Our Lady of La Salette

It is remarkable that the most important events of religion take place on mountains. The ark comes to rest, after the flood, on a mountain in Armenia. Jehovah dictates his laws to Moses on Mount Sinai. The prophet Elijah must climb Horeb to hear the voice of the Lord. God establishes the seat of David's royalty on the mountain of Zion. When Jesus Christ begins his apostolic life, it is from the top of a mountain that he speaks for the first time to the crowd. He leads his three most beloved disciples to Tabor, and it is there that he is transfigured; he preludes his passion by watching and praying on the Mount of Olives; he dies on Calvary, and finally, when he is about to return to the bosom of his Father, he sees his Apostles one last time on a mountain in Galilee, and, from there, he ascends to the heavens.

This is how Mr. Maximin Giraud recounts the apparition of which he was the happy witness: "It is noon. Seated at the summit of the holy mountain, on stones placed one upon another and forming a kind of bench, near a dried-up fountain, which flowed that very day, which has flowed ever since and bears the name of the Miraculous Fountain, Melanie and I are eating our frugal meal. Our cows are drinking and scattering. Tired, I lie down on the grass and fall asleep. A few moments later, I hear Melanie's voice calling me: 'Mémin (a diminutive of Maximin), Mémin, come quickly, let us go see where our cows are.' I wake up with a start, I seize my stick and I follow Melanie, who was serving as my guide. We cross the Sésia, we climb rapidly up the slope of a mound; and we perceive, on the other slope, our cattle resting quietly. We were returning toward the stone bench, where we had left our satchels a few moments earlier, when all of a sudden Melanie stops... her stick slips from her hands... Frightened, she turns toward me, saying: 'Do you see that great light over there?' — 'Yes, I see it,' I replied to her; 'but go on, take your stick.' And then, brandishing my own with threats: 'If it touches me,' I added, 'I will give it a good blow.'

"This light, before which that of the sun seems to pale, appears to open, and we distinguish in its interior the form of a lady even more brilliant. She had a white, brilliant, silvery, gold-transparent headdress, high and rounded at the top, slightly i une dame encore plus brillante Apparition of the Virgin Mary on the mountain of La Salette. nclined forward. Above, and all around, was placed a crown of white, red, and blue roses; from all sides rose small golden flowers, from the middle of which sprang flames of light: between each branch of flower was a branch of brilliants: these branches formed stems, the others, sequins or stars, and all these ornaments were resplendent. The Virgin's headdress descended to her neck, and entirely hid her hair and ears; Mary's features were elongated, and her celestial face, of an admirable whiteness and beauty, expressed sweetness, kindness, and shone with a marvelous radiance. She had a white fichu, crossed over her chest, the two ends of which, tied by a simple knot, crossed over her back; this fichu and the dress with which Mary was clothed went up very high, and almost entirely hid her neck; a garland formed of roses similar to those of the crown bordered the entire fichu; a wide chain of plain gold, without design or rings, was placed along this garland; a similar chain, but smaller, held a gold crucifix, with a very brilliant Christ; on the right side of this crucifix were suspended pincers, and on the left side, a hammer, all instruments of the Passion. The Virgin's dress was of a virginal whiteness, sown with gold sequins of great brilliance; her footwear was also white, surmounted by a gold buckle, and surrounded by roses; smaller th an those of the crown, but of the same c tenailles, et au côté gauche, un marteau Symbolic objects carried by the Virgin on her crucifix. olor: and, from the middle of all the roses that the Virgin wore, came out flames of light and the most beautiful gold, which rose like incense, and came to mingle with the light that surrounded her. Finally, a plain apron, almost as long as the dress, of a light and all-brilliant fabric, completed her costume. Although at a distance of about twenty meters, we hear a voice as soft as if it were coming from a mouth close to our ears, saying: 'Come forward, my children, do not be afraid; I am here to announce a great piece of news to you.'"

“The respectful fear that had held us in check vanished; we ran to her as to a good and most excellent mother. The beautiful Lady also advanced, and, suspended ten centimeters from the ground in front of us, began her discourse thus: ‘If my people will not submit, I am forced to let go the arm of my Son; it is so heavy and so weighty that I can no longer hold it back. For as long as I have been suffering for you, if I want my Son not to abandon you, I am charged to pray to him without ceasing, and for you; and you pay no heed to it. I gave you six days to work, I reserved the seventh for myself, and they do not want to grant it to me; it is this that makes the arm of my Son so heavy. Also, those who drive the carts no longer know how to swear without putting the name of my Son into it: these are the two things that make his arm so heavy. If the harvest is spoiled, it is only for your sake; I showed it to you last year with the potatoes, and you paid no heed to it; on the contrary: when you found them spoiled, you swore and put the name of my Son into it; they will continue, and by Christmas there will be none left.’

