Jean-Marie Aladel, her spiritual director, who initially had reservations. However, after careful discernment, the authenticity of the experiences was recognized, and steps were taken to create the Green Scapular, which soon became a recognized means of divine intercession and grace.

Following the apparitions, Sister Justine shared her experiences with her superiors and her spiritual director, Father Jean-Marie Aladel, who was initially skeptical. However, over time, the scapular was approved by the Church. In 1863, Pope Pius IX authorized its manufacture and distribution, and in 1870 reaffirmed his approval, highlighting its importance as a means of conversion and grace. Unlike other scapulars, the Green Scapular does not require an investiture ceremony or association with a specific confraternity, making it easier to use and distribute among the faithful.

Meaning and Use of the Green Scapular

The Green Scapular is a symbol of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and is intended to foster conversion, especially among those distant from the faith. To benefit from its graces, it is recommended that the scapular be blessed by a priest and worn by the person seeking Mary’s intercession. If the person is unwilling or unable to wear it, the scapular may be placed discreetly among their belongings, and the one who places it should pray daily the invocation: “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.” The effectiveness of the scapular is closely tied to the faith and trust with which it is used.

Testimonies of conversion and healing

Numerous testimonies over the years have attributed special graces to the Green Scapular, including miraculous conversions, returns to the faith, and physical and spiritual healings. The Virgin Mary promised that those who use the scapular with devotion will receive her special assistance, particularly at the hour of death. Additionally, those who promote this devotion will also be particularly blessed. These promises underscore the Green Scapular’s role as an instrument of mercy and maternal love from Mary to humanity.

Some testimonies

The green scapular spread rapidly, with the approval of Monsignor Affre, Archbishop of Paris, and later of Pope Pius IX and finally of Pope Pius XI.

From the beginning, many extraordinary events took place, true miracles of grace obtained by this small square of cloth. The third part of Father Marie-Edouard Mott’s book, “Le scapulaire vert et ses prodiges” (The green scapularand its prodigies), reports a whole series of benefits produced by the scapular. Here are some examples that illustrate its extraordinary efficacy.

The conversion of Bishop Affre’s murderer

On June 25, 1848, Bishop Affre, Archbishop of Paris, was killed by an insurrectionist on the barricades of Paris. But the official investigation, which was opened immediately, was never able to identify the assassin.

In 1859, a member of the Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul alerted the Sisters of Charity to the presence in the parish of Saint Paul-Saint Louis, quai des Ormes, of a man in danger of death who refused extreme unction:

“I have been visiting this family for years. I had hoped to be successful with the patient and get him to confess, but I see that I am getting nowhere, quite the contrary. The patient is so bitter that he threw me out today. He does not want to hear of a priest, he wants to die without a sacrament. I am sorry, and I have come to beg you, Sister, to send one of your sisters to visit our poor patient, in the hope that she will be more successful than we are.”

The next day, Sister Mélanie (Louise Puntis) came to the patient’s bedside. But the nun’s gentleness could not overcome the sinner. But all was not lost.

“We were bewildered, despairing of being able to persuade this poor dying man to receive the priest, when it occurred to us to ask Sister Buchepot for the scapular. Having received it, we placed it on his bed, without his seeing it; then, having approached him, I encouraged him to speak. He replied that he was very ill, because they were tormenting him to make him confess. “I want to die as I am, without seeing any priest.” No doubt,” we told him, ”you are free to receive a priest or not to receive him, just as you are free to save yourself or to condemn yourself. You know that there is a heaven for the good and a hell for the bad. Choose, you are the one who decides.” “Leave me alone –he replied – please go away and don’t come back if that’s all you have to say to me”.

We were horrified by his obstinacy. He poured out his blasphemies against God and Mary, and we left him, grieved by what we had just heard, but we left the scapular there.

Mary Almighty would triumph over this heart. As soon as we arrived home, they came to fetch us. The sick man was asking for us; he wanted to tell Sister something very important. She went there in haste, worried and afraid that someone would come to tell her that the poor dying man had died.

“I am going to die,” he said to Sister. I can feel it. I cannot stand before God in the state I am in. I don’t know what is going on inside me. I want to see a priest. But, Sister, I will not be able to receive the sacraments; I am not married, and my wife is a Protestant. I need dispensations, and we won’t have time to go to the archbishop’s palace to get them. I am so guilty! You have before you a murderer: it was I who killed Bishop Affre at the barricade of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. I would only dare confess it to a priest, M. Dumas, first vicar of Saint Paul-Saint Louis. Go and fetch him for me, Sister, and tell him that the sick man who calls you is the man who gave you his hand to help you down from the barricade when Monsignor was killed, and who led you back to his house with the pistol in his hand. Tell him so; I am sure he will recognize me.”

Seeing him so disturbed, we made him say a short prayer and the invocation of the green scapular, which he reverently kissed. “Go quickly, Sister,” he said, ”I am going to die, you will not have time. But Mary, refuge of sinners, who had just worked such a great miracle, could well work another.

M. Dumas arrived at once, approached the bed, spoke to the sick man and found him ready to go to confession, which he immediately did with all the sincerity of his soul, and showed a desire to receive communion.

But it was necessary to obtain from the archbishopric the necessary dispensations for marriage. In view of the pressing danger, M. Dumas hastened to the archiepiscopal palace to obtain them. The patient seemed to be better. Indeed, he was better, his soul was calm and he savored a peace that he did not understand, he told us, a peace from heaven.

The priest soon returned with all the dispensations, and our dear patient was able to receive the sacrament of marriage. Then, wishing to see his wife enter the bosom of the Catholic Church, he said to her, “You must promise to recant”. His wife promised and kept her word; a few months later she made her abjuration in our chapel.

