From Primary Source Manual ‘Notre-Dame de Pellevoisin’ , a booklet by Abbe Salmon, Cure of Pellevoisin and Published in 1877 with the consent of the Ordinary of Bourges. All quotations given here from Estelle’s written account will be taken from this little book.

Other quotations will be given by Bernard St. John, who lived in Pellevoisin, and spoke with Estelle.

Pellevoisin, a small burgh in the department of the Indre, looks down from a gentle hill up a magnificent sweep of country.  Its parish church of purest Gothic, dedicated to St. Martin possesses an apse of exquisite beauty dating from the twelfth century.  It is not here that the feet of pilgrims turn however.  They seek a miniature chapel with a statue of the Blessed Virgin wreathed with roses and lying at a stone’s throw from the parish church.  In 1876 it was a bedroom to a dying girl, Estelle Faguette. It was to lay in the shadow of the great Sacre Coeur Basillica of Montmarte, bringing a thread of continuity to the spread of devotion to the Sacred Heart then growing in France.

It was 1876.

Estelle was then thirty two years old and had been suffering for twelve years, although she continued to carry out her duties to her master and mistress.  She was now in the last stage of pulmonary consumption, complicated by some peitonitis. She had been, for these twelve years, a servant in the family of the Comte Arthur de la Rochefoucauld (a famous family of French nobility.)

Her main worry was her parents, for whom she had been the bread winner. I will let you tell about it herself in the letter she wrote to Our Lady, and had placed under a little stone before Our Lady of Lourdes statue on the chateau grounds:

“You know that I am your child ( Estelle was a member of (‘The Children of Mary’)  and that I love you;  therefore, obtain for me, I beseech you, from your Divine Son, my resoration to health.  It is for His glory that I ask it. Behold my parents sorrow!  O Mary, you know that I am their all.  If, because of my sins, I cannot be completely cured, you can at least obtain for me a little strength of body, so that I may be able to earn my living and provide for the wants of my father and mother, who, as you see, are on the eve of having to beg for their bread. The thought of this causes me intense suffering.

Think, good Mother, of what you endured the night of our Saviour’s birth when you went from door to door asking to be taken in.  Think too, of what you suffered when Jesus was stretched on the Cross.  I put my trust in you, Mother;  I know that if you wish it, your Son will cure me.  He knows how much I wished to be of the number of His spouses.  Deign to listen to my supplications, and, to interceded for me with your Divine Son.  May He restore me to health if such be His good pleasure. If not, may His holy will be done.  May He at least grant me perfect resignation, and may that resignation contribute to my salvation and that of my parents.

My heart is yours, holy Virgin;  keep it always, and may it be a pledge of my love and of my gratitude for your maternal goodness.”

 

“She was a fair, comely young woman, with expressive blue eyes and a pleasant mouth.  Possessed of good common sense and being practical in character, there was nothing of the ‘visionary’ about her”

A Paris medical man, Dr. Buequois, of the Rue de l’Universite, had told her mistress some months before that her case was hopeless, and that she was slowly dying of consumption.  Her attending Doctor now was Dr. Benard, of Bazancais, and she had then received the last Sacraments.

February 10, 1876                                                                                                                                  Dr. Benard refused to see her saying that he “had something else to do than to go on journeys with the sole object of consoling patients.”   Dr. Hubert was summoned to Pellevoisin in his stead. He said that it was useless to torture her further with medicine as she had but a few hours to live.  He wrote out a prescription, nonetheless.   “There are doses here for five hours;  but after the next two or three hours there will be no further need of any.”

Instead of dying that night, Estelle Faguette was to linger apparently between life and death for nine days longer, and then be the object of a cure as distinctly inexplicable, according to the known laws of nature, as is any one of the miraculous cures on record.

The following night occurred the first of the series of apparitions, which have already given Pellevoisin a place in the religious history of the time.  The first five were on five successive nights.

Each morning Estelle put Abbe Salmon, Cure of Pellevoisin, who was at the same time her spiritual director, in possession of the details of her vision of the preceding night.  On Thursday morning she told him that she would either be dead or restored to health on the following Saturday.

At first Abbe Salmon was sceptical.  Yet, so startling were the revelations he listened to that he thought it advisable to confide these to certain persons, including the nuns of Pellevoisin.  Thus, several were in possession of Esselle’s statement respecting her predicted cure.

Friday night came.  Those around believed her to be entering upon her death agony.  The priest was one.

Next morning found her not only alive but cured.  Upon entering her room at an early hour, Abbe Salmon heard “Je suis guerie!”  (I am cured)

Yet, she was still in bed.  Just as before.  Her right arm lay helpless by her side, paralyzed and swollen to double its natural size, as it had been for days.  The priest remained sceptical as before.

