Mélanie Calvat, who was 14 years old, and Maximin Giraud, who was 11 years old, were looking after their respective herds in the mountain pastures on Mont Planeau, which dominates the village of La Salette.

On September 19th 1846, after their meal and a nap, while they were looking for their animals, they suddenly saw a great light in the hollow of a valley near a dried-up spring where they had left their stuff. The light seemed to open up and a woman appeared sitting with her head in her hands and her elbows on her knees.

The Lady stood up and called to the children: “Come forward, my children, do not be afraid, I am here to tell you great news.”

The children went down to the bottom of the valley and stood beside the lady, who had taken a few steps. The visitor seemed to be all light. She had a simple bonnet, pulled down over her eyes and high on her forehead, according to the hairstyle of the women of the Oisan.

She was wearing a long white dress that reached down to her feet, covered with a white scarf and a yellow apron. Garlands of roses surrounded her feet, the gallon of her scarf and her head. On her breast she wore a large Cross, with the instruments of the Passion on either side of Jesus Christ.

As she spoke, the Lady wept:

“If my people do not want to submit, I am obliged to let go of the hand of my Son. It is so strong and so heavy that I can no longer hold it, since the time I have been suffering for you, if I want my Son not to abandon you, I am obliged to pray to him unceasingly myself, and you do not take any notice of it. No matter what you do, you will never be able to reward the trouble I have taken for you.”

The Lady also complained that the Sunday rest was not respected and that blasphemy was frequent.

“I gave you six days to work, I reserved the seventh and they don’t want to give it to me. This is what weighs down the hand of my Son. And also those who drive the carts do not know how to swear without putting the name of my Son in the middle, these are the two things that weigh down the hand of my Son so much.”

Then the Lady gave terrible warnings:

“If the harvest goes bad, it’s only for you people. I showed you that last year with the potatoes. But you took no notice of it, and it was, instead, when you found spoiled potatoes that you swore, and you put the name of my Son in the middle.”

Then the Lady revealed a secret to each of the children, which they were forbidden to disclose.

Then she complained again about the profanation of Sunday:

“During Summer, only a few older women go to Mass. The others work on Sundays all summer, and in winter, when they don’t know what to do, they only go to Mass to make fun of religion. During Lent, they go to the butcher’s shop, like dogs.”

Then Our Lady added:

“Have you never seen spoiled wheat, my children? Both answered, “Oh, no, Madam.”

Then she said to Maximin: “But you, my child, must have seen some once, towards the land of the Coin, with your father. The master of the land said to your father: “Come and see how my wheat is spoiling. You both went there. Your father took two or three ears of corn in his hand, crumpled them up and everything fell to dust; then, when you were returning and were only half an hour away from Corps, your father gave you a piece of bread and said, “Here, my child, eat some more bread this year, for I don’t know who will eat it next year, if the wheat goes on (spoiling) like this again.”

And Maximin answered, “That’s right, Madam, I didn’t remember.

Then the Lady, as if she had delivered the essence of her message, asked the children, as if to put herself within their reach and make sure they had understood:

“Do you pray well, my children? “Not very well, Madam,” agreed Melanie. Then the Lady recommended: “You must do it well in the evening and in the morning, and say at least an Our Father and an Ave when you can’t do better.”

.

.. At the end, the Lady spoke again in French, saying: “Come, my children, do good to spread the word to all my people.”

Then she stepped over the little stream which ran at the bottom of the valley, renewed her last request, and climbed the slope. When she reached the top, she rose to a height of one and a half metres from the ground, remained for a moment as if suspended in the air, and then gradually disappeared until only a light remained, which also finally faded away.

GALERY PHOTOS