Our Lady of La Salette

In the French Alps, there exists a town called La Salette, where a notable Marian apparition took place during the nineteenth century. On September 19, 1846, Maximin Giraud (eleven years old) and Melanie Calvat (fourteen years old) experienced an encounter with what they called a "Beautiful Lady." The two children were grazing sheep at La Salette when they saw this woman seated on a rock and crying. She wore a radiant white dress, a golden crown, and a crucifix adorned with a hammer and pincers. She spoke to them in their local dialect and conveyed messages that included a call for repentance and prayer, the importance of leading a virtuous life, and observance of the Lord's Day. After that, the woman walked up a steep path and vanished into a bright light. According to the children, the light emanated from a crucifix on the woman's chest. Soon after this event, word spread, and pilgrims crowded the rough paths leading up to the site where the apparition occurred.

The message of the visionaries of La Salette focuses on the conversion of all humanity to Christ. The "Beautiful Lady" of La Salette implores all people who would listen to "be reconciled to God." This conversion requires daily prayer and frequent reception of the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. The woman (the Virgin Mary) was in tears because she recognized the tremendous responsibility that free will places upon each person to lead a moral life and follow God's will. The message of La Salette traces the "narrow road that leads to life" (Matthew 7:14), like the steep and narrow path the "Beautiful Lady" climbed before disappearing into the light.

Following the visionaries' encounter at La Salette, a profound Christian revival swept through the region. Eventually, a church was constructed there, known as the Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette. In 1872, this spiritual awakening gave birth to nationwide pilgrimages across France. Over the span of roughly 150 years, the essence of La Salette has manifested in a movement that has led to the establishment of convents, monasteries, congregations, and arch-confraternities. Its influence has been palpable, touching the lives of Christians worldwide. Saints like John Vianney, Don Bosco, and various renowned religious writers were deeply impacted by the message of La Salette. 

Prayer:

Remember, dear Lady of La Salette, true Mother of Sorrows, the tears you shed for me on Calvary; be mindful also of the unceasing care you exercise to shield me from the justice of God, and consider that you can't now abandon your child, for whom you've done so much. Inspired by this consoling thought, I cast myself at your feet despite my infidelity and ingratitude. Reject not my prayer, O Virgin of reconciliation, convert me, obtain for me the grace to love Jesus Christ above all things and to console you too by living a holy life, so that one day I may see you in Heaven. Amen.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 

(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)