He was about to say Mass at the parish church , and had promised to return at half-past seven to administer Holy Communion to Estelle.  Before leaving, he said:  “The Blessed Virgin can obtain your cure if she will.  As soon as you have received the Blessed Sacrament try to make the sign of the cross with your right hand.  If you succeed, it will be a sign that what you say is true.

At the specified hour, Abbe Salmon came back, and Estelle communicated in the presence of a dozen persons.  The priest then told her to make the sign of the Cross with her right hand.

She drew forth the swollen, helpless member, and, to the astonishment of all, made with it the sign of the cross.  She became at once able to use her arm freely, and it was noticed directly that it had come back to its normal size.

That day she arose, dressed herself without help, laughed and talked gaily, and ate.  Dr. Benard affirmed that it was of a nature to upset all medical prognostics.  Dr. Hubert went further, and said that it was not to be explained by natural laws. Dr. Hubert was a pronounced freethinker.

The sublime message of Pellevoisin commenced with the prediction of the miraculous cure and culminated in the revelation of the scapular of the Sacred Heart seven months later.

Here follows the story.  The words of Our Lady will be in bold print.

On the five successive nights, as Estelle lay sick, according to her account , she gazed upon a figure of surpassing loveliness, surrounded by a halo of light.  The figure appeared first at the foot of her bed.  It was clad in a white flowing garment, with white girdle and white veil.  The face was of indescribable beauty,  The garment resembled fine white flannel.  The veil, which was of a more silvery whiteness, slightly shaded the forehead of the Apparition and fell in folds over the back. “Have courage and patience.  You will have to suffer five days longer to honour my Son’s five Wounds.  On Saturday you will be either dead or restored to health.  If my Son grants you life, I wish you to proclaim my glory.”

The next night Estelle was told that she would be restored to health the following Saturday.  “In being restored to life, do not think you will be exempt from suffering.  No;  you will have to suffer.  It is in that that the merits of life consists.”  Then she listened to words that she was not to divulge.

It is in connection with the vision of the next night that the words:  “I am all merciful” occur.

The fifth apparition was to be the last for five months.  At this time Our Lady said:  “If you wish to serve me, be simple and let your actions correspond with your words.  Snares will be laid for you:  you will be treated as a visionary;  but pay no attention to that.  Be faithful to me and I will help you.”

To quote from Estelle’s account, written immediately after her recovery and as an act of religious obedience:  “I gazed upon her for a long time.  Never had I seen anything so beautiful.  By degrees she vanished, till only the soft light surrounding her remained.  This was when she felt cured.

Five months later, a quotation from the written narrative of Estelle tells us:  “I was on my knees in front of the fireplace, when suddenly the Blessed Virgin appeared before me in a soft light.  This time I saw her whole figure.  She was in white.  Her arms were extended, and from her hands fell what seemed like plenteous drops of rain.  She looked at something fixedly:  then she crossed her hands on her breast and said “Be calm.  Have patience.  You will have trials but I shall be near you.”  I could not speak.  I felt so happy.

Next night, Estelle was praying again when the radiant figure appeared before her.

“You have already proclaimed my Glory.  Continue to do so.  My Son has also some souls especially devoted to Him  His Heart has so much love for me that He cannot refuse my requests.  Through me He will touch the most hardened hearts.  I have come especially for the conversion of sinners.  While the Blessed Virgin was speaking to me, I was thinking of the various ways in which she might show her power.  She replied to my thoughts by saying:  “It will be seen later on.”  She remained awhile and then slowly disappeared.  The garland of roses remained a little while after she was gone and then faded away, together with the surrounding light.

The eighth apparition was on July 3rd and lasted but a few minutes.

The next was on September 9th when the Scapular of the Sacred Heart was revealed. “For a long time past, the treasures of my Son have been open;  let them pray.”  She opened this square as off white woolen stuff.  I had noticed it before upon her breast but did not know what it was.  As the Blessed Virgin held it up, Estelle says, “I distinctly saw upon it a red heart in relief, and the thought occurred to me that it was a scapular of the Sacred Heart.  The Blessed Virgin said to me, still holding it up:  “I love this devotion;  it is here that I shall be honored.”