‘Oh! No, Madame, that is not true!’ replied Mélanie. ‘Yes, my child, you will see it. Let him who has wheat not sow it, the beasts will eat it; and if a few plants do come up, when threshing it, it will all fall into dust. A great famine is coming; before the famine comes, little children under seven years of age will be seized with trembling and will die in the arms of those who hold them, and the older ones will do their penance through hunger. The grapes will spoil and the walnuts will be bad.’

‘It was at this point that the beautiful Lady gave us her secret; although keeping the same tone of voice, when she spoke to Mélanie, I heard nothing; and when she was entrusting me with my secret, Mélanie became completely deaf. This circumstantial deafness disappeared, and she resumed her discourse with these words: ‘If they convert, the stones and rocks will turn into wheat and the potatoes will be found sown in the earth.’ Then she asked us: ‘Do you say your prayers well, my children?’ Both of us answered: ‘No, Madame, not very well.’

‘Ah! My children, you must say them well, evening and morning; when you do not have time, say only a Pater and an Ave Maria, and, when you have time, you must say more. Only a few somewhat elderly women go to Mass, the others work all summer, then they go to Mass in the winter, only to mock religion. They go to the butcher shop during Lent like dogs.’ Then she asked us: ‘Have you not seen spoiled wheat, my children?’ I answered: ‘No, Madame, I have not seen any.’ Then the beautiful Lady resumed: ‘But you, my child, you must surely have seen once, near the Coin, with your father, that the man in the field said to your father: Come see my wheat, how it is spoiling! You went there; then your father took two or three ears in his hands, rubbed them, and they all fell into dust; then, on your way back, when you were only half an hour from Corps, your father gave you a piece of bread saying to you: Here, my child, eat this year, for I do not know who will eat next year, if the wheat spoils like this.’ I answered: ‘It is very true, Madame, but I did not remember it.’

"She ended her discourse with these words: 'Well, my children, you will make it known to all my people.'

"The beautiful Lady crossed the Sésia, brushing past my right side, continuing her path without turning back toward us; and, as a final farewell, she repeated these words to us again: 'Well, my children, you will make it known to all my people.'

"Motionless as statues, our eyes fixed on the beautiful Lady, we saw her, her feet joined like a skater, gliding over the tops of the grass without bending it. Recovering from our rapture, we ran after her: we soon reached her; Mélanie placed herself in front and I behind, a little to the right. There, in our presence, the beautiful Lady rose imperceptibly, remained for a few minutes between heaven and earth, at a height of about two meters; then her head, body, legs, and feet merged with the light that framed her. We saw nothing more than a globe of fire rising and penetrating into the firmament. In our naive language, we called this globe the second sun. Our gaze remained fixed for a long time on the place where the luminous globe had disappeared. I cannot describe here the ecstasy in which we found ourselves. I speak only for myself; I know very well that my whole being was annihilated, that the entire organic system was stopped in my person. When we regained our senses, Mélanie and I looked at each other, unable to utter a single word, sometimes raising our eyes to the sky, sometimes casting them at our feet and around us, sometimes questioning with our gaze everything that surrounded us. We seemed to be looking for the resplendent figure whom I never saw again.

"My companion, the first, broke the silence and said: 'This must be, Mémin, the good God or my father's Blessed Virgin, or perhaps some great saint.' — 'Ah!' I replied to her, 'if I had known, I would have certainly told her to take me with her to heaven!'

"The sun was setting; Mélanie and I gathered our cows, which had hardly moved. Beside my animals, which were walking one by one along a narrow path, I returned dreamy and pensive to the village of Les Ablandins. I was the first to speak of the beautiful Lady to Mélanie's mistress. The word s 'lady of fire,' 'se village des Ablandins Hamlet where children worked. cond sun' made her believe that I had lost my mind. She asked me to tell her what I had seen and heard on the holy mountain, which surprised her greatly; and I myself was quite astonished that she had not seen as I had this light so brilliant, placed at the summit of the mountain, and consequently visible from a very great distance. I could not imagine that I had received a special grace.

