Our Lady of La Salette

Our Lady of La Salette
Location	La Salette-Fallavaux, France
Date	19 September 1846
Witness	Mélanie Calvat Maximin Giraud
Type	Marian apparition
Holy See approval	August 1848, during the pontificate of Blessed Pope Pius IX
Shrine	Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette, La Salette, France

Panoramic view of La Salette.

La Salette is a small mountaintop village near Grenoble, France. It is most noted for an apparition of the Virgin Mary that was reported in 1846 by two shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, followed by numerous accounts of miraculous healings.

The Catholic Church investigated the claims and found them to be basically credible and was approved under the name of Our Lady of La Salette.

Devotion to Our Lady of La Salette was weakened in the late nineteenth century by the controversy surrounding the claims of one of the seers, Mélanie Calvat and the precarious situation of the Gallican church in a France hostile to religion.

Recent release of the secrets from the Vatican Secret Archives^[1] have clarified the situation.

Despite these events, the apparition of La Salette flourished in the twentieth century, and together with Our Lady of Lourdes (1858) and Our Lady of Fátima (1917) La Salette remains one of the most famous Marian apparitions of the modern age.

Apparition

Historical account

September 19, 1846

Statue of Our Lady of La Salette, sitting crying (first part of apparition).

Two shepherd children - Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat - reported a vision of the Virgin Mary on a mountaintop near La Salette, France, on September 19, 1846 around 3.00 p.m. during their cowherding. They were eleven and fourteen years old at the time and had received only a very limited education.

The apparition consisted of three different stages. Firstly, the children beheld in a resplendent light a beautiful lady clad in a strange costume. She was seated on a rock and in tears, with her face resting in her hands. This took place at the ravine called ravin de la Sezia

Secondly, she stood upright and talked to the children, speaking alternately in French and in the regional patois. She charged them with a message which they were to deliver to all her people. This also took place in the ravin de la Sezia. After complaining of the impiety and sinfulness of men, and threatening them with dreadful chastisements in case they should persevere in evil, she promised them the Divine mercy if they would amend. Finally, she communicated to each of the children a special secret, before disappearing into the sky. This happened on the plateau called Mont-sous-les-Baisses.

They told of their experience to their employers, Baptiste Pra and Pierre Selme. These wrote the account down September 20, 1846, the day after the apparition, in a letter.^[2]

Maximin Giraud was questioned upon his story by the mayor of the village, Pierre Peytard September 21, 1846.

Pra and Selme informed Louis Perrin, the parish priest of La Salette. Impressed by the account, Perrin preached about it at Holy Mass and informed the archpriest of Corps, Pierre Mélin. He interrogated the children on 26 September 1846. The bishop of Grenoble, Philibert de Bruillard, was officially informed by Mélin on October 4, 1846.

In October 1846 Mélanie and Maximin were questioned by Mathieu Cat, a diocesan priest. On November 2 the children were interrogated by ... Archier, a religious. The news of the apparition spread like wildfire. Maximin's father, Jean-Maximin Giraud, not being religious at all, converted on November 8, 1846. This was one of many conversions.

Soon several miraculous cures took place on the mountain of La Salette, and pilgrimages to the place were begun. The first pilgrimage took place on November 24, 1846, with both children participating. On May 31 about 5,000 pilgrims participated in another pilgrimage, on the occasion of the planting of a crossway up the mountain.

November 25 another interrogation took place, by father ... Marcellin. In March and April 1847 both seers were repeatedly questioned by François Lagier, a French priest who spoke the local patois fluently. On April 16 and May 26, 1847 both children were interrogated by a city magistrate of Grenoble, the local juge de paix Fréderic-Joseph Long. The children were reinterrogated by canon Nicolas Bez, another parish priest.^[3] They were interrogated again by Pierre Lambert, another diocesan priest on the apparition May 29, 1847.^[4]

The first miraculous cure that was recognised as such was that of Claire Pierron S.S.J., known as Sister Saint-Charles, of Avignon on April 16, 1847. The second was that of Mélanie Gamon, of Corps, on August 15, 1847.

On July 22, 1847 Clément Cardinal Villecourt, bishop of La Rochelle made a personal pilgrimage to La Salette. He met both children and questioned them. September 17, 1847 both children were reinterrogated by father ... Boisseaux.

One year after the apparition, September 19, 1847, over 50,000 pilgrims came to La Salette to celebrate the anniversary.

Investigation and approval

Statue of Our Lady of La Salette, talking to the children (second stage of the apparition).

On July 7, 1847 the bishop of Grenoble asked canons Pierre-Joseph Rousselot and Servant of God André Berthier, both professors at the major seminary of Grenoble, to conduct a detailed investigation of the apparition, and write a full report on them. This report was finished on October 15, 1847.

In November 1847 the bishop submitted the report to a commission of investigation consisting of sixteen experts, under the chairmanship of the diocesan bishop. The members of the commission were all diocesan priests. They were the titulary vicar-generals canon Clair-Melchior Périer and André Berthier, the canons Pierre Joseph Rousselot, Jacques Bouvier, J.-F. Desmoulins, J. Henry, J.-C. Michon, P. Petit, J. Revol and Pierre Chambon, the parish priests Jean-Baptiste Gerin, archpriest of the cathedral of Grenoble, Jean-Pierre Cartellier, archpriest of Saint Joseph parish, H. Genevey, archpriest of Saint Louis parish, J.-H. de Lemps, parish priest of Saint André parish and Jean-Jules Keisser, parish priest of Saint Laurent parish, and the president of the major seminary Jacques-Philippe Orcel.

There were eight conferences in total, which took place on November 8, 15, 16, 17, 22, 29 and December 6 and 13, 1847. During two sessions, Mélanie and Maximan were present and questioned at length. On the final vote twelve of the sixteen members unequivocally supported the apparition. Three of the twelve members, André Berthier, H. Genevey and J.-H. de Lemps had doubts concerning the truth regarding some elements of the apparition. One member, Jean-Pierre Cartellier, expressed certainty that the apparition was false.

Once the commission had finished its deliberations, the report was approved by the commission. The bishop waited giving official approval, because Maurice Cardinal de Bonald, the archbishop of Lyon on whom the bishopric of Grenoble depended, supported Cartellier.

The report was then published by Pierre Joseph Rousselot on June 26, 1848.^[5] The report was sent to Pope Pius IX in August 1848. The findings of the report were accepted by the Holy See.

