The 1870-1871 winter was terrible. On July 19, Napoleon III had declared war on Prussia. The Emperor had surrendered September 2, Paris was besieged by the enemy, the army of the West was beaten at Le Mans January 13th, and retreated in disarray, much of France was busy: there was no hope to stop the human invasion.
After the defeat of Le Mans, concern grew in the West, the French troops retreating towards Brittany. On the evening of January 17, the German general Von Schmidt said: "Right now, my troops are in Laval. They were, indeed, the gates of the city and were ordered to take, it could not resist. Laval is 52 kilometers from Pont-Main. Anxiety reigned in Pont-Main. Since September 23, 38 men and boys were away, fighting in the war. The parish priest had prepared them. After the Mass he celebrated for them on the day of departure, they were blessed, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and they promised they would return.
After several days, there was no news of them. The anguish was such that January 15, after Vespers, nobody had the courage to sing the usual song: "Mother of Hope". But the parish priest, Fr. Guerin was able to find in his heart the right words of encouragement and several hymns were ultimately sung. Since all the hopes and human consolations seemed lost, should they not turn to God?
God, indeed, would "Be touched" by the intercession of his mother. The priest
never tired of repeating: "Pray, my children, you will receive mercy, and above all, ask for Mary. Among the children, two little Barbedette were distinguished by their piety. Each morning, after a short prayer and work with their father, they prayed the rosary aloud to their brother (gone to war), before lunch. Since the beginning of the war, they went every day to the church accross the road to demand the cessation of hostilities.
The class bell sounded at 8 o'clock. The nuns were praying and singing hymns of divine mercy. Thus passed the day of the January 17, 1871 ...
At this small village of Pontmain, France, on January 17, 1871, Eùgene Barbadette (age 12) opened the front door to look out at the sky. In the sky, he saw a beautiful woman who was smiling at him. She wore a blue gown covered with golden stars, and a black veil under a golden crown.
Several people came out to also look at the sky. His brother Joseph also saw the Lady, but the adults could not see her. Several other children saw the lady but the youngest child did not. Even though the adults still couldn't see anything, they began to pray the Rosary. "The children saw something new, to their delight: A blue oval frame with four candles, two at the level of the shoulders and two at the knees, was being formed around the Lady, and a short red cross had appeared over her heart.
As the rosary progressed the figure and its frame grew larger, until it was twice life size; the stars around her began to multiply and attach themselves to her dress until it was covered with them."
Then a streamer unrolled at the feet of the Lady and some text began to appear on it, as they continued to pray under the direction of Fr. Guérin, the parish priest. Eventually the phrase, "But pray, my children," could be read. Then the text changed to: "God will soon answer you." As they continued to sing, another message was formed, one that removed any doubt that it was the Blessed Virgin who was appearing to the children; "My Son allows Himself to be moved."
There was great joy among the children, but soon the Lady became saddened, as she now contemplated a large red cross that had suddenly appeared before her, with a figure of Jesus on it in an even darker shade of red.
One of the stars then lit the four candles that surrounded the figure, as the crucifix vanished and the group began night prayers. As these were being recited, the children reported that a white veil was rising from the Lady's feet and gradually blotting her out, until finally, at about nine o'clock, the apparition was over.
... At the precise moment when the Virgin Mary promised peace to the grandchildren of Pont-Main, German troops were established in the immediate vicinity of Laval and received the order from General Von Schmidt to take the city ... But on the night of 17/18 January, 1871, Prince Frederick Charles countermanded the order, the next day and peace was declared about 11 days later.
Source: Portions quoted from: Theotokos Catholic Books - Approved Apparitions - www.theotokos.org.uk, and from portions of text translated from French: http://apotres.amour.free.fr/page7/pontmain.htm
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