Carried to Paradise by the hands of the Blessed Virgin

“When the Blessed Virgin sends suffering, it is a grace that she gives us,” said Sister Catherine Labouré, religious of Saint Vincent de Paul in Paris (Daughters of Charity) to whom the Blessed Virgin appeared in 1830 and asked to have a medal made, known as the Miraculous Medal.

Worn out by work and age, her heart became weak. She still had a sorrow in her heart: the Blessed Virgin had asked her to have a statue sculpted representing her holding a globe in her hands. But up until that day her confessors had ignored her request. She therefore begged Mary to tell her if she should share her "secret" with her Superior. She perceived a positive answer in her heart and revealed everything. Her Superior was convinced, and soon the statue of the Virgin with the globe was sculpted.

Sister Catherine awaited death with a serene attitude. Many times she warned her sisters that she would not see the year 1877. Indeed, on December 31, 1876, at about seven o'clock in the evening, after reciting the prayers of the dying with her community, she appeared to be sleeping. The sisters realized that Catherine had died. Her soul was carried to paradise by the hands of the Blessed Virgin. Her Superior said later that she had never seen so calm and so gentle a death. 

Translated from the French – Source: Catherine Labouré