A meeting between Maximin Giraud and Saint Jean Baptist Marie Vianney, better known as "Curé de Ars" took place on September 19, 1850. A small incident occurred. After a period of doubt due to this unfortunate misunderstanding, the saint too became a strong defender of the apparition until the end of his life.^[6]

However, resistance inside the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in France, who wanted appeasement with the authorities, did not totally disappear. Cardinal de Bonald did not believe the apparition was genuine, and suspected a subterfuge. The cardinal demanded that the children tell him their secret under false pretenses, implying that he had a mandate from the Pope, which he did not have. The children finally acceded to this demand. On July 2 and 6 1851 both children wrote down an account of the apparition and of the secrets the Virgin Mary communicated to them. As a result of this, Mélanie, who wrote her text at the convent of the Sisters of Providence in Corenc, only wrote a shortened version of the secret^[7] and insisted that both texts be carried directly to the Pope. It was under these conditions that two representatives, canons Pierre Joseph Roussilot and Jean-Baptiste Gérin, were sent to Rome. The text of the two private secrets were both handed to Pope Pius IX on July 18, 1851.

Cardinal Secretary of State Luigi Lambruschini officially confirmed the communication of the documents the following day. His assistant and advocatus diaboli, Mgr Frattini, did the same. These documents were published only very recently, being discovered by Michel Corteville M.S. in the Vatican Secret Archives. That same day, July 19, 1851, the fifth anniversary of the apparition,^{[dubious – discuss]} the apparition was officially approved in a pastoral letter by the diocesan bishop under the title of Our Lady of La Salette. This letter was later published, in translation, in the Osservatore Romano on June 4, 1852. On October 7, 1850 Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini officially approved the mandate of the bishop of Grenoble.

Instrumentalisation

Statue of Our Lady of La Salette, ascending into heaven (third stage of the apparition).

On August 11, 1851 Maximin reproduced his written account of July 3 at the request of Benjamin Dausse, a friend and trustee of Maximin. From this period on, Mélanie was stigmatised on her hands.^[8]

The construction of a sanctuary at the site of the apparition was announced by the Bishop of Grenoble in another pastoral letter on May 1, 1852, which was swiftly followed by the celebratory placing of the first stone May 25. That same day, he canonically instituted the religious congregation of the Missionaries of La Salette.

In 1853 both Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat wrote their secret down again. A new edition was produced at the request of Jacques-Marie-Achille Ginoulhiac, the new Bishop of Grenoble, who was unacquainted with it. On August 5, 1853 Maximin, and on August 5, 6, 12 and 14 1853 Mélanie honoured the request of the bishop by making a written account. These accounts were made public by André Limousin, Louis Gobert, William Bernard Ullathorne O.S.B.^[9] and others.

The publication of the approval subdued but did not suppress the opposition, whose leaders, profiting by the succession in May 1853 of the bishop Jacques-Marie-Achille Ginoulhiac (after Philibert Bruillard resigned), retaliated with violent attacks on the reality of the miracle of La Salette. Ginoulhiac had never shown any enthusiasm at all about the apparition and is described as being in good standing with the new regime.^[10]

A good example of resistance to the approved apparition inside the Catholic clergy are the publications of diocesan priests Claude-Joseph Déléon^[11][12] and Pierre-Joseph Cartellier,^[13][14] who denounced the apparition of the Virgin Mary as a hoax. They alleged that the woman in the apparition was not the Virgin Mary but a young and disturbed former religious called Constance de Saint-Ferréol de Lamerlière. This story gave rise to a widely advertised suit for slander. They were however obliged to distance themselves from these allegations by the bishop of Grenoble, who condemned these writings as an infamous brochure, full of false allegations, mendacious assertions and gross injuries.^[15] The bishop finally publicly confirmed his adherence to his predecessors doctrinal judgement November 4, 1854.

Further examples of radical opposition were ... Laborde, a heretical French priest under interdiction, and ... Ponsot, Protestant pastor of Charleroi.^[16]

The messages were later instrumentalised. It was very difficult to stamp out speculation, fueled by the wishes of the French episcopate of appeasement with the Republican regime.

Controversy

From 1858 onwards, Mélanie was originally told by the Virgin Mary, she could make her private secret public. She wrote this secret down in an extended version of the 1851 edition, in Darlington, England, where she lived with the Carmelites.

This text further developed the themes of the first, short edition. It also included the first appearance of the religious rule, meant for the ecclesiastical orders that were to be founded. From then on, this element is retained in all further editions of the secret. The text of the edition was then sent by courier and an intermediary to Pope Pius IX on September 30, 1858. This edition of the secret became lost in the Vatican Secret Archives and has not yet been retrieved.

Mélanie got permission to leave the Carmelites at Darlington, and return to mainland Europe from William Hogarth, bishop of Hexham and Newcastle on September 19, 1860.

The extended edition of 1858 was reproduced in Marseille in October 1860 on request of the newly appointed spiritual director of Mélanie, Francesco Petagna, who lived in France because of being exiled from his bishopric of Castellammare di Stabia, and some other ecclesiastical superiors. Mélanie shortly went to live in Greece, but then returned to France and Italy.

Maximin Giraud also contributed to the public discussion of the secret. On February 2, 1866 he published a written rebuttal of the allegations made against the apparition.^[17] March 1, 1875 Maximin Giraud died peacefully at Corps.

In 1870 both Francesco Petagna and Jacques-Marie-Achille Ginoulhiac attended the First Vatican Council. Petagna supported the proclamation dogma of the papal infallibility, Ginoulhiac did not, and left Rome early. September 6, 1870 the bishop of Grenoble was succeeded by Pierre-Antoine-Justin Paulinier. He is himself succeeded November 18, 1875 by Armand-Joseph Fava.

A series of articles on Roman Catholic Mariology
General articles Mariology • Veneration of the Blessed Virgin • History of Mariology • Mariology of the saints • Mariology of the popes • Encyclicals • Marian Societies
Devotions Rosary • Scapular • Immaculate Heart • Seven Joys • Seven Sorrows • First Saturdays • Acts of Reparation • Hearts of Jesus & Mary • Consecration to Mary
Dogmas and Doctrines Mother of God • Perpetual virginity • Immaculate Conception • Assumption • Mother of the Church • Mediatrix • Co-Redemptrix
Expressions of devotion Art • Hymns • Music • Architecture
Key Marian apparitions (approved or worthy of belief) Guadalupe • Miraculous Medal • La Salette • Lourdes • Pontmain • Laus • Banneux • Beauraing • Fátima • Akita

A copy of the Marseille reproduction of 1860 was made in Castellammare in 1870 and was published on a small scale on April 30, 1873 by Félician Bliard, a French priest.^[18] This publication contained the approval of the archbishop of Naples, Sisto Cardinal Sforza.

