Our Lady of Pontmain
Apparition in France

Marian Apparition - Our Lady of Pontmain

The winter of 1871 was such a time. January was an especially brutal time for man and beast. Those who could avoid it, did

not venture out into the weather. But unfortunately, not every­body could stay at home.

France was still going through its period of chastisement.

Those in high places in the government had not heeded the plead­ings of Our Lady at the Rue du Bac in Paris, or La Salette, or more recently to the little shepherdess, Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes. They were engaged in a war with the infamous Bismarck, and his mighty Prussian troops. The French had been so involved in killing their own, and attacking helpless nuns and priests, they didn't know how to handle a real enemy. Prussia was able to march through France with ease. Paris had been captured, and enemy troops were working their way through Le Mans to­wards the coast. Bismarck had known all the strengths and weak­nesses of his adversaries. He anticipated their every move, and countered with a shrewder one. There was only one force he had not counted on. How could he? This one enemy was beyond his comprehension. He had no way of knowing her power; he didn't know her. He was taking on the Mother of God.

The little people, the common folk, flocked to their churches, to the shrines of the Rue du Bac, La Salette, and Lourdes. They prayed, fearful that it was too little too late, but hopeful, knowing that Our Lady was a merciful Mother, that their prayers would not fall on deaf ears. Rosaries, stations of the cross, confessions, fasting, communions, all were offered up to their Heavenly Mother in a desperate plea for help.

We can just picture in our mind's eye, millions of angels carrying all these prayers and offerings up from the earth and laying them at the feet of their Queen. They had to run out of room in Heaven for all the prayers and petitions offered up. At one point, Mary's beautiful eyes might have looked out over the land she had tried so hard to protect, that she had loved so much. We can imagine a sadness coming over her sparkling eyes. Per­haps a tear slipped down her velvety cheek, and descended to the earth; when it landed, an explosion of energy lit up the entire sky. It happened on January 11, 1871. Scientists called it an Aurora Borealis. The faithful called it MARY TO THE RESCUE.

On earth, the residents of Pontmain were trying to continue their lives as if all were well. Normally, these villagers wouldn't be affected by the goings on in the center of the country. After all, they were just farmers. But this war had hit everyone. Many of

the young men of Pontmain had answered the call to duty. They were somewhere in the war zone, but no one knew where, or how they were. Stories of the massacres the French were suffering at the hands of their enemies, found their way back to the town. Wagons, filled with wounded, moved along the main roads in disaster proportions. In addition, the Prussian troops had gotten to Laval, a town extremely close to Pontmain.

On the evening of January 17, the men of the Barbedette family were working in their barn. Dinner would be ready soon, but they wanted to get finished with their chores before going  inside. It had begun to snow lightly, not like the other days. The winds had died down. The pure white powder fell gently, as if it had come directly from Heaven. Monsieur Barbedette, known as Bierot, his sons Eugene 12 years old, and Joseph, aged 10, were all working side by side. It was about 6 in the evening. Supper would be ready soon. They wanted to get their work done before they were called in to eat. In the recesses of their minds was concern over the third Barbedette son, Auguste, who was away fight­ing the war. The father felt that by working, he could take his mind off his fears; but it was not happening. Not an especially religious man, he found himself praying his rosary under his breath. A neighbor woman, Jean Detais, came by with rumors about the war situation, and possible news about the son Auguste. Eugene could not get over how gently the snow had fallen outside. He couldn't hear a sound. There was not the slightest breeze blowing, much less the gailstorm winds that had buffeted the area earlier that day. He walked to the door of the barn. He didn't want to hear any bad news about Auguste. He thought that  by walking away from it, by not listening to Jean Detais, he could prevent it from happening. The night cold air was refreshing. He looked outside. The snow had stopped. He remarked to himself  how unusual it was that the sky was so full of stars, though there was no moon that night. He looked around him. He was imme­diately frozen to the spot.

Above neighbor Augustin Guidecog's house, about twenty five feet in the air, A BEAUTIFUL LADY WAS SUSPENDED IN THE AIR, her arms outstretched. She was looking at him, and smiling. He had never seen anything like her in his life. Her eyes gleamed like stars. Her teeth were pearl white. They sparkled as she smiled at him. To the 12 year old Eugene, she was a lady, but she appeared to be about 18 to 20 years old. She wore blue, but dark blue, darker than the sky. Her dress was long and loose; her sleeves flowed, and on her collar was a band of gold. There was a black veil on her head, topped by a gold cap which resembled a crown. A thin red band ran across the cap. She wore blue slippers tied with gold ribbons.

The neighbor woman noticed the boy standing in a daze at the door. He was staring up into the sky. She went over to him to see what was the matter. He asked her to look up in the sky and tell him what she saw.

"I see nothing." she answered.
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Our Lady of Pontmain
 

Our Lady visited Pontmain in 1871.

Within 10 days, the Franco-Prussian war ended.

See the Grange where the children saw Our Lady standing high above the house across the street.

Enter the beautiful Basilica built in honor of Our Lady of Hope.

ISBN 1-58002-042-9     $19.95
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