In each of the succeeding apparitions, the Blessed Virgin wears the scapular.  In the Apparition of September 15th, the Blessed Virgin appeared , as usual, with arms extended and with abundant rain-drops falling.  Afterwards, she said slowly:  Let them pray and put their trust in me.  And France,what have I not done for her?  How many warnings have I not given her, and yet she refuses to listen.  I can no longer restrain my Son.  France will have to suffer.”  There was a second person present this time.   Mademoiselle de Tyran of the household of the Comtesse de la Rochefoucauld.  She had followed Estellle into her room. Estelle was saying her rosary aloud.  Madamoiselle de Tyran recounts:  “After about five minutes, the words stopped and the kneeling Estelle seemed to stop breathing.  The testimony tells us that Estelle remained on her knees for three quarters of an hour, leaning forward as if advancing towards something;  At  the end of that time she heaved a deep sigh and seemed to brush away tears..  She afterwards described the scapular of the Sacred Heart.

There were people present at the rest of the apparitions.  Estelle had tried to reproduce the scapular herself.  On December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, “I again saw the Blessed Virgin” she said.  She said to me:  “Recall to mind all my words.”  At that moment, all that had been said to her in the course of the Apparitions became present to her memory.  My child, remember my words.  Repeat them often in order that they may strengthen and console you in your trials.  You will see me no more.?  I shall be near you, though unseen.”

Holding the scapular up with both hands, the celestial figure on whom the eyes of the voyante remained fixed, continued:

“Go yourself to the prelate and show him the model of the scapular you have made.  Tell him that he is to help you to the utmost of his power, and that nothing will be more agreeable to me than to see this livery on each of my children in reparation for the outrages of which my Son is the object in the Sacrament of His love.  Behold the graces that I will obtain for those who wear it with confidence and who help you to make it known”

Again she saw abundant rain drops falling from the outstretched hands of the Virgin.  This was indicative to her of the flood of graces that was to descend on mortals in connection with the wearing of the scapular.  She then listened to the following words, pregnant with meaning to the Catholic mind:  “These graces are from my Son.  I take them from His Heart.  He can refuse me nothing.”

I felt that the Blessed Virgin was about to leave me says Estelle:  “Courage” she said, gently ascending the while, Should he (the prelate) not be able to grant you what you ask, and should difficulties arise, you will go farther.  Fear nothing:  I will help you”

Fifteen persons were present at the last apparition.

The prelate alluded to in the last apparition was the archbishop of the diocese, Charles-Amable Prince de la Tour d’Auvergne, who because of his piety and enlightenment, had come to be known as the “angel of the diocese”  He examined and cross examined.  He appointed an eccleastical commission and told his priests to get as many of these scapulars made as possible and in as short a time as possible.

The message of Pellevoisin bears no earthly stamp:  Estelle’s audience with Pope Leo XIII

In January of 1900 we see Estelle in Rome, at the feet of the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII.  She had been led here by the Duchesse d’Estissae, representing a branch of the de la Roeliefoucauld family , and by Mgr. Touchet, Bishop of Orleans.

The door opened.  His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII said:  “Let Estelle come in”  Estelle knelt down before the Pope.  Pope Leo called the lowly woman at his feet “Figlia Stella”  He bent forward to listen to her communications.  His attitude was one of paternal benevolence.  The conversation turning upon France, he said:  “Now tell me about France.”

“Holy Father” replied Estelle, “the Blessed Virgin said that France would have to suffer.”

“Yes” the Pontiff echoed, “France will have to suffer”

He then questioned Estelle on the subject of the Apparitions, and accepted a scapular of the Sacred Heart, which, kneeling, she offered him.

“And what, Figlia Stella, do you wish me to do concerning your scapular?” he asked, after a few moments.

“To approve it and give it your blessing, most Holy Father,” was the reply.  The petitioner then ventured to put forth a request, to the effect that His Holiness would deign to convey in a written form to the Rev. Jean-Baptiste-Lemius, O.M.I., then Superior of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre, certain instructiosns and encouragement concerning this scapular, in order that the same might spread over the world from the national basilica as from a great radiating centre.”

“Does this good religious often come to Rome?” asked His Holiness, in reference to the Rev. J. B. Lemius.

“Yes, most Holy Father” was Estelle’s reply.

After a few moments, Leo XIII said:  “Let him write, and I will sign.”

The sovereign Pontiff continued:  “Figlia Stella, speak to me of the Blessed Virgin.”  And afterwards:  “You must pray to her for me, Figlia Stella:  you must pray that my life may be spared for the good of the church.”

• In a second and farewell audience with the Holy Father at which the Bishop of Orleans was present, in the course of this interview, the Holy Father, looking at the voyant of Pellevoisin said:  “Figlia Stella, I have not forgotten your scapular. I will speak about it tomorrow.”
• The Congregation of Rites examined the said scapular, and approved of it in a decree dated April 4, 1900.  Particulars respecting this decree may be best given by citing authorities.

