“Our Lady of Hope”
PONTMAIN, FRANCE  (1871) 

On January 17, 1871, Eugene Barbadette (12) and brother, Joseph (10) heard the priest pray through Blessed Mary at Mass for mercy to come to the area.  Paris was already besieged by Prussian forces, and war-torn France was in complete disarray.  The little town of Laval nearby would be the next to fall to the invading Prussians.

That wintry night, looking outside the family’s barn at 6:00 p.m., Eugene noticed in the cold starry night that a section of the sky was without stars.  Suddenly, in that very area, a young woman of 18 years old appeared to be hovering in the sky and smiling down at him.  She was strikingly beautiful and wearing a dark blue dress covered with stars and a black veil with a golden crown on top.  He gasped a yell of surprise, and brother, Joseph came to him and stared up at the apparition as well.  Their parents then came to see what was going on but could not see what the boys continued to marvel at.  The mother boxed their ears, scolded them, and then forced them to come in and eat dinner.

They ate hastily, rushed back outside, and again saw the beautiful lady in the sky.  Joseph records the details later in his writings as follows:

“In the air above Augustin Guidecoq’s house, I saw a woman of extraordinary beauty.  She appeared to be young, about 18-20 years of age and tall of stature.  She was clad in a garment of deep blue.  When we were told to describe exactly the shade of blue, we could only do so by comparing it to balls of indigo such as laundresses use for rinsing linen.  Her dress was covered with golden stars, pentagonal in form, all of the same size and brilliant, but without emitting rays.  They were not very numerous and seemed scattered over the blue without regard to method.  The blue garment was ample, showing certain strongly marked folds, and without girdle or compression of any kind from the neck to the feet.  The sleeves were ample and long, falling over the hands. 

On the feet, which the dress left uncovered, were chaussons (shoes), the same blue as the dress, and ornamented with golden bows.  On the head was a black veil, half covering the forehead, concealing the hair and ears, and falling over the shoulders.  Above this was a golden crown resembling a diadem, higher in front than elsewhere and widening out at the sides.  A red line encircled the crown at about the middle.  The hands were small and extended toward us as in the ‘miraculous medal’ but without emitting rays. 

The face was slightly oval.  To the freshness of youth was added exquisite delicacy of feature and of tint, the complexion being pale rather than otherwise.  Smiles of ineffable sweetness played about the mouth.  The eyes, of unutterable tenderness, were fixed on us.  I give up further attempting to describe the beautiful figure of her who looked down upon us and smiled.  Like a true mother, she seemed happier in looking at us than we in contemplating her.”

But when a local nun heard the startled mother’s story, she reminded her that Mary often comes to young children.  Going on the theory that maybe only children could see Mary, she brought two young girls, Francoise Richer and Jeanne-Marie Lebosse (ages 9 and 11) from the convent school to the family’s farm.  The nun made certain to not tell the young girls anything.  Although not having heard what the two brothers had seen, the two young girls immediately began describing, excitedly, the exact same image of the Virgin Mary down to the last precise detail.

Clusters of people began to gather — within 20 minutes after this vision had begun — yet, none of the adults could see anything.  Three more small children began pointing at the sky and describing the same apparition of Mary.  Even a two-year old in her mother’s arms started clapping with joy, looking up into the sky, and holding out her arms as if wanting Our Blessed Mother to come pick her up.  A total of about 60 villagers gathered before the barn and knelt in the snow to begin praying.  Sister Mary Edward began leading the Rosary.  The children reported that Our Lady smiled throughout the Rosary, appearing very much alive and showing the dazzling whiteness of her teeth.

Afterward, Father Guerin led in singing hymns and reciting other prayers.  The children reported that the Lady became more beautiful and her garments more intense in illumination in proportion to the devotion of the people.  “Oh, there are so many stars (on her dress) that the Blessed Virgin will soon be gilt (golden) all over.”

The four young children who could describe what was happening said that three bright stars formed a triangle around Mary.  A darker blue oval backdrop appeared and formed around her.  Two candles appeared inside the oval on either side of her shoulders.  Two more candles appeared inside the oval on either side of her knees.  A small red heart appeared on her left side. About forty stars only visible to the children gathered beneath her feet.  The villagers were all able to witness the formation of the three stars in a triangle.

As Sister Mary Edward began the Magnificat, the children cried out that the image was changing again.  A white band about a yard wide unrolled itself under her feet and extended across the roof of Guidecoq’s house.  These words appeared on the banner:

“Mais priez, mes enfants.” (But pray, my children.)

As the Magnificat continued, the dreadful news arrived that the Prussians were now at nearby Laval and heading soon toward Pontmain.  More letters appeared on the banner:

“Dieu vous exaucera en peu de temps.” (God will hear you in a little while)

“Mon fils se laisse toucher.” (My Son permits Himself to be moved)

So she was telling them that God had heard their prayers and fears about the invasion of soldiers, and that he would answer their needs shortly.  He would answer because he is a God who allows himself to be touched by pleading and prayers.  The crowd sang hymns, but when “My Sweet Jesus” was sung, the children reported that she looked sad. A blue band, the same color as the sky, began passing over the words and erasing them.  As the white banner rolled away, the Virgin lifted her hand to the level of her shoulders.  She seemed to be moving her fingers and speaking, but nothing was heard.

Her hands were then joined over her heart and a large red cross with a darker red image of Jesus appeared in her hands.  A star seemed to move and light four candles about her.  When the crowd sang Ave Maris Stella, the red crucifix disappeared and a small white cross about eight inches high appeared on each of her shoulders.  Mary looked upward.  Prayers continued and Mary smiled as the crosses disappeared.  She opened her arms outward and downward.  A white veil appeared at her feet and rose slowly upward until Our Lady was completely concealed by it.

It was now about 9:00 p.m.; the experience had lasted a total of three hours!

By the next morning the town learned that the Prussian soldiers had witnessed a vision of the Virgin Mary on the outskirts of their town.  The startled and frightened soldiers had told their Prussian superiors,

“Madonna is guarding the country and forbidding us to advance!  We can go no further – an invisible Madonna is barring the way.” 

Within eleven days the Prussian soldiers had mysteriously retreated and abandoned the country they had planned to invade and occupy.  A truce was signed and the war ended.

After a thorough investigation, the ecclesiastical authority fully approved in February of 1875 the appearances of the Virgin Mary in Pontmain.  The Barbadette barn first became a chapel, and then a large basilica, years later in 1900, for “Our Lady of Hope.”

Joseph Barbadette became a priest and a member of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.  Brother Eugene became a priest of the archdiocese.  Francoise Richer became a housekeeper for a priest, and Jeanne-Marie Lebosse became a nun.