The Apparition of the Virgin Mary
On 19 September 1846, in the mountain pastures above the village of La Salette in Isère, two shepherd children, Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat, said they had met a ‘Beautiful Lady’ in tears, all in light. She entrusted them with a message of conversion, for ‘all her people’.
After 5 years of rigorous investigation, the bishop of Grenoble, Mgr Philibert de Bruillard, issued a mandate recognising the authenticity of the apparition.
The event
two children spoke of having met with a ‘Beautiful Lady’ in the countryside where their cows were grazing, above the village of La Salette. Maximin Giraud was 11 and Melanie Calvat 14.
At first seated and weeping, the ‘Beautiful Lady’ stood up and, in
French and in local dialect, she spoke to them for a long time
about her Son, drawing examples from their own lives. She
gave them a Message and told them to ensure that it was
passed on to all of the people.
The light in which she wasbathed and which enfolded all three of them came from a large crucifix which she wore upon her chest, bearing also a hammer and pliers on the cross bar. She was wearing a heavy chain upon her shoulders and, to the side, roses. Her head, her body and her feet were surrounded by roses. Then the ‘Beautiful Lady’ moved up a short steep rise and disappeared into the light.
The Church Recognises The Apparition
On the 19th September 1851, after a long and rigorous enquiry, Mgr Philibert de Bruillard, the Bishop of Grenoble, declared in a celebrated mandate that :
“the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to two shepherds on the moun- tain of La Salette…had all of the characteristics of truth and that the faithful had good grounds to believe in it, accepting it as certain beyond doubt.”
1851, Mgr Philibert de Bruillard
In 1855, Mgr Ginoulhiac, Bishop of Grenoble, after a new enquiry, confirmed the decision of his predecessor by declaring :
“The task of the shepherds is complete; that of the Church begins…“
1855, Mgr Ginoulhiac
The sanctuary
In May 1852 Mgr Bruillard, Bishop of Grenoble, in a letter to the members of his diocese, announced the foundation of a Sanctuary, comprising of a church with dedicated hotel accommodation. At the same time, he took the opportunity to create a special body of priests who would be dedicated to the service of the visiting pilgrims. “These priests, he said, will be
called Missionaries of Notre-Dame de La Salette”. Today they are present not only at the Sanctuary where they provide a welcome meeting the spiritual needs of the pilgrims, but also in numerous countries throughout the world. “You must give the message to all of my people”, this was the conclusion of Mary’s message at her meeting with Maximin and Melanie. The Missionaries strive to continue this work of spreading the message, making it known.
The welcoming of pilgrims to the Sanctuary and the spreading of the Message of the ‘Beautiful Lady’ are undertaken not only by the Missionaries but also by the Sisters of Notre-Dame de La Salette, the other religious congregation arising from the event of the Apparition.
Throughout all aspects of their lives, the Sisters give witness to the call of Christ to reconciliation and conversion.
The Association of the Pilgrims of Notre Dame de La Salette was created in 1962. The congregation of the Missionaries of La Salette, to whom the Bishop of Grenoble had entrusted the welcoming of pilgrims and the promotion of pilgrimage, needed support for the upkeep and development of the buildings and the administration of the hotel. The Association of the Pilgrims of La Salette characterises itself in its statutes by service to pilgrimage and to the pilgrims. It assures the smooth running of administration and promotion, and looks after the material interests, be they moral or cultural, of organisations and services dedicated to the development and promotion of Pilgrimage, whatever they may be.