When M. Dumas arrived with the Holy Eucharist, the sick man sat up, adored it deeply and burst into tears, crying for forgiveness. The priest exhorted him to put his trust in God and, after a brief exhortation, gave him first the extreme unction and then the holy viaticum, which the sick man received with faith and love. He kept weeping, repeating: “To Mary, refuge of sinners, I owe my conversion”.

An hour later, he gave his soul to God.

This was one of the first and finest victories of the green scapular.

Double spiritual and physical healing (Madeira, April 1907)

Ten days ago, one of the most prominent families of the island was devastated. An only son, who had been ill for some time, was very ill, unconscious, and in no way prepared for the great journey. They commended him to our prayers, to obtain, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, that he would regain consciousness and confess well.

I spoke of the green scapular and the power of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the refuge of sinners, especially at the hour of death. They took the scapular and placed it on the bedside of the dear sick person, who was still unconscious, while people prayed around him. It was Sunday, April 14, the feast of the Translation of the relics of St. Vincent de Paul. Hearing the songs of a procession passing in front of the house, the sick man opened his eyes, looking around him with a dull and uncertain look, while his lips stammered: “Maria sanctissima! But he soon closed his eyes again and fell into his former state for the whole afternoon and part of the night.

At about two o’clock in the morning he opened his eyes again and seemed to be looking for someone. His pious sisters surrounded him and said a few words to him about the Blessed Virgin; then one of them asked him if he did not want to see the priest and go to confession. Yes, I would like that very much,” he answered. They hurried to fetch him, while the sick man kissed the scapular in faith.

The zealous vicar of the parish soon arrived. The sick man went to confession, then asked to see his wife, whom he had left some two years before, and reconciled with her. Finally, he received Holy Viaticum with the most tender sentiments of piety.

But, wonder of wonders, his body was cured at the same time as his soul, and the tumor in his stomach that was leading him to the grave suddenly disappeared.

The happy convert did not know how to express his joy and gratitude. Is it not true ,” he said to those around him, ” that I owe everything to the Blessed Virgin? Undoubtedly. Well then. Give me a catechism; I need to relearn so many things I have forgotten! I owe everything to Mary. And she asked to keep the precious scapular, to which she owed her double spiritual and corporal healing, to wear it always.

Conversion and healing of a young girl (July 1907)

A young woman from the north of France, 29 years old, educated in a very Christian way, was led astray by a family friend who abused the trust placed in him. Her passions, thus excited, soon became inordinate.

Around March 1907, she was taken to a mission priest, who, with his advice, tried to bring her back to a more sensible behavior. But after a few months of improvement, the illness reappeared with greater intensity.

It was then, in July 1907, that the missionary thought of giving a green scapular to the poor sick woman. She accepted it willingly and wore it devoutly, reciting several times a day the little prayer inscribed on it: “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us, now and at the hour of our death”.

Mary did not turn a deaf ear to her prayers and responded to her trust by granting her a sudden and radical cure. And on November 7, the young convert was able to write to the superior who had acted as her intermediary with the missionary:

“I believe I have been freed forever from this setback, which caused me so much pain. I do not know how to thank the Blessed Virgin for this inestimable grace, since I owe it to her. Now I have no reason to be sad and taciturn, and I want to be more and more generous in the service of God. When you see the missionary who has taken so much interest in my poor soul, please tell him how happy I feel and how incapable I am of expressing my gratitude to him as I should. Assure him that I follow his good advice to the letter. Tell him that the evil has disappeared since July. Four months of absolute calm, after the terrible storms that preceded it, is it not miraculous? I am unable to find the words to express my happiness. I can only say again and again: Thank you, oh Mary, thank you, thank you, a thousand thanks”.

Conversion of a person in coma – Japan

Here is the testimony of Father Leo Steinbach, a missionary in Japan during the 20th century:

“When I discovered this devotion, I read an explanation that gave the impression that it was only for lukewarm Christians. I didn’t think it would be of any use to me because I had very little contact with Christians, whether they were good, bad or indifferent. I was mostly in contact with Buddhists and Shintoists, whom I was trying to bring closer to Christ. Nevertheless, I kept a few scapulars in my pocket. The same day, in a nearby hospital, I discovered that a non-Christian patient had been unconscious for ten days. The doctor told me that she would probably die in three days without regaining consciousness. He and a nurse took me to her room. I spoke to the patient, but she gave no sign of understanding what I was saying. So I took a green scapular from my pocket, put it on her forehead and repeated the invocation: “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. And what happened? The woman immediately regained consciousness, folded her hands and, with great devotion, asked God to forgive her sins. I was stunned, as were the doctor and the nurse, who were not Christians. I immediately instructed the dying woman in the truths of the faith and baptized her that same day, to her great joy. She remained perfectly conscious for three more days, during which she devoutly received Holy Viaticum. She died praying to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

News of this miracle spread rapidly. And for more than 25 years tens of thousands of scapulars were distributed throughout the country. In addition to Japan, many scapulars were sent to the United States, Brazil, Paraguay, Korea and Indonesia. Thank you letters mention spiritual graces and miraculous healings of all kinds of illnesses (blindness, deafness, cancer, tuberculosis, hypertension, rheumatism, arthritis, etc.). Lukewarm Catholics and non-Catholics are not the last to receive these favors from Heaven (according to the testimony of Father Leo Steinbach, who died in 1994).

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The story of Sister Justine Bisqueyburu and the Green Scapular is a testament to the Virgin Mary’s ongoing care and concern for her children on Earth. Through this simple yet powerful sacramental, the faithful are offered a means to draw closer to God, seek conversion, and experience the abundant graces of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The dissemination and use of the Green Scapular remain relevant today, reminding us of the importance of faith, prayer, and trust in Mary’s maternal intercession.