Pellevoisin, Pontmain, Le Laus, La Salette, Lourdes. These 5 places where the Virgin Mary officially appeared in France
France has 19 places of Marian apparitions, five of which are officially recognized by the Catholic Church.
How does the Catholic Church assess the credibility of apparitions? In May 2024, it revised its criteria.
5 officially “approved” appearances:
- 1664: Our Lady of Laus (Le Laus) : In May 1664, the very pious shepherdess Benoîte Rencurel deeply desired to see the Virgin Mary. The next day, a “beautiful lady” appeared to him, and this for four months, in the Vallon des Fours, near Saint-Étienne-d’Avançon (Hautes-Alpes), then in Laus, in the chapel of Bon-Rencontre. The Virgin gave her an intensive catechization which transformed her spiritual life and prepared her for the great mission of her life: welcoming, praying and doing penance for the pilgrims. “Lady Mary” asks her above all to work for the conversion of sinners. Benoîte will be the witness over the following 54 years of mystical events and Marian apparitions. These multi-decade apparitions have been implicitly recognized since the first major pilgrimage, in 1665, before being officially recognized in 2008. Today, the Sanctuary of Laus receives visits from 150,000 to 170,000 visitors and pilgrims each year.
- 1846: Notre-Dame-Réconciliatrice (La Salette): On September 19, 1846, two young shepherds, Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat, saw a “lady” sitting and crying appear to them, all in the light on the mountainous heights of the village of La Salette (Isère). The Virgin speaks to them at length about Jesus and entrusts them with a message of conversion. With strong words, Mary raises the importance of Lent, Mass and Sunday rest, as well as daily prayer. She calls on Christians to convert very quickly to avoid punishment from Heaven. The apparition was only recognized in 1851 by the bishopric of Grenoble and then confirmed in 1855. Today, an average of nearly 200,000 pilgrims and visitors come to pray at the La Salette sanctuary.
- 1885: Our Lady of Lourdes (Lourdes): Between February 11 and July 16, 1868, the Virgin appeared 18 times to the young Bernadette Soubirous at the Massabielle cave, in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées). Mary, who presents herself under the name of “the Immaculate Conception”, will reveal a message calling for the penance of sinners and their conversion through prayer. The Virgin will also show the clairvoyant a source of water. “Go drink from the fountain and wash there,” she will tell him. Furthermore, the Immaculate Conception will ask the priests to come to the grotto “in procession and build a chapel there”. This is done since the Catholic sanctuary of Lourdes is one of the most visited in France with more than 3.1 million pilgrims each year, and one of the main ones in the world. The apparitions were recognized there by the local bishop in 1862, then implicitly by Pope Pius IX in 1869.
- 1871: Notre-Dame-d’Espérance (Pontmain): On the evening of January 17, 1871, Eugène and Joseph Barbedette with Françoise Richer, Jeanne-Marie Lebossé and probably three other children said they saw the Virgin Mary in the starry sky of Pontmain (Mayenne). For three hours, they witness the appearance of a “beautiful lady” in a blue dress sprinkled with stars, draped with a black veil on her head and a gold crown with a red border. Coming to bring them a message of hope in the midst of the war against Prussia, Mary reveals to them on a banner: “But pray my children, God will hear you in a short time. My Son lets himself be touched. » This apparition will subsequently be recognized twice: in 1872 then in 1920 by the local bishopric. The place is today a large sanctuary welcoming an average of 300,000 pilgrims, according to figures from 2017.
- 1876: Our Lady of Mercy (Pellevoisin): Between February 14 and December 8, 1876, the Marnese servant Estelle Faguette said she saw the Virgin Mary appear to her 15 times in her bedroom, in Pellevoisin (Indre). Then sick and close to death, the “All-Merciful” Virgin healed her in order to be able to spread her glory and encourage the conversion of sinners. Mary would also have entrusted him with the mission of spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the scapular of the Sacred Heart. Hands outstretched like the Virgin of the Miraculous Medal, Mary comforts and restores confidence to Estelle in the son of the apparitions.
The 15 French Marian apparitions for which the Church has not yet ruled
- 430: Notre Dame du Marillais, in Mauges-sur-Loire (Anjou)
- 850: Our Lady of Miracles, in Utelle (Alpes-Maritimes)
- 1105: Notre-Dame des Ardents, in Arras (Pas-de-Calais)
- 1491: Notre-Dame des Trois-Epis, in Trois-Épis (Haut-Rhin)
- 1515: Notre-Dame de Garaison, in Garaison (Hautes-Pyrénées)
- 1519: Notre-Dame-de-Grâces, in Cotignac (Var)
- 1649: Notre-Dame-de-l’Osier, in Vinay (Isère)
- 1652: Notre-Dame-de-Toute-Aide, in Querrien (Côtes-d’Armor)
- 1682: Notre-Dame-de-Lareu, in Alan (Haute-Garonne)
- 1686: Notre-Dame de Celles, in Celles (Ariège)
- 1803: Notre-Dame-du-Chêne, in Scey-Maisières (Doubs)
- 1830: Notre-Dame-de-la-Miraculeuse-Medal, in Paris
- 1873: Notre-Dame-du-Dimanche, in Saint-Bauzille-de-la-Sylve (Hérault)
- 1899: Our Lady of Campitello, in Campitello (Upper Corsica)
- 1947: Notre-Dame-de-la-Prière, in L’Île-Bouchard (Indre-et-Loire)