March 3, 1878 Leo XIII was elected pope after the death of Pius IX. He received Mélanie in private audience December 3, 1878 to discuss the clerical rule given to her by the Virgin Mary during the apparition and meant for the foundation of a new religious order called Order of the Apostles of the Last Days, and their female equivalent the Order of the Mother of God. Mélanie was asked by the pope to return to Grenoble, in order to introduce the rule. This first attempt failed eventually.

Mélanie herself publicised the 1873 edition of the apparition with the imprimatur of Salvatore Count Zola C.R.L., bishop of Lecce, Italy in a work published on November 15, 1879.^[19]

A lively controversy followed as to whether the secret published in 1879 was identical with that communicated to Pius IX in 1851, or in its present form it was merely a work of the imagination of the children. This was because Mélanie and Maximin only gradually made their secret known over the years, and that these new editions were portrayed by opponents as fictional accounts after the facts, in order to repudiate the contence of the secret.

After the First Council of the Vatican, Mélanie's publication that the Virgin Mary had confided in her that "Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist" fuelled the controversy further.

In the later and longer editions of the secret, it is clear that this exact formulation was not present in the original text of the secret sent to Pius IX in 1851. But the expanded editions from 1858 onwards do logically elaborate on the more abstract, shortened statements, initially made by the seers. They build upon it by gradually further elaborating and detailing the 1858 edition.

In 1880 Pierre-Louis-Marie Cortet, bishop of Troyes, denounced the Lecce-imprimatured book to the Holy Office, and in turn Prospero Cardinal Caterini, secretary of the Congregation of the Holy Office, wrote back to him, to Vincenzo Maria Sarnelli, bishop of Castellammare di Stabia and to Pierre Archier M.S., superior general of the Missionaries of La Salette. In the very short and personal letter^[20] he wrote:

Very Reverend Father. Your letter of July 23 last, concerning the vulgarisation of the work entitled «L'Apparition de la Très Sainte Vierge sur la Montagne de La Salette» has been forwarded to their eminences, who together with me are inquisitors, and who have found it good to answer your fatherness that it has not pleased the Holy See that the above mentioned work has been released to the public, and as a consequence of this expresses its will that every copy, there where it has been put into circulation, be withdrawn, as far as is possible, from the hands of the faithful. Rome, August 8, 1880. P. Cardinal Caterini

As a result of this, it was alleged that the Vatican put this work in 1880 on the Index of Prohibited Books. But a controversy was started. The letter, written by Prospero Cardinal Caterini in a private capacity, on nonofficial paper without letterhead of office, is alleged to be falsely exaggerated by members of the French episcopate, in reference to its scope. The letter did not have any administrative reference for later Vatican archive retrieval.^[21] The controversy continues until this day.

Legacy

Mélanie befriended Gilbert Combe, a French priest who was very much drawn towards the La Salette apparition. Until nearly the end of her life, they would remain in close contact. Mélanie confided in him, and he made an important contribution in the further study of the secrets on the basis of his extensive collection of private letters and notes.

It is in him that over many years she orally confided a number of confidences morales relating to the last times of the world.^[22] These moral confidences are a third source of relevant information concerning the secret, next to the message given to Mélanie, and the ecclesiastical rule of the religious orders. They are also a source of controversy and speculation.

In 1901 Gilbert Combe republished Mélanie's latter edition of 1873, now prohibited secret together with these moral confidences.^[23] His book was labeled anti-Bonapartist and pro-Bourbon by opponents. It favoured traditional monarchism over laic republicanism. It was put on the Index.^[24] Again in 1906 another of Combe's publications^[25] was placed on the index.^[26]

These actions of the church caused a great deal of confusion in Catholic minds, so that it was compelled to clarify that the original shortened edition of the message of 1851 remained approved, and it was only the latter contributions, that were precautious.

Mélanie Calvat died December 15, 1904 in Altamura, Italy. The process of her canonization was begun. Currently the postulator of her cause is Ciro Quaranta, an Italian religious.

In October 1912, Albert Lepidi O.P., Master of the Sacred Palace, in a public statement in reply to a query by Cardinal Louis Luçon, affirmed that the original apparition of 1846 remained approved.

Once again, during the pontificate of pope Benedict XV, the church was compelled to address the issue. Benedict XV issued an admonitum or formal papal warning recognizing the many different versions of the secret from 1858 onwards, in all its diverse forms, and forbidding the faithful or the clergy to investigate or discuss them without permission from their bishops. The admonitum further affirmed that the church's prohibition of discussion issued under Pope Leo XIII issued in 1879 remained binding.^[27]

There have been a number of attempts over time to establish the religious orders Mélanie failed to establish herself. A first attempt was made by Blessed Giacomo Cusmano in Italy with the foundation of the congregations of the Missionary Servants of the Poor and of the Sister Servants of the Poor, its female equivalent. It was assisted by Mélanie herself and exists to the present day.^[28]

A second attempt was also made in Italy by Blessed Annibale Maria di Francia R.C.J., with the foundation of the congregations of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus and with its female counterpart the Daughters of Divine Zeal. This attempt was also assisted by Mélanie during her life, and exists today.^[16]

A further attempt was made in the first half of the twentieth century in small ecclesiastical communities in Western Europe; in Maranville, France, started by Germaine Blanchard; in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay, France, started by the religious named Mother Saint Jean and supported by father Paul Gouin; and in Leuven, Belgium, started by canon Armand Thiéry and Bertha Isabelle Carton de Wiart with the support of Désiré Cardinal Mercier.^[29]

Recent attempts in the 1970s and 1980s were made in Mérida, Mexico;^[28] and Canada, France and Haïti by religious Brother Hubertise;^[16] and very recently the lay community of the Frères de Saint Jean in France.^[16]

Very little was known with certainty about the content of the first edition of the Blessed Virgin's message to the two children until the recent release of the secrets from Vatican archives by René Laurentin and Michel Corteville M.S., both French priests.^[30] The recent release of the secret means that now the secret can be further analyzed.

Miracles, signs and predictions

Predictions

The central theme of the Virgin's messages to humanity was that they had to turn away from deadly sin and do penance, or undergo terrible suffering.

The Virgin Mary predicted future events in society and church. The fulfillment of these predictions was also seen as one of the indications of the apparition's veracity in the investigation that followed the apparition.

Concerning society, the Virgin Mary predicted that the harvest would completely fail. In December 1846, most of the popular crops were disease stricken, and in 1847 a famine hit Europe which resulted in the loss of approximately one million lives, including one hundred thousand in France alone. Cholera became prevalent in various parts of France and claimed the lives of many children. The demise of the Second French Republic with the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) and the communist uprising of the Paris Commune of 1871 were also predicted.