Official Notice published by the Oblate Congregation, in ‘Petites Annales, in 1900 gives news of the quasi scapular of the Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque, mentions 1876 as the date of the scapular of the Sacred Heart coming into existence

 

Then in a footnote we read:  The Congregation of Rites has examined and approved, having made, however, concerning it, two slight modifications.  One of these is that the Liturgical words Mater Misericordiae are substituted for ‘Je suis toute misercordieuse, and J’aime cette devotion.”

 

The Blessed Virgin in the Nineteenth Century                                                                                    Bernard St. John

 

 

“Madame Elisabeth de France was a devotee of the Sacred Heart at the court of King Louis XVI, her brother.  She remained the very image of piety until her death by guillotine in 1794.”       France and the Cult of the Sacred Heart   Raymond Jonas p94

 Beheading Of A Martyr

“She was repeating the Psalm De Profundis as she awaited her turn in line.

She went up the scaffold steps with a firm step and looking up to heaven, she allowed the executioner to seize and bind her.

As she did so a little silver medal of the Immaculate Conception was revealed.

As the executioners assistant tried to take this away from her she said:  “In your Mother’s name, monsieur … cover me”  These were her last words.  Immediately the pure soul of Elisabeth de France passed on to its’ reward.

No other execution, it is said, caused so much emotion among the bystanders:  No one cried ‘Viva La Republique!

Everyone went sorrowfully away.

All the accounts and all the memoirs of the time agree in saying that when Madame Elisabeth received the fatal blow an odour of roses was diffused over the Place Louis XV …

And her gentle life has left a fragrant memory in the hearts of her countrymen, and, throughout the world.”

Madame Elisabeth de France  1764-1784    Mary Monica Maxwell Scott    p284-285                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Holy Madame Elisabeth!  Pray For Us!  Viva La France!  Viva Cristo Rex!

This is not the only appearance Joseph and Mary made in a single place in Europe at different times.    There were lesser known apparitions nearly 5– years earlier.

But … on different occasions Joseph and Mary visited the little village of Costignac, France.   Mary had prophesied the birth of King Louis XIV to his Father and Mother King Louis XIII and Queen Anne, who had been so worried about an heir to the throne.  Nine months later King Louis XIV was born.  But, this is St. Joseph appearing in the same place!

Here is how it all happened.

Cotignac is in the heart of Provence, yet few have heard of this rural area so close to the beatuiful Mediterranean, Marseille, the soaring snow topped Alps and Saint Tropez.

The summer of 1660 was hot and humid  in Cotignac, and, on June 7, a young shepherd named Gaspard Ricard was searching for fresh grass on Mount Besillon.  He became so hot and thirsty that he had to lay down.  He closed his eyes for a few moments, but, felt there was someone there.  So he looked up.

A tall man stood there.  “I am Joseph”, he said and pointed to a large boulder nearby.”Lift it and you will drink.  The boulder was huge.  Gaspard decided to obey the man and make the attempt to lift it.  To his surprise, it was light as a feather.  Underneath it, a cool spring of crystal clear water bubbled.  Gaspard looked up to thank the stranger, but he was gone.

The shepherd dashed to tell the village what had happened full of excitement, … which made the villagers believe him.  They all rushed to see the newly revealed spring and the surprisingly abundant water supply in a place where no water had ever been.

By July 25 “the city council mentions that the source pointed out by St. Josepph has abudndant healing qualities and attracts people from all over the region who come to wash, drink and find healing remedies.”

The wonderful documentary ‘Shrine of the Holy Family’  Provence, France includes this event.  It is too bad that ‘Amazon’ once had it for sale but now “don’t know if they will ever get it again”

The healings began.  And they continued.  In 1662 Father Allard of the Oratory that was built on the site wrote:  “The waters of St. Joseph bring miracles.  Since I reured, a man whom we knew from Avignon, born lame, went to the spring and came back cured, having left his crutches there.  Everyone drinks and carries away the water.

The King, Louis XIII had already consecrated himself, his throne and France to the Virgin Mary.  He surely was moved to do so because he and the Queen knew of the apparition of Mary at the site of the new Chapel of Our Lady of Graces … in Cotigne … only two miles from where St. Joseph appeared

On January 31 of that year of 1661, the local Bishop of Frejus combined the sites of both apparitions so near to each other … under the title ‘Sanctuary of the Holy Family.  He declared:

“God, by the graces he wished to grant in honor of Saint Joseph, wished not to separate the devotion of the faithful, the two holy persons (Mary and Joseph) whom He had joined on earth, for the mystery of our salvation.

