Our Lady of La Salette
| Our Lady of La Salette | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | La Salette-Fallavaux, France |
| Date | 19 September 1846 |
| Witness |
Mélanie Calvat Maximin Giraud |
| Type | Marian apparition |
| Holy See approval | August 1848, during the pontificate of Pope Pius IX |
| Shrine | Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette, La Salette, France |
Our Lady of La Salette is a Marian apparition that occurred at La Salette, France. It was witnessed by two children, Maximin Giraud and Melanie Calvat, on Mount Sous-Les Baisses.[1]
History
On September 19, 1846 Maximin and Melanie saw the Virgin Mary on Mount Sous-Les Baisses, weeping bitterly. She continued to weep even as she spoke to them - first in French, then in their own dialect. After speaking, the apparition vanished.[2][3]
The children related the story just as they heard - in French and in their dialect - and the next day the apparition was put into writing, signed by the visionaries and those who had heard the story.[4]
In 1851, the Catholic Church declared the apparition to be worthy of belief.[5]
Documents
Official
Pope John Paul II sent a letter to Msgr. Louis Dufaux, bishop of Grenoble, for the 150th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette.[6]
Unofficial
John Paul II also gave an address to the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, in which he referenced the aforementioned letter.[7]
La Salette - Authentic Documents, Volumes I-III, written by Fr. Jean Stern, the archivist of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette in Rome, presents "the authentic documents on La Salette in chronological order, of which only bits have been revealed to the public up to this point: the interviews with the witnesses, the reports of the investigators, reactions of pilgrims and the opponents of the Apparition, brochures that were peddled at the time, articles in newspapers, etc."[8]
Controversy
Sensation about Our Lady of La Salette arose when Melanie and Maximin had made her message public, which caused the bishop of Grenoble to investigate the apparition. During the investigation, a number of slanders were made against the visionaries, including the assertion that the apparition was just a young womand named Lamerliere.[9]
The visionaries sent two secrets to Pope Pius IX - one given to each of them, which they never revealed to one another - but which the Pope never made public. However, sensation again arose when Melanie allegedly published his secret on a brochure, which he himself had printed, in Lecce, with the local bishop's approval.[10]
The Church has never said if the published secret is authentic or not. But it has given rise to the conspiracy theory that the published secret is a fake, produced by another Melanie disturbed by apocalypticism and the Illuminati.[11]
External links
Sanctuary of La Salette
Catholic Encyclopedia
Notes
- ^ http://lasalette.cef.fr/spip.php?article512
- ^ http://lasalette.cef.fr/spip.php?article513
- ^ http://lasalette.cef.fr/spip.php?article510
- ^ http://lasalette.cef.fr/spip.php?article513
- ^ http://lasalette.cef.fr/spip.php?article513
- ^ http://lasalette.cef.fr/spip.php?article514
- ^ http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2000/apr-jun/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20000504_notre-dame_en.html
- ^ http://lasalette.cef.fr/spip.php?rubrique289
- ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09008b.htm
- ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09008b.htm
- ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09008b.htm