Concerning the Church, she predicted that Catholic faith in France and the world, within the civilian population as in the Catholic hierarchy of priests and bishops would diminish greatly because of many sinful acts from laity and clergy. Wars and tribulations would occur if mankind did not repent, and the total destruction of the cities of Paris and Marseille near the end.

Humanity was warned, through the secret message delivered to Mélanie, for the coming of the antichrist and the end of times.^[28] To Maximin, she supposedly predicted the conversion of England^{[improper synthesis?][31]} in the final phase of the apocalypse.

Signs

During interrogations from the local authorities, the children were taken to the site of the apparition. A man broke off a piece of rock at the spot of the Virgin's appearance and uncovered a spring. The spring was found to have healing powers which inspired the bishop to begin an official inquiry. Twenty-three cures were attributed to the mountain spring in the first year after the apparition. Additionally, hundreds of miraculous cures have also been reported.

Miracles

Numerous miracles have been attributed to Our Lady of La Salette. La Salette parish priest Louis Perrin attested to more than 250 miracles, and ... Bossan, first archivist of the La Salette pilgrimages, attested to many thousands of miracles.^[32]

A detailed study of these miracles was made by titular archbishop Joseph-Lucien Giray, then bishop of Cahors, in a 1921 book.^[33]

Unveiling of the secret

The secret was given during the second stage of the apparition, when the Virgin Mary was standing upright and talked to the children.

There are, at least, ten written editions, nine preserved and one lost, of the secret of La Salette, of which four editions were made by Maximin Giraud, five editions were made by Mélanie Calvat, and one edition was made by third parties.

These editions were written down at different moments in time. Over time, more information was gradually divulged by the seers and explanatory commentary was added.

External comparisons

Like the third secret of Fátima, the secret of La Salette has generated much controversy and wild speculation with both antagonists and protagonists alike, with many believing that the true secret is too frightening to be revealed.

Similar to the 1858 apparition at Lourdes and the 1917 Fátima apparitions, the Virgin Mary appeared short-statured and dressed in strange clothes to peasant children who had hardly any education. As at Fátima, the Virgin Mary reportedly warned that humanity would be severely chastised if they did not repent their sins.

Some sceptics allege that the knowledge of the visions of La Salette influenced later child-seers at Lourdes and Fátima. However, all the children concerned were illiterate and apparently chosen as such to make their assertions all the more credible, as they would not have the ability to create and maintain the truth of such elaborate fantasies.

Catholics are not dogmatically required to believe in a miraculous origin for the events at La Salette, as is the case with all other Church-approved private revelations. It is officially designated worthy of belief.

Reactions

Of Catholic origin

Statue of Our Lady of La Salette talking to Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud at Puy-de-Dôme, France (second stage of the apparition).

A large number of writers, philosophers, saints, religious, bishops and popes privately held a particular veneration towards Our Lady of La Salette.^[16] Among others, they are:

• Louis Veuillot (1813–1883), French editor
• Paul Verlaine (1844–1896), French symbolist
• Joris-Karl Huysmans (1815–1907), French writer and philosopher
• Léon Bloy (1846–1917), French writer and philosopher
• Jacques Maritain (1882–1973), French writer and philosopher
• Louis Massignon (1883–1962), French islamologist and mystic
• Paul Claudel (1868–1955), French symbolist
• Sylvain Marie Giraud M.S. (1830–1885), French religious, poet and musician
• Pierre Joseph Rousselot (...), French canon
• Joseph de Brandt (...), French canon
• Gustave Thibon (1903–2000), French religious
• Armand Thiéry (1868–1954), Belgian canon and founder of religious congregations
• Servant of God Piotr Semenenko C.R. (1814–1886), Polish president of the Polish seminary in Rome
• Gilbert Combe (...-1927), French priest
• Paul Gouin (1885–1968), French priest
• René Laurentin (1917–present), French priest
• Michel Corteville M.S. (...-present), French religious
• Saint Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney (1786–1859), French priest
• Saint Pierre Julien Eymard S.M. (1811–1865), French religious and founder of religious congregations
• Blessed Giacomo Cusmano (1834–1888), Italian religious and founder of religious congregations
• Blessed Annibale Maria di Francia R.C.J. (1851–1927), Italian religious and founder of religious congregations
• Saint Leonard Muraildo (...-1890), Italian religious
• Blessed Antoine Chevrier (1825–1879), French religious
• Saint Daniel Comboni (1831–1881), Italian titulary bishop and missionary
• Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat R.S.C.J. (1779–1865), French religious and founder of religious congregations
• Saint Émilie de Rodat (1787–1852), French religious
• Saint Euphrasie Pelletier (...-1868), French religious
• Blessed Francisco Spinelli (1853–1913), Italian religious
• Saint Luigi Orione P.D.P. (1872–1940), Italian religious and founder of religious congregations
• Saint Mieczysław Halka Count Ledóchowski S.J. (1822–1902), Polish cardinal and primate of Poland
• Philibert de Bruillard (1765–1860), French bishop of Grenoble
• Clément Villecourt (1787–1867), French cardinal and bishop of La Rochelle
• William Bernard Ullathorne O.S.B. (1806–1889), British archbishop of Birmingham
• Salvatore Count Zola C.L.R. (1822–1898), French bishop of Lecce
• Antoine Louis Adolphe Dupuch (1800–1856), French archbishop of Alger
• Carlo Maria Martini S.J. (1927–present), Italian, cardinal and archbishop of Milan
• Blessed Pius IX (1792–1878), Italian pope
• Leo XIII (1810–1903), Italian pope
• Saint Pius X (1835–1914), Italian pope
• Benedict XV (1854–1922), Italian pope
• Venerable Pius XII (1876–1958), Italian pope
• Blessed John XXIII (1881–1963), Italian pope

A number of members of the Catholic hierarchy, religious and bishops, were publicly and later privately opposed to the apparition.^[16] They were, among others:

• Jacques-Marie-Achille Ginoulhiac (1806–1875), French bishop of Grenoble
• Amand-Joseph Fava (1826–1899), French bishop of Grenoble
• Pierre-Louis-Marie Cortet (1817–1898), French, bishop of Troyes
• Louis Jacques Maurice de Bonald (1787–1870), French, cardinal and archbishop of Lyon
• Claude-Joseph Déléon (1797–1895), French priest
• Pierre-Joseph Cartellier (...-1865), French priest
• Adolphe-Louis-Albert Perraud (1828–1906), French cardinal and bishop of Autun
• Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire O.P. (1802–1861), French religious

Of anti-clerical and Masonic origin

The message of La Salette contained elements, which were hostile to the lay principles of the French state. It condemned the principles of the French revolution, and was responsible for strong reactions towards it. Some examples are:

• From the beginning, the 1873 message was exploited by French anti-clericals and freemasons to attack opposing Catholics. In 1916, Dr. ... Gremillion of Montpellier, France, published a commentary on the 1873 edition of the text of Mélanie under the pseudonym of Dr. Henry Mariavé,^[34][35] which was put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.^[36]

• Again, in 1923, a group taking the name Société Saint-Augustin re-published Gremillion's 1916 commentary.^[37] Gremillion distributed a thousand copies of this edition with an anticlerical tract pasted into it. This work too was put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.^[38]

The intense confusion deliberately spread by anti-Catholics caused a reaction that caused La Salette to lose its glory and fall back into the slumber of a minor site of Catholic pilgrimage.

