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This is the standard image for Miraculous Medal prayer cards

The coat of arms of Pope John Paul II

The Miraculous Medal, also known as the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, is a medal created by Saint Catherine Labouré in response to a request from the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Many Catholics around the world (and some non-Catholics) wear the Miraculous Medal, which they believe will bring them divine blessings if worn with piety.

Saint Catherine stated that on the night of July 18, 1830—the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul—she awoke upon hearing a voice of a child calling her to the sisters' chapel (located in the Rue du Bac, Paris), where she heard the Blessed Virgin Mary say to her, “God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world.”

On November 27, 1830, Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother returned during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, wearing many rings of different colors, most of which shone rays of light over the globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns and Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword underneath. Asked why some of her rings did not shed light, Mary reportedly replied “Those are the graces for which people forget to ask.” Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions, and saying “All who wear them will receive great graces.”

Catherine did so, and after two years' worth of investigation and observation of Catherine's normal daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine's identity. The request was approved and medallions began to be produced. Those who wore the medal felt that they had received great blessings, and the medal came to be referred to as the “Miraculous Medal.” They proved to be popular and the medals spread worldwide.

The chapel in which Saint Catherine experienced her visions is located at the mother house of the Daughters of Charity in Paris, France. The bodies of Saint Catherine and Saint Louise de Marillac, a co-founder of the Daughters of Charity, are preserved in the chapel, which continues to receive daily visits from Catholic pilgrims today.

• Pope John Paul II used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, a plain cross with an M underneath the right-hand crossbar (which signified the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross when Jesus was being crucified).
• Marie Alphonse Ratisbonne was converted from liberal Judaism to the Christianity and became a Catholic priest and missionary among the Jews.

• Chapel of the Miraculous Medal - The site of the visitations and the resting place of Saint Catherine
• St. Catherine Laboure - International Site of the Daughters of Charity
• St. Catherine Laboure of the Miraculous Medal - Joseph I. Dirvin, CM (Full text of official biography)
• A hagiography of Catherine with full explanations of the visions and the Medal.