” From National Catholic Register  March 20, 2017  Joseph Pronechen

 

“A Splash of Light appearing among the dark woods surrounding it.”  Here is the story from the Monastery of St. Joseph:

In 1663 when the chapel of Saint Joseph of Besillon was ready, the same Bishop of Frejus delegated the Oratorian Fathers to be its guardians.  The priests were already down the road at the chapel of Our Lady of Grace..

https:saintjosephdubessilon.org/english-version/history/

“It is like a splash of light appearing among the dark woods surrounding it.  It stands there on the slopes of the Besillon Mountain in a place that is twice blessed.

Firstly it is in Provence that  Christianity was first brought to France.

Secondly it is at Cotignzc, a place of prayer, a chosen land visited by the two greatest saints in the history of Christendom … the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus Christ.”

 

France was at war.  On July 18,  1870,  Emperor Napoleon III of France declared war against Prussia.  From the first days of the war, defeat followed defeat.  By January 1871, Paris was under siege.  Two thirds of the country was in the power of the Prussians, and they were advancing towards the west of France.  By January 17, 1871 they were just across the river from Laval, which was very close to the home of the Barbadette Family, who could hear the guns and the roar of the canons.

The parents of Eugene 12, and, Joseph 10, were busy in the kitchen of their home fixing dinner when Eugene decided to go out into the barn and feed the horses.  It was not as dark as usual, so he walked over to the window in the barn and looked up.  The sky was filled with stars.  More stars than he had ever seen, and, he kept gazing.  The thirty or so young men in the town of Pontmain who had been conscripted into military service was very much on his mind. He was filled with worry for some of his friends.

As he leaned on his elbows looking in to the sky, he thought he saw a lady.  But no,  that could not be … he continued to watch.  Yes, it was.  She was real.  And in the sky!

Eugene called to his brother to come out.  Joseph saw her too.  The Barbadette parents came rushing out to the cold barn.  They could see nothing unusual except for the star studded sky.  It was almost like day.  The parents decided to call someone else.  Of course their first thought was of the Sisters in the nearby school who came quickly and brought two little girls with them, Frances Richer, 11, and Jeanne Marie Lebosse, 9.  They both saw the lady and dropped down on their knees in the hard cold snow.

What does she look like, Eugene?  Tell us!  Some neighbors heard the voices and joined the family and the nuns with the other children.  “She is dressed in a flowing robe of deep radiant blue studded with gold stars.  The sleeves were full, extending up to the hands.  She was wearing blue slippers, tied with goldenribbon in the shape of a rosette.  Her hair was completely covered with a black veil thrown over her shoulders reaching down to the level of her elbow.  On her head, a gold crown rose slightly to a peak.  It had no ornament in front except a red band circling the centre.  Her hands were extended …”like the Miraculous Medal” … but without the rays of light.”

The crowd grew, and, Father Guerin, the parish Priest joined them.  The Lady remained and from time to time would look sad because some of the people were ‘rowdy’ but the crowd changed that with Marian prayers and and hymns led by Father Guerin, who believed immediately when he saw the children.  He led several Rosaries and as he did, stars could be seen gathering two by two under the Lady’s feet as if representing the Hail Marys of the Rosary.  Then a white banner, about a yard wide, unrolled beneath the Lady’s feet, thus forming a perfect rectangle.  It was on this that she spelled her message:

“OH DO PRAY MY CHILDREN, GOD WILL ANSWER YOU VERY SOON.  MY SON ALLOWS HIMSELF TO BE MOVED”

Our Lady then raised her hands to the height of her shoulder, arms out and bent slightly backwards and elbows close to her body.  Then a large red cross appeared in the hands of the Blessed Virgin.  The figure of the crucified Christ was a darker red hue but no blood was flowing from the wounds.  The community prayed their night prayers together and a large white veil began to cover the figure of the Virgin, slowly rising to her face, as she gave a last smile.  The apparition ended .  It was nine o’clock.  It had lasted three hours.

Only the little ones had seen Our Lady, yet, the crowd believed because of the faces of the children and their mannerisms and prayers … and tears of joy at times.  All this in the bitter cold and snow.

After some time, late that night of January 17, General Von Schmidt of the Prussian Army who was about to run over Laval towards Pontmain, received orders from his Commander not to take the city.  The invasion of the Catholic West part of France never occurred.  General Schmidt is reported to have said on the morning of the 18th:  “We cannot go further.  Yonder, in the direction of Brittany, there is an invisible ‘Madonna’ barring the way.”