Of schismatic origin

There are a number of schismatic movements that link themselves to the secret of La Salette:

• The Mariavite Church, a schismatic sect focussing on the La Salette apparition, sent a delegation to Pope Pius X after their excommunication from the church, demanding that he submit to them, ending their excommunication and doctrinal schism.

• In 1950, Frenchman Jean Colin claimed to receive revelations and to continue and to fulfil the 1873 message of Mélanie Calvet. Subsequently, Pope Pius XII publicly declared him by name a vitandus excommunicate, or one who should be avoided. Colin claimed to have been made pope, even while Pope Pius XII was alive, and is known as antipope Clement XV. In 1963 he founded the ultra-liberal, ultra-modernist The Renewed Church of Christ or Church of the Magnificat, based first in Lyons, then at St. Jovite, Quebec, Canada. The Colinites have since disintegrated into several factions, with one successor antipope in France.

• Another, larger, faction is led by Jean-Gaston Tremblay, one of Colin's former disciples, who declared himself constituted pope by apparition even before Colin had died and who calls himself the antipope John-Gregory XVII. He is now based in St. Jovite, as head of the Order of the Magnificat and The Apostles of the Latter Days. The 1873 edition of the secret of Mélanie Calvet, which called for the constitution of these Apostles of the Latter Days, is central to his claims and mission.

Devotions

Shrine

Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette at La Salette (France).

The shrine of La Salette is located in a high alpine pasture at an altitude of about 6,000 feet, about 9 miles from the nearest town. Now easily accessible by car, bus, and taxi, the shrine operates a hospitality service with a range of accommodations. The mountain scenery around the shrine is spectacular and it is surrounded by a network of walking trails.

The Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette was begun in 1852, completed in 1865, and designated a basilica in 1879. It is a large, rather austere church, with a façade flanked by two strong towers.

Inside, the basilica's nave is bordered by two rows of Byzantine columns supporting the Romanesque vaulted ceilings. A mosaic of Christ crowns the apse. The transept has three medallions representing the stages of the apparition, the weeping, the message, and the departure. The basilica also includes a small museum documenting the history of La Salette.

Outside the basilica, pilgrims can take a walking path leading to the apparition site, the so called Valley of the Apparition. Bronze statues erected in 1864 depict the three stages of the apparition.

Cross

Cross of La Salette.

The La Salette cross, worn by the Blessed Virgin Mary, was unusual because it has added features, a hammer and pincer.

The hammer symbolizes the sinner nailing Jesus on the cross by our sins and the pincer represents all of us trying to remove the nails from the cross by our virtuous life and fidelity to Jesus.

This cross was seen hanging on a chain around the neck of the Blessed Virgin.

References

1. ^ Laurentin, René & Corteville, Michel, Découverte du secret de la Salette, Fayard, Paris, 2002, p. 2; The secret was rediscovered October 3, 1999.
2. ^ Lettre dictée par la Sainte Vierge à deux enfants sur la montagne de La Salette
3. ^ Dion, Henry, Maximin Giraud berger de la Salette: ou la fidélité dans l'épreuve, Résiac, Montsûrs, 1988 ISBN 2852681755
4. ^ Belmont, Hervé, Gloires et larmes de Notre-Dame de La Salette, ..., ..., 2001
5. ^ Rousselot, Pierre Joseph, La verité sur l'événement de La Salette du 19 september 1846 ou rapport à Mgr l'évêque de Grenoblesur l'apparition de la Sainte Vierge à deux petits bergers sur la montagne de La Salette, canton de Corps (Isère), Grenoble, ..., 1848
6. ^ see The Saint and La Salette, @ catholictradition.org
7. ^ Laurentin, René & Corteville M.S., Michel, Découverte du secret de la Salette, Fayard, Paris, 2002, p. 26
8. ^ Ibid., p. 27
9. ^ Ullathorne O.S.B., William Bernard, La Sainte Montagne de La Salette, Baratier, Grenoble, 1854
10. ^ Laurentin, René & Corteville M.S., Michel, Découverte du secret de la Salette, Fayard, Paris, 2002, p. 20
11. ^ Déléon, Claude-Joseph, La Salette-Fallavaux: Fallax Vallis, I, ..., ..., 1851; The book was published under the pseudonym of J. Robert.
12. ^ Déléon, Claude-Joseph, La Salette-Fallavaux: Fallax Vallis, II, ..., ..., 1853
13. ^ Cartellier, Pierre-Joseph, Mémoire au pape sur La Salette, ..., ..., ...
14. ^ Cartellier, Pierre-Joseph, Un voyage à Ars, ..., Grenoble, 1851; The book was anonymously published.
15. ^ Duvillard René, La grande nouvelle de La Salette, Collection Mariale XI, Éditions de la Revue les Alpes, Grenoble, 1946
16. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Ibid.
17. ^ Giraud, Maximin, Ma profession de foi sur l'apparition de Notre-Dame de La Salette, Charpentier, Paris, 1866
18. ^ Bliard, Félician, Letters to a friend about the secret of the shepherdess of La Salette, ..., ..., ...
19. ^ Calvat, Mélanie, L'Apparition de la Très-Sainte Vierge sur la montagne de la Salette, le 19 septembre 1846, publiée par la bergère de la Salette avec permission de l'ordinaire, 1st edition, G. Spacciante, Lecce, 1879
20. ^ Letter published in L'Ami du Clergé of August 26, 1897.
21. ^ La Salette
22. ^ Laurentin, René & Corteville M.S., Michel, Découverte du secret de la Salette, Fayard, Paris, 2002, p. 28
23. ^ Combe, Gilbert Joseph Emile, Le grand coup avec sa date probable, c'est-à-dire le grand châtiment du monde et le triomphe universel de l'Eglise; étude sur le secret de la Salette, augmentée de la brochure de Mélanie et autres pièces justificatives, ..., ..., 1901
24. ^ Sacra Congregtio Indicis, Decretum, Feria ... die 7 iunii 1901
25. ^ Combe, Gilbert Joseph Émile, Le Secret de Mélanie, bergère de la Salette, et la crise actuelle, Jonquières et Dati, Rome, 1907
26. ^ Sacra Congregtio Indicis, Decretum, Feria ... die 12 aprilis 1907
27. ^ Suprema Sacra Congregatio S. Officii, Declaratio Circa Opus Quoddam, Feria IV, die 12 aprilis 1916
28. ^ ^{a b c} Laurentin, René & Corteville M.S., Michel, Découverte du secret de la Salette, Fayard, Paris, 2002
29. ^ Smeyers, Maurits, Armand Thiéry (Gentbrugge 1868 - Leuven 1955): apologie voor een geniaal zonderling, Arca Lovaniensis artes atque historiae reserans documenta: jaarboek 19-20, Vrienden van de Leuvense stedelijke musea, Leuven, 1992, p. 370
30. ^ Catholic Truths: La Salette Secrets
31. ^ In fact, England is never explicitly mentioned, only presumably hinted at. This is the relevant sentence: "A great country, now Protestant, in the north of Europe, will be converted; by the support of this country all the other nations of the world will be converted."
32. ^ Némoz M.S., A., La belle dame de La Salette, Éditions Charles Paillart, Abbeville (Somme), 1946, p. 33
33. ^ Giray, Joseph-Lucien, Les Miracles de la Salette, étude historique et critique, 2 volumes, Imprimerie Saint-Bruno, Grenoble, 1921
34. ^ Mariavé, Henry, La leçon de l'hôpital Notre-Dame d'Ypres: exégèse du secret de la Salette, I, Éditions Figuière, Paris, 1916
35. ^ Mariavé, Henry, La leçon de l'hôpital Notre-Dame d'Ypres: exégèse du secret de la Salette, II & Appendices, Firmin et Montane, Montpellier, 1916
36. ^ Sacra Congregatio Indicis, Decretum, Feria II, die 5 iunii 1916
37. ^ Société Saint-Augustin, L'Apparition de la Tres Sainte Vierge de La Salette, ..., Paris-Rome-Bruges, 1923
38. ^ Suprema Sacra Congregatio S. Officii, Decretum, II, Feria IV, die 9 maii 1923

