It was during the Franco Prussian War in January 1871 that the Apparitions of Our Lady of Pontmain began. Beginning under less than ample circumstances, the people of the small town of about five hundred people were very saddened that so many of their young men had been called off to war and two-thirds of the country was under the control of the German Army.
The Manifestation of Our Lady of Pontmain
Four children witnessed the apparition to come, Joseph Barbedette, Eugene Barbedette, Francoise Richer and Jeanne-Marie Lebrosse. Joseph described the apparition as follows: "In the air, seven or eight metres above Augustin Guidecoq’s house, I saw a woman of extraordinary beauty.”
He went on to describe her as young, tall and clad in a garment of deep blue. Her dress was covered with pentagonal shaped gold stars of great brilliance, and her head was adorned with a black veil. Above her head was a golden crown which described as “resembling a diadem.”
All the children described her as having profoundly deep and loving eyes, her face adorned with “smiles of sweetness.” Joseph had said “Like a true mother, she seemed happier in looking at us than we in contemplating her."
The Message of Our Lady of Pontmain
At Pontmain, the message received was primarily non-verbal and can only be surmised by taking a close interpretation of her actions. The only words spoken by the Blessed Lady were these: “Pray, my children.” In many apparitions, the Blessed Virgin urges people to pray the Holy Rosary.
At the time of the apparition, a congregation of local inhabitants had been singing a hymn. When they arrived at the words “My Sweet Jesus, now has come the time to grant thy pardon to our heavy hearts,” the Blessed Virgin was said to have a “shadow of sadness” fall upon her face and across her entire personage.
Holding up a red cross before her chest, the image of Jesus Christ was upon it with His name in red lettering. She said nothing but appeared to be praying as her lips were moving.
Our Lady of Pontmain was declared a valid apparition by the Bishop and the Holy See and permitted liturgical honors to be given in their diocese under the title of "Our Lady of of Hope of Pontmain." Plans were also made to erect a shrine in the Blessed Virgin’s honor.
Other Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Include Our Lady of Pellavoisin and Our Lady of Reconciliation.
Sources:
- Those who Saw Her: Apparitions of Mary, by Catherine M. Odell.
- Catherine Laboure and the Modern Apparitions of Our Lady, by Abbe Omer Englebert.
- Miraculous Images: Photographs Containing God's Fingerprints, by Marilynn Hughes.
- Medjugorje: Light for the World, by Pietro Jacopini.
- Our Lady Comes to Garabandal, by Joseph A. Pelletier, A.A.
- The Wonder of Guadalupe, by Francis Johnston.
- The Glories of Czestochowa and Jasna, To the Priests Our Lady's Beloved Sons, by Marian Movement of Priests.
- Our Lady of America, by Sister Mildred Mary Neuzil.
- The Thunder of Justice, by Ted and Maureen Flynn.
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