On January 23, 1871, the longed for armistice was signed in the hall of mirrors in the palace of Versailles.  The Treaty of Versailles was the treaty which was hated by Adolph Hitler as it annexed, in his opinion, too much of Germany.

 

 

The promise of Our Lady “God will soon grant your request” had been fulfilled. Source  Michael Journal  January 91, 2013

 

Our Lady is prominent in the affairs of France.  The pages of History are alight with her apparitions in that country.  To mention a few  … The Miraculous Medal and St. Catherine Laboure, The dogma of the Immaculate Conception affirmed to St. Bernadett Soubirouis,  The Devotion and Badge of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary, and, the Sacred Heart/Mother of Mercy Scapular to Estelle Faguette at Pellevoisin.   So many! They will all be covered here.

Our Lady is very interested in France, her eldest daughter of the Church.  Yes, it is true.  France is that.  The proof is there and will be shown. One thing stands out in that aspect and it is this:  God does not like it if the French Monarchy is broken.  It is an uncanny ‘thing’.  Keep reading!

And here is why I write  these little ‘extras’.  The little village of Pontmain, France is in the diocese of Laval.  * The Diocese of Laval was the first to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus after the beatification of Marguerite-Marie in 1865.  France and the Cult of the Sacred Heart  Raymond Jonas  page152    (Hence … the special protection from God in time of peril occurred)

Yet it is simple when examined closely.  Note how Mary appeared at Cotignac, with a baby in her arms,  to announce that King Louis XIII and Queen Anne  would have a male heir.  He was born 9 months later.  That heir was Louis XIV who was supposed to receive the Sacred Heart messages.  King Louis XIII later decreed solemnly decreed a national act of thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin Mary, named her Special Protectress of “our land” and consecrated France to the very ” holy Virgin and Glorious Mary”  He had a Church built in her honor and called it ‘Our Lady of Victories’ in honor of his victory over the Hugenots (Protestants) at Larochelle.  National Catholic Register ‘Mary’s Little Known Apparitions in France’  March 2017

On the Feast of the Purification, February 2, 1872, the Most Rev.  Wicart, bishop of Laval, issued a pastoral letter giving a canonical judgment on the apparition of Pontmain, France.  Thus the veneration of Our Lady of Hope of Pontmain was given official Church recognition and approval.  The Basilica was built and consecrated on October 15, 1900

Basilica of Notre Dame de Pontmain

 

Hero of the Marseilles Plague, Bishop Henri Francois-Xavier de Belsunce de Castelmoron, the Bishop of Marseilles tends the sick in the featured color photo..

“I am still, by the grace of God, on my feet among the dead and dying.  Everyone at my side has been stricken, and of the many ministers of the Lord who have accompanied me, I have only one remaining.  My household itself has fallen ;  eleven have died and five are still ill, though out of danger…the plague has been in Marselleises for three months and still shows no sign of abating.

What horrors have I not seen or heard?  For eight whole days two hundred corpses rotted around my house and under my windows. I was obliged to walk in streets flanked on both sides of half rotten, dog-chewed bodies, with so much plague-ridden debris and filth underfoot that it was impossible to know where to tread.

I was forced, with a vinegar soaked sponge over my nose and my soutane hitched up, to clamber among the corpses to seek out, and offer confession and consolation to the dying who had been thrown out of their houses on mattresses among the dead

The piles of dogs and cats that had been killed and left to rot added to the unbearable stench.  An! Monseigneur, what moments of biterness and despair have I no suffered?  How terrible it is to be in such a situation! From a letter of Mgr. de Belsunce, bishop of Marseilles, to the Bishop of Toulon, 1720

 Case Study:  Infectious Diseases at the Edward Worth Library 1720:  (Fair Use Disclaimer)

“This Mortal Distemper, the Plague, wherewith this City has been thus visited, was unhappily brought among us by a Ship From Sydon  (a noted Town near Tyre, in Asia, as mentioned in the New Testament) which came into our Road the 15th of June last:  The Porters first employ’d in opening her cargo were immediately seized with violent Pains in the Head, reaching to vomit, and a general Faintness all over their limbs and bodies;  and in 6 or 8 hours time Bubo’s and Plague sores began to rise, of which they died in three days.