Bibliography

This is an extensive bibliography of publications concerning Our Lady of La Salette:

• Villecourt, Clément, Nouveau récit de l'Apparition de la Vierge sur les montagnes des Alpes, Lecoffre, Paris, 1847 (fr)
• Bez, Nicolas, Pélerinage à La Salette, ou Examen critique de l'Apparition, ..., Paris, 1847 (fr)
• Hecht von Willisau O.S.B., Laurentius Balthasar, Geschichte der Erscheinung der seligsten Jungfrau zweien Hirten-Kindern auf dem Berge von Salette in Frankreich, den 19. Herbstmonat 1846, Druck und Verlag von Gebr. Benziger, Einsiedeln, 1847 (de)
• Arbaud, ..., Souvenirs intimes d'un pélerinage à La Salette, ..., Digne, 1848 (fr)
• Rousselot, Pierre Joseph, La verité sur l'événement de La Salette du 19 septembre 1846 ou rapport à Mgr l'évêque de Grenoblesur l'apparition de la Sainte Vierge à deux petits bergers sur la montagne de La Salette, canton de Corps (Isère), Baratier, Grenoble, 1848 (fr)
• Lemeunier, ..., Pélerinage à La Salette, ..., ..., 1849 (fr)
• Rousselot, Pierre Joseph, Nouveaux documents, Baratier, Grenoble, 1850 (fr)
• des Brulais, Marie, L'Écho de la Sainte montagne, Charpentier, Nantes, 1852 (fr)
• Rousselot, Pierre Joseph, Un nouveau Sanctuaire à Marie, ou Conclusion de l'affaire de La Salette, Baratier, Grenoble, 1853 (fr)
• Ullathorne O.S.B., William Bernard, The Holy Mountain of La Salette, ..., London, 1854 (en)
• Ullathorne O.S.B., William Bernard, La Sainte Montagne de La Salette, Baratier, Grenoble, 1854 (fr)
• des brulais, Marie, L'Écho de la Sainte Montagne, reprint, Charpentier, Nantes, 1854 (fr)
• Tardieu SS.CC., Froduald, Histoire de Notre-Dame de La Salette d'après les document authentiques, 2 volumes, 2nd edition, Typographie et Librairie de C.-J. Fonteyn, Louvain, 1854 (fr)
• Dupuch, Antoine Louis Adolphe, Venez avec moi à La Salette, Ducot, Bordeaux, 1855 (fr)
• Nicolas, Amedée, La Salette devant la raison et le devoir d'un catholique, Casterman et Fils, Tournay, 1856 (fr)
• Doyen, ..., La Salette vengée. Lettres à Mgr. Pinsot, ministre Protestant à Charleroi, ..., Paris, 1857 (fr)
• Sabbatier, ..., Affaire de La Salette. Mlle Lamerlière contre MM. Déléon et Cartellier, ..., Paris, 1857 (fr)
• des Garets, ..., Le curé d'Ars et La Salette, ..., Lyon, 1860 (fr)
• Giraud, Maximin, Ma profession de foi sur l'apparition de Notre-Dame de La Salette, Charpentier, Paris, 1866 (fr)
• Giraud, Maximin, Ma profession de foi sur l'apparition de Notre-Dame de La Salette, reprint, Charpentier, Paris, 1870 (fr)
• Girard, M., Les secrets de la Salette et leur importance. Les dernières révélations de prochains événements, ..., ..., 1871 (fr)
• Déléon, Claude-Joseph, Dernier mot sur La Salette, Grenoble, Librairie dauphinoise Xavier Roux, 1873 (fr)
• Giraud, Maximin, Ma profession de foi sur l'apparition de Notre-Dame de La Salette, reprint, Charpentier, Paris, 1873 (fr)
• Calvat, Mélanie, L'Apparition de la Très-Sainte Vierge sur la montagne de la Salette, le 19 septembre 1846, publiée par la bergère de la Salette avec permission de l'ordinaire, 1st edition, G. Spacciante, Lecce, 1879 (fr) html
• Calvat, Mélanie, L'Apparition de la Très-Sainte Vierge sur la montagne de la Salette, le 19 septembre 1846, publiée par la bergère de la Salette avec permission de l'ordinaire, 2nd edition, G. Spacciante, Lecce, 1885 (fr) html
• Combe, Gilbert Joseph Emile, Le grand coup avec sa date probable, c'est-à-dire le grand châtiment du monde et le triomphe universel de l'Eglise; étude sur le secret de la Salette, augmentée de la brochure de Mélanie et autres pièces justificatives, ..., ..., 1901 (fr)
• Calvat, Mélanie & Bloy, Léon, Vie de Mélanie, Bergère de la Salette, écrite par elle-mêle en 1900, son enfance (1831–1846), 1st edition, Mercure de France, Paris, 1918 (fr) pdf
• des Brulais, Marie, L'Écho de la Sainte Montagne, Imprimerie Henri Douchet, Méricourt-L'Abbé, 1904 (fr)
• Calvat, Mélanie, L'Apparition de la Très-Sainte Vierge sur la montagne de la Salette, le 19 septembre 1846, publiée par la bergère de la Salette avec permission de l'ordinaire, 3rd edition, Stéphane Guillard, Lyon, 1904 (fr) html
• Combe, Gilbert Joseph Émile, Le Secret de Mélanie, bergère de la Salette, et la crise actuelle, Jonquières et Dati, Rome, 1907 (fr)
• Bloy, Léon, Celle qui pleure, Notre-Dame de la Salette, Mercure de France, Paris, 1908 (fr) pfd
• Mariavé, Henry, La leçon de l'hôpital Notre-Dame d'Ypres: exégèse du secret de la Salette, I, Éditions Figuière, Paris, 1916 (fr)
• Mariavé, Henry, La leçon de l'hôpital Notre-Dame d'Ypres: exégèse du secret de la Salette, II & Appendices, Firmin et Montane, Montpellier, 1916 (fr)
• Mariavé, Henry, Pour La Salette contre Nos Princes, 3rd edition, Firmin et Montane, Montpellier, 1916 (fr)
• Giray, Joseph-Lucien, Les Miracles de la Salette, étude historique et critique, 2 volumes, Imprimerie Saint-Bruno, Grenoble, 1921
• Société Saint-Augustin, L'Apparition de la Très Sainte Vierge de la Salette, ..., Paris-Rome-Bruges, 1923 (fr) pdf
• Borel, Louis, Notre-Dame de La Salette, Librairie Letouzey & Ané, Paris, 1923 (fr)
• Bloy, Léon, Le symbolisme de l'apparition, Lemercier, Paris, 1925 (fr)
• Giraud M.S., S.-M., La pratique de la dévotion à N.-D. de La Salette, 3rd edition, Baratier et Dardelet, Grenoble, 1933 (fr)
• Gouin, Paul, L'Ordre de la Mère de Dieu, pro manuscripto, Imprimerie Coconier, Sablé, 1941 (fr)
• Roetheli, Ernst Walter, La Salette. Das Buch der Erscheinung, Otto Walter AG, Olten, 1945 (de)
• Jaouen, M.S., La grace de La Salette, Editions du Cerf, Paris, 1946 (fr) pdf
• Brillant, Maurice, La Salette. Témoingnages, Éditions Bloud & Gay, Mayenne, 1946 (fr)
• Duvillard René, La grande nouvelle de La Salette, Collection Mariale XI, Éditions de la Revue les Alpes, Grenoble, 1946 (fr)
• Némoz M.S., A., La belle dame de La Salette, Éditions Charles Paillart, Abbeville (Somme), 1946
• Roetheli, Ernst Walter, La Salette. Geschichte der Erscheinung, ..., ..., 1952 (de)
• Kennedy, J.S., Light on the Mountain: the Story of La Salette, McMillan, New York City-NY, 1953 (en)
• Calvat, Mélanie & Bloy, Léon, Vie de Mélanie, Bergère de la Salette, écrite par elle-mêle en 1900, son enfance (1831–1846), repring, Mercure de France, Paris, 1954 (fr) pdf
• O'Reilly, James P., The Story of La Salette, J. S. Paluch & Co, Chicago, 1953 (en)
