On September 19, 1846, Our Lady appeared to two small children on the mountain of La Salette in the French Alps. There, she gave them a message for the world to hear and follow. Mary’s message to the two children at La Salette was the warning of a mother concerned over her wayward children.
She complained: “If my people refuse to submit, I will be forced to let go the arm of my Son” and more specifically: “Those who drive the carts cannot swear without using my Son’s name…they labour all day Sunday…there are none who go to Mass…when they do not know what to do, they go to Mass just to make fun of religion…” She warned: “If the harvest is ruined, it is only on account of yourselves…If you have wheat, you must not sow it. Anything you sow the vermin will eat…A great famine is coming…” She promised: “If [my people] are converted, rocks and stones will turn into heaps of wheat, and potatoes will be self-sown in the fields…” She pleaded: “Well, my children, make this known to all my people…” Through the children she gave her message of “Reconciliation” to the world. She insisted that this message be made known to all her people.
On September 19, 1851, after “a precise and rigorous investigation” of the event, the witnesses, the content of the message, and its repercussions, Philibert de Bruillard, Bishop of Grenoble, pronounced his judgment in a pastoral letter of instruction. He declared that “the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to two shepherds, … bears within itself all the characteristics of truth and the faithful have grounds for believing it to be indubitable and certain.”
Consequently in 1852 the Congregation of Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette was founded to serve as a “perpetual remembrance of Mary’s merciful Apparition.”. The apparition and message inspired the Catholic Religious Community, the Missionaries of La Salette, whose ministry is based on reconciliation. The La Salette Missionaries have a congregation of about 1,000 priests and brothers, and 200 LaSalette Sisters, serving in more than 20 countries.
MEMORARE TO OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE
Remember, Our Lady of La Salette, true Mother of Sorrows, the tears you shed for us on Calvary. Remember also the care you have taken to keep us faithful to Christ, your Son. Having done so much for your children, you will not abandon us. Comforted by this consoling thought, we come to you pleading, despite our infidelities and ingratitude. Virgin of Reconciliation, do not reject our prayers, but intercede for us, obtain for us the grace to love Jesus above all else. May we console you by a holy life and so come to share the eternal life Christ gained by his cross. Amen.
Invocation: Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of Sinners, pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you