Those that succeeded them were taken and died in the same manner.  Upon this all the the noted Physicians and Chyrugeons were summoned together by the Magistrates, to consult the Nature of the distemper, who all agreed that it was really the plague.  How , proper care was not immediately taken;  instead of burning the said Ship and Goods (which ought to have been done) the goods only were removed to a desert Island, called Jarre, 2 Leagues off, where all those that went to air them died suddenly of the same distemper. Several officers belonging to the ship were admitted to come into the City, and the Sailors brought abundance of goods on shoar by stealth, by which means a considerable mortality soon began to spread in that part of theTown where they had lodged.  Notwithstanding all this,  proper Care and Remedies to prevent its fatal consequences, were still neglected ’till the beginning of August, by which time the number of the Infected was too great for the hospitals to contain and they began to die a thousand in a day. The infection now being spread into other parts of the City, runs from one Family to another like Wild Fire, so that 20 liked often dead at once in a House:  And the worst of all is, that they cannot be buried, but lie in the Houses or Streets many days, which are full of dead bodies and beddign.  27 carts appointed to carry them out , not being sufficient.

The Magistrates have been assisted with 500 Galley slaves to clear the streets of the dead, they there are still above 3000 dead bodies that lie about the streets unburied, which cause an untolerable stench.  And it is computed that in all about 80,000 are dead of the Plague, 2 Thirds of which are observed to be women, most of them with Child, whose died of the Infection after Miscarriages or Lying in, purely for want of help.  In short, the Calamity is so bad, that the poor can hardly even get Water, because no on will go near them.  The rich and able are gone into the Country with all manner of Provisions, and there is no a Church or Shop left open.  So that we, we were but 4 Months ago in flourishing a condition, are now overwhelm’d with Misery.

 

The Consecration of Marseile to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

It was decided by Bishop Belsunce that Marseille would be consecated to the Sacred Heart. King Louis XV was now reigning and the national consecration had not been made. He wanted a celebration on the Feast of the Sacred Heart in June 1921, and sent a letter to all the dioceses.  Men and Women worked to make a beautiful outside altar for the monstrance to rest on which would be holding the Holy Eucharist.  It was built at a spot where Marseille meets the sea.  When finisished, it was wrapped in expensive fabric and covered with beautiful flowers.

Jean Pierre Moustier, the Chief Executive of Marseilles accepted the logic of Bishop Belsunce and agreed to read the consecration.

In the following month, the officers of the town dressed in their official red robes and began the procession to Notre Dame of Marseilles where Belsunce met them and they all went down on their knees before the altar.  The Church bell rang as a signal to begin and all the citizens of Marseilles joined in a prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“AS Belsunce raised the gleaming monstrance containing the Eucharist, the air of Marseille was filled with prayer and the tumult of the guns and cannons as if to drive out the plague.

By September, the remaining cases of the plague had passed

Drawn from the excellent book by Raymond Jonas:  France and the cult of the Sacred Heart (available from Amazon)

 

 

When Longinus plunged his spear into the Sacred Body publicly exposed on the cross, he struck the heart of a King.  Christ the King!

The sign above the thorn-crowned Head of the Man enthroned on the Cross read plainly:  “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

Longinus was the agent of secular authority doing his duty which was to make sure the Man was dead, or to kill Him if he were not. Longinus was the ‘state.’

The Sacred fountain of Blood and water which gushed forth continues to do so to this day , sanctifying all the King’s willing subjects … those who search for the truth and find it in His Church which was born that day with that opening of the side of Christ … and whose Priests have the power given them by Jesus, Who had ordained them shortly before,  to consecrate Bread and Wine into His Body and Blood.  Real and True.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is therefore no sentimental devotion to be pursued only in private.  Essentially, it is a political commitment.

The Sacred Heart of Christ the King is source and center of the Christian state, a human manifestation of the Divine Monarchy from which all monarchy takes its name.  Its temporal dimensions extend into eternity.

Only when viewed from this perspective can the true purpose of Sacred Heart devotion be discerned.  Otherwise it is simply a super-excellent practice among many others designed by God to bring the individual into greater intimacy with Him.

Sacred Heart devotion does this, to be sure, but its objective is ultimately and fundamentally political in the real sense of the word politics.

It was forged by the divine Wisdom to bring not only the individual but whole nations …  into intimacy with God.

Needless to say, the devotion was never preached in such terms in the USA, where democracy reigns supreme and separation of Church and state is dogma.  It was deemed too dangerous if not outright subversive.  We were led to believe that God, whose name the U.S. Constitution does not mention, is not really interested in politics anyway, that  religion is a purely private matter.  As a consequence, most of us are familiar only with the requests which our Lord made to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque regarding the nine First Fridays of reparation and the institution of the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

No doubt we reaped immense spiritual profit from the devotion without being acquainted with the political framework in which the apparitions took place at Paray-le-Monial, and, without being aware of the political necessity which had dictated them.

