At the instruction of a mysterious Lady visible only to the child, and to the uproarious laughter of thousands of ridiculing onlookers, fourteen-year-old Bernadette began digging into the dry ground at the Grotto of Massabielle until she unearthed enough moisture to smear a muddy mixture on her face. Later that day, the faithful were as amazed as the government officials were dismayed when a spring producing 25,000 gallons of water each day erupted from that very spot. It is arguably the most miraculous water the world has ever known. Monday, January 7, 2019 marked the 175th anniversary of St. Bernadette’s birth and Monday, February 11th was the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

To commemorate Bernadette’s inspiring life and the miraculous events begun in Lourdes, France during the winter of 1858, award-winning author Paul F. Caranci released his new book, I Am the Immaculate Conception: The Story of Bernadette of Lourdes.

Bio: Paul F. Caranci is a historian and cof-ounder of The Municipal Heritage Group. He has written columns for local and national magazines and trade publications. Paul has published 9 books and has three award winning books to his credit; The Hanging & Redemption of John Gordon: The True Story of Rhode Island’s Last Execution (2013) – voted one of the top five non-fiction books of 2013, and Scoundrels: Defining Corruption Through Tales of Political Intrigue in Rhode Island – winner of the 2016 Dorry Award for non-fiction book of the year, In addition, The Promise of Fatima: One Hundred Years of History, Mystery and Faith, was named a finalist in the International Book Awards held in Los Angeles, CA in May 2018. It is the inspiring story of the Marian apparitions to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. P aul is a former Director of the R.I. Heritage Harbor Museum and the R.I. Heritage Hall of Fame. He is on the Executive Committee of the Association of Rhode Island Authors, the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Publications Society, and served for eight years as Rhode Island’s Deputy Secretary of State.

When her beloved Aunt Grace is found dead on the floor of her bedroom, eleven-year-old Zoe Delaney is convinced it was murder. Determined to get to the truth of the matter, and with the help of a journal she finds under her aunt’s bed, Zoe sets out to investigate her aunt’s death.  Her covert investigation soon turns up evidence that her aunt, a highly regarded ethics professor at Rhode Island College, might not have been the person Zoe and others thought she was.  Zoe is forced to face the possibility that, rather than being an innocent victim, her Aunt Grace may have murdered several people  Should Zoe turn her discoveries over to her parents–and the  police–or destroy the evidence and save her aunt’s reputation?