"The next day I returned to my father's house in Corps; Mélanie continued to guard her herd. We were thus providentially separated for about three months; each of us telling, on our own side, what we had seen and heard, answering all the difficulties that were addressed to us, and this in French, we who did not know it on the very morning of September 19, 1846. Such was this memorable day."

Let us add to this account a brief indication of the numerous proofs that demonstrate its truth.

We borrow from Mr. Similien, a licentiate in letters, these final lines from a scientific report he made on the Miraculous Fountain which, since this apparition, has not ceased to flow on the plateau of the holy mountain:

"A fountain, hitherto intermittent, flowed on September 20, 1846, a time of year when, from time immemorial, it had previously always been dried up; this source became continuous and remains permanent every day. Its water, without containing any ingredient that acts on the human body, has healed many sick people and even several for whom this liquid was harmful in certain cases. Therefore, one is forced to admit that this source has ceased to be subject to purely physical laws, and that its water has a supernatural efficacy..., and as its flow coincided with the moment when the two children, incapable of lying, attested to having had an apparition of the Blessed Virgin, these two facts are interdependent and inadmissible one without the other."

That is to say that this miracle is in itself a sufficient demonstration. Many others, however, have been added to it and are still being added every day; miracles in the order of grace or marvelous conversions; miracles in the order of nature, or healings that are naturally impossible, several of which have been canonically verified, and finally the fulfillment of the predictions of the Blessed Virgin, if not in total, at least in large part: grape disease (1850 and especially 1851), potato disease (1846, 1847), walnut disease (1851), cholera (1849, 1854, 1865), child mortality (sweating sickness of 1854), famine (1854, 1855). Moreover, if, while believing in this apparition, the Sovereign Pontiff has not yet formally pronounced, two bishops of Grenoble, Mgr de Bruilhard and his successor, Mgr de Gin oulhiac, have bo Mgr de Bruilhard Bishop of Grenoble who recognized the apparition. th rendered a judgme nt on this appari Mgr de Ginoulhiac Successor to Bishop de Bruilhard in the see of Grenoble. tion that confirms its truth and allows for no doubt. This miracle is therefore incontestable. Thus, for twenty years, countless pilgrims have come every year from the most distant lands to offer Our Lady of La Salette the homage of their faith and their love.

Thanks to their generous offerings, it was possible to build a magnificent church with two vast hostels for travelers and a house for the missionaries, who place their ministry at the disposal of the pious faithful. There, each year sees the arrival of thousands of pilgrims; the blind recover their sight, the paralyzed regain the use of their limbs, the sick of all kinds are healed there, and carry away the water destined to heal others.

Struck by these facts, the missionaries established a confraternity of Our Lady of La Salette; and Pius IX erected it i nto an Pie IX Pope who canonized Josaphat in 1867. archconfrate rnity under the title of Our Lady Reconciler of La Salette, with the goa archiconfrérie sous le titre de Notre-Dame réconciliatrice de la Salette Religious organization founded to promote the message of La Salette. l of appeasing the wrath of God through Mary, of having prayers offered for the conversion of sinners, and of having each member work toward their own sanctification. To achieve this goal, Pius IX seemed to want to gather here all the favors and all the indulgences in his power. Indeed, by various briefs, he declared the high altar of the church privileged in perpetuity; he authorized the Mass De beata for every day of the year, except for doubles of the first and second class and privileged ferias; he granted a plenary indulgence to the members of the confraternity on the day of their reception, at the hour of death, and, each year, on the day of the principal feast of the confraternity; he conceded an indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines four times a year on determined days, and sixty days of indulgence for each work of piety or charity. Furthermore, he granted a plenary indulgence per year to anyone who visits the church of La Salette, as well as to anyone who attends at least three exercises of the retreat preached by the missionaries, and two hundred days each time one attends one of these exercises. By another brief, the missionaries are authorized to attach indulgences to rosaries, crosses, and medals, to bestow the scapular, and to solemnize each year September 19, the anniversary of the day of the apparition, or the following Sunday in all the churches of the diocese. Finally, the Sovereign Pontiff even authorizes all the priests of the diocese to celebrate the memory of this apparition, through the recitation of the office and the celebration of the Mass of the patronage of the Blessed Virgin, which, according to the Roman rite, is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of October.

We have collected these documents from various sources; particularly from the brochure by Mr. Maximin titled; from the Month of Mary of La Salette, by Father Brissée; from Our Lady of France, by the parish priest of Saint-Sulpice, and from the speech of the Bishop of Grenoble (September 1872).