Even Pius XII in his masterly encyclical on the Sacred Heart, Haurietis Aquas, published in 1956 for the centenary of the institution of the Feast, dwells almost exclusively on the spiritual, personal character of the devotion.  Although he prescribes it as the best antidote for the ills of society “such as cause” says he, “sharp conflict among individuals, families, nations and the whole world” he presents it primarily as a super eminent religious practice efficaciously rooted in charity.

The devotion actually began in the Gospels, particularly in that of St. John, who was privledged to lean familiarly on the breast of Our Lord at the Last Supper and also witnessed the opening of the divine Heart on the Cross.  As early as the third century, meditation on the piercing of Christ’s side was regularly practiced by the devout  every afternoon at three ‘clock. “Solange Hertz  Political Dimension of Sacred Heartt Devotion

 

Words of St. John to St. Gertrude about the Sacred Heart: 

“On his own feast day, St. John appeared to St. Gertrude and placed her by the wounded side of Jesus, where she could hear His beating Sacred Heart.  “Why is it, O beloved of God” she asked him, “that you who rested on his bosom at the Last Supper have said nothing of what you experienced then?”  St. John told her  “It was my task to present to the first age of the Church the doctrine of the Word made flesh which no human intellect can ever fully comprehend.

The eloquence of that sweet beating of His Heart is reserved for the last age in order that the world … grown cold and torpid … may be set on fire with the love of God”                         http://www.ncregister.com/blog/pattyknap/st.-gertrudes-love-for-the-sacred-heart-overflows-into-purgatory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From:  THE JOSIAS  https:thejosias.com

In Quare Lacrymae one can sense the shock that went through Europe at the regicide of Louis XVI.  The old order of Christian Europe had been shaken to its foundations.”  BY ADMIN  THE JOSIAS

Acts of our most holy lord Pope Pius VI in secret consistory on Monday, June 17, 1793, on occasion of the killing of Louis XVI, Most Christian King of France.

Translated by Coemgenus

“Venerable brothers,

Why should tears and sobs not choke off Our words?  Would not groans, rather than speech, better represent that pain of soul We are forced to express, as We inform you of the horrible spectacle of cruelty and barbarity done at Paris on the 21st of January this year?

By a conspiracy of impious men, the most Christian king Louis XVI has been condemned to death, and the sentence has been carried out.  (King Louis XVI was beheaded by the Masonic French Revolution which had the intent of overthrowing Crown and Altar)

But what sort of a sentence was this, and, with what reasoning was it passed?  We will briefly call to your attention that:    it was brought about without authority and without law by the National Convention – for that Convention, after the form of the more excellent monarchical regime had been abolished by them,   placed all public power at the disposal of the people … who are governed by no reasoning nor counsel … who judge few things by the truth … and many of them judge by opinion.

The people are inconstant, easy to deceive and lead into every base deed;  they are ungrateful, arrogant, and cruel;  they rejoice in human blood, in slaughter and in funerals;  they are filled with pleasure by the pains of the dying, just as was seen in the amphitheaters of the ancients.

When the more savage part of this People, who were not content to have rejected the imperial power of their king, but also wished also to rob him of his life,  decreed men to be judges of the King … who had accused him and had revealed a mind hostile to him.

In the process of judgment itself some even more wicked men were called forth, so that the number of those condemning might prevail over the others.

But as they could not increase this number, the king was sacrificed by less than the number required by law.  

From so many wicked and perverse judgements, from so many stolen votes, what sad, horrible, and in all ages execrable thing could not be feared and expected?  But because the horror of such an evil deed had deterred many from the crime, stirring up great controversy among the delegates, it was found necessary to cast votes again, the result of which, even though it proceeded from the votes of conspirators, they pronounced legitimate.

Here we must pass over many things done contrary to law, and completely null and invalid … as can be read in the august speeches of the defense attorneys., and everywhere in the public papers.

We must also omit what the king was forced to endure and suffer before his final punishment.  For in the meanwhile he was taken in to long custody in different prisons, from which he did not come forth except to appear in the dock before the Convention.

His Confessor was put to death.

The king was sequestered from his beloved royal family, and subjected to other sorts of hardships to bring him pain and disgrace, at which no one in whom there was any shred of humanity would not shudder.

Louis’s nature was known and perceived by all to be gentle, beneficient, clement, patient, loving towards his people, devoid of severity and rigor, easy and most indulgent towards all.  It was by this nature that he was induced to convoke the Esstates of the realm that were demanded, and which came crashing down on royal authority and finally on his own head.”

King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette of France

 

Entire Act of Pius VI on the killing of King Louis XVI may be read on:

https://thejosias.com

(Emphasis by maryanne)       ‘History Repeats Itself’