• Cox, M.J., Rain for These Shoots, Gruce, Milwaukee-WI, 1956 (en)
• Bloy, Léon, She who weeps: Our Lady of Salette, Academy Library Guild, Fresno-CA, 1956 (en)
• Bassette, Louis, Notre-Dame de La Salette et le bienheureux Pierre-Julian Eymard: La Salette et quelques historiens, Eymond, Grenoble, 1960 (fr)
• Delaney, John J., A Woman Clothed with the Sun: Eight Great Appearances of Our Lady in Modern Times, Hanover House, Garden City-NY, 1960 (en)
• Association des Enfants de N.-D. de La Salette et de St-grignion de Montfort, Pour servir à l'histoire réelle de La Salette: Documents I, Nouvelles Éditions Latines, Paris, 1963 (fr)
• Jaouen, M.S., La grace de La Salette au regard de l'Eglise, new edition, La Salette, 1964 (fr)
• Calvat, Mélanie, L'Apparition de la Très-Sainte Vierge sur la montagne de la Salette, le 19 septembre 1846, publiée par la bergère de la Salette avec permission de l'ordinaire, reprint, Librairie Téqui, Saint-Céneré, S.D. (fr) html
• Bassette, Louis, Le fait de La Salette, New edition, Editions du Cerf, Paris, 1965 (fr)
• Huysmans, Joris Karel, Là-haut ou Notre-Dame de la Salette, Casterman, Tournai, 1965 (fr)
• Calvat, Mélanie, L'Enfance de Mélanie Calvat, bergère de La Salette, reprint, Éditions Saint-Michel, Saint-Céneré, 1966 (fr)
• Ritz M.S., Emil, Das Vater unser betend erklärt, La Salette-Verlag, Mörschwil-Ulm, 1967 (de)
• Gouin, Paul, Sœur Marie de la Croix. Bergère de la Salette. Née Mélanie Calvat. Tertiaire de St Dominique. Victime de Jésus, Éditions Saint-Michel, Saint-Céneré, 1969 (fr)
• Association des Enfants de N.-D. de La Salette et de St-grignion de Montfort, Pour servir à l'histoire réelle de La Salette: Documents II, Nouvelles Éditions Latines, Paris, 1965 (fr)
• Association des Enfants de N.-D. de La Salette et de St-grignion de Montfort, Pour servir à l'histoire réelle de La Salette: Documents III, Nouvelles Éditions Latines, Paris, 1966 (fr)
• Gouin, Paul, Sister Mary of the Cross. Shepherdess of La Salette. Melanie Calvat, The 101 Foundation, Asbury-NJ, 1968 (en)
• Stern M.S., Jean, La Salette: Bibliography, Marian Studies Library, A, New Series, VII, University of Dayton, Dayton-OH, 1975 (en)
• Association des Enfants de N.-D. de La Salette et de St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Pour servir à l'histoire réelle de La Salette: Documents IV, Résiac, Montsûrs, 1978 (fr)
• Corteville, Fernand, La bergère de La Salette et le serviteur de Dieu Mgr. Zola, Résiac, Montsûrs, 1978 (fr)
• Ritz M.S., Emil, La Salette. Die Botschaft einer Marienerscheinung, 2nd edition, La Salette-Verlag, Morschwil-Ulm, 1979 (de)
• Stern M.S., Jean, La Salette: Documents authentiques I, 1846–1847, Éditions Desclée De Brouwer, Paris, 1980 ISBN 2220022811 (fr)
• Gouin, Paul, die Hirtin von La Salette, Christiana-Verlag, Stein am Rhein, 1982, ISBN 3717108107 (de)
• Masson, René, La Salette ou les Larmes de Marie, Éditions S.O.S., Paris, 1982 ISBN 2718509074 (fr)
• Bettega, Victor, La grande aventure du pelerinage de La Salette de 1846 a nos jours, S.N., Grenoble, 1984 (fr)
• Dion, Henri, Mélanie Calvat, bergère de La Salette: Étapes humaines et mystiques, Téqui, Paris, 1984 ISBN 2852446588 (fr)
• Stern M.S., Jean, La Salette: Documents authentiques II, 1847–1849, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 1984 ISBN 2204022578 (fr)
• Barsotti, Divo, Una madre tra noi: il messaggio della Madonna, Edizioni Messaggero, Padova, 1985 (it)
• Corteville, Fernand, Pie IX, le pere Pierre Semenenko, et les defenseurs du message de Notre-Dame de La Salette, Téqui, Paris, 1987 (fr)
• Dion, Henri, Maximin Giraud, berger de La Salette, ou la fidelite dans l'épreuve, Éditions Résiac, Montsûrs, 1988 (fr)
• Huysmans, Joris Karel, Là-haut ou Notre-Dame de la Salette, reprint, Presses Universitaires de Nancy, Nancy, 1988 (fr)
• Roetheli, Ernst Walter, La Salette. Geschichte der Erscheinung, reprint, Kanisius Verlag, Freiburg im Üchtland, 1990 ISBN 3857643145 (de)
• Association des Enfants de N.-D. de La Salette et de St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Témoinages historiques sur Mélanie Calvat, bèrgere de La Salette, Beaupreau, 1991 ISBN 2868392873 (fr)
• Stern M.S., Jean, La Salette: Documents authentiques III, 1849–1854, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 1991 ISBN 2204044458 (fr)
• Smeyers, Maurits, Armand Thiéry (Gentbrugge 1868 - Leuven 1955): apologie voor een geniaal zonderling, Arca Lovaniensis artes atque historiae reserans documenta: jaarboek 19-20, Vrienden van de Leuvense stedelijke musea, Leuven, 1992 (nl)
• Roethelli, Ernst Walter, La Salette. Die Botschaft verstehen, Kanisius Verlag, Freiburg im Üchtland, 1993 (de)
• Bettega, Victor, Iconographie De Notre-Dame De La Salette (Isère). Toutes Les Gravures, Images De Missel, Ex-Votos, Statues, Bannières, Tableaux, Pierre-Chatel, Paris, 1995 (fr)
• Höcht, Johannes Maria, Die Grosse Botschaft von La Salette, 7th edition, Christiana-Verlag, Stein am Rhein, 1996, ISBN 3717106953 (de)
• Galli, Antonio, La bergère de Notre-Dame de La Salette, Téqui, Saint-Céneré, 1996 (fr)
• Corteville M.S., Michel, La "grande nouvelle" des Bergers de La Salette, I. l'Appartion et les secrets, Téqui, Paris, 2001 (fr)
• Belmont, Hervé, Gloires et larmes de Notre-Dame de La Salette, ..., ..., 2001 (fr)
• Galli, Antonio, Apologia di Melania, Segno, ..., 2002 ISBN 8872826101 (it)
• Laurentin, René & Corteville M.S., Michel, Découverte du secret de la Salette, Fayard, Paris, 2002, ISBN 2213612838 (fr)
• Foucault, Michel, The Vision of the Virgin at La Salette, in Abnormal: Lectures at the Collège de France 1974-1975, Picador, New York City-NY, 2003, 225-227 (en)
• Schmitt, Oskar, La Salette: die Große Botschaft für die Endzeit, Verlag Schmid, Anton A., ..., 2003 ISBN 3932352904 (de)
• Ullathorne O.S.B., William Bernard, The Holy Mountain of La Salette, reprint, Loreto Publications, Fitzwilliam-NH, 2004 ISBN 6032396671 (en)
• Bourgeois, René, Le fait de La Salette 1846, Presses universitaires de Grenoble, Grenoble, 2006 ISBN 2706113413 (fr)
• Galli, Antonio, Scoperti in Vaticano i segreti de La Salette. L'apparizione, le polemiche, le profezie apocalittiche, SugarCo, ..., 2007 ISBN 8871985257 (it)
• Connor, Edward, Recent Apparitions of Our Lady, Academy Guild Press, Fresno-CA, S.D. (en)

External links

La Salette.

Shrines

• Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in La Salette, France
• Our Lady of Lasalette Shrine, Isabela Philippines

Congregation and parishes

• La Salette at Philippine Province of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette
• Our Lady of La Salette Roman Catholic Church, Canton, GA, USA

Background

• La Salette at the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1911.
• The story of Our Lady of La Salette as a comic strip.

Controversy

• Discussion of the controversy surrounding the extent of the secret of La Salette at www.unitypublishing.com.
• Discussion of the controversy surrounding the extent of the secret of La Salette at campus.udayton.edu.
• Discussion of the controversy surrounding the extent of the Secret of La Salette at www.crc-internet.org.
• Discussion of the controversy surrounding the extent of the secret of La Salette at veritas-catholic.blogspot.com.
• Discussion of the controversy surrounding the extent of the secret of La Salette at www.virgo-maria.org.
• Discussion of the controversy surrounding the extent of the secret of La Salette at www.catholicplanet.com.
• Discussion of the controversy surrounding the extent of the secret of La Salette at jloughnan.tripod.com 1. 2.
• Discussion of the controversy surrounding the extent of the secret of La Salette at www.sspxasia.com.

See also

In particular

• Order of the Apostles of the Last Days
• Missionaries of La Salette
• Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette
• Mélanie Calvat
• Maximin Giraud

In general

• Marian apparitions
• Shrines to the Virgin Mary
• Our Lady of Lourdes
• Our Lady of Fátima

Coordinates: 44°49′N 5°57′E / 44.817°N 5.95°E / 44.817; 5.95