"Consecrate your parish to the Immaculate Heart of Mary".

In 1836, Father Charles Desgenettes, parish priest of Our Lady of Victories (Notre-Dame des Victoires) in Paris, in the stock exchange district, was discouraged and unhappy. The area had been de-Christianised since the Revolution, and having very few parishioners attending to the Mass, after 4 years of serving at this church, he thought he had failed in his ministry and wanted to resign his functions when a message from Heaven came to him. On 3 December, a Saturday, Father Desgenettes received from the Holy Virgin a special grace : internal locutions saying twice, during and after the Mass he celebrated :“Consecrate your parish to the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary”.

With the agreement of the Archbishop of Paris, Father Desgenettes consecrated his parish to the Immaculate of Mary in the evening of the Sunday 11th of december.

500 Persons were attending to the celebration when, in the morning, less than 40 persons where present to the Mass ! He constituted that same day the Association of the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary for the conversion of sinners, an association which became archconfraternity in 1838 by the decision of Pope Gregory the XVIth.

Stained glass window from Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Paris / © CC BY-SA 4.0, Mbzt

Reasons to believe:

Father Desgenettes was a middle-aged, rational man, who was not attracted to mystical phenomena. He has never before had one, and initially refused to believe that it was happening to him, despite the fact that the phenomenon was repeated.

He was concerned about this unwelcome "distraction" occurring at the most sacred moment of the Mass and feared that he might be guilty of a serious sin.

He knew what an "interior locution" was: a distinctly heard word that does not emanate from a visible interlocutor, that can, with discernment, be attributed to God, the Virgin Mary, an angel or a saint, but also to the devil, and that cannot be the fruit of the imagination of the person hearing it. But, out of humility, he did not believe he could himself receive one.

Since he couldn't shake off the memory of the words he had heard, he had the psychologically correct idea of writing down his experience, to "discharge" his memory, in the hope of being rid of it. However the opposite happened.

Wisely, he submitted everything to his archbishop, Bishop de Quelen, and did nothing without his permission, which was a sign of his good faith and prudence.

As a final precaution and to seek a sign and proof from God, he asked for the conversion of a former minister of King Louis XVI, name Mr. Joly, an agnostic who had always refused his visit. He obtained to see the man the very next day.

From 13 December, the priest's obedience to the mysterious order to consecrate his parish to the heart of Mary bore spectacular fruits of grace and conversion, which soon made Notre-Dame des Victoires widely known: the church was packed and the small parish confraternity created by the parish priest took on a worldwide dimension.

Summary:

On Saturday 3 December 1836, Father Charles Desgenettes was celebrating mass when he was seized by a temptation to despair. He thought, "You are accomplishing nothing here, your ministry is useless. What have you gained in the last four years? Everything is lost. These people have lost their faith. You should leave, out of prudence." Frightened, he lost the thread of his Mass and almost stopped before consecrating, for fear of sacrilege... He asked God to "free him from this unfortunate distraction". No sooner had he said this prayer than he heard another voice say, "in a solemn manner" : "Consecrate your parish to the most holy and immaculate heart of Mary!"

Immediately, the demonic turmoil evaporated, giving way to a feeling of calm. When Mass was over, he went to the sacristy, repeating to himself that he mustn't stop at "an illusion" or think that he had "become a visionary"... He had reached this point in his reflections when the same voice spoke again: "Consecrate your parish to the most holy and immaculate heart of Mary!" The parish priest tried to reject this suggestion, but to no avail. To free his mind, he drew up the statutes for an association under this name, telling himself that it was an act of devotion to the Blessed Virgin and that the initiative could be positive. Bishop de Quelen approved.

On Sunday 11 December, before an even smaller audience than usual, the parish priest announced from the pulpit that the same evening an exceptional service would be celebrated "to implore divine mercy, through the protection of Mary, for the grace of the conversion of sinners" and invited people to attend in large numbers. He thought no one would turn up.

The hour of the service arrived. The priest was stunned: the church was full; there were nearly 500 people. He explained the aims of the association: the audience, normally indifferent, had tears in their eyes and recited the litanies of the Virgin with fervour. At the invocation, "Refuge of sinners, pray for us", the priest exclaimed in his heart: "Mary, adopt this pious association! Give me the sign of Mr Joly's conversion. I'll go to see him tomorrow in your name."

Mr Joly, in his eighties, was the last Keeper of the Seals under Louis XVI. A Freemason, he was an enemy of religion, but Father Desgenettes, knowing that he was ill, blind and isolated, visited him several times, only to be turned away. The next day, he was refused entry and insisted. Mr Joly politely agreed to see him. After five minutes of conversation, he suddenly exclaimed: "How good it is to have you here, Father! Since you've been here, I've experienced a peace and an inner joy that I've never known before..." And he asked for the priest's blessing. This public return to God of a militant agnostic contributed to the fame of the small parish Fraternity. Within a few months, several million Catholics had joined.

Everywhere, the immaculate heart of Mary touched hardened souls and converted sinners. From then on, the church of Our Lady of Victory would draw crowds and never be empty: A large part of the 37000 ex-voto covering the walls of the shrine are a testament to these years of grace when Father Charles Desgenettes was in charge of the parish (1832-1860) but the thanksgivings of pilgrims and parishioners to the Holy Virgin have never ceased, nor the prayers of the Archconfraternity members on behalf of sinners.

Today, the Archconfraternity counts more than 1 628 000 individual inscriptions (counted up from 1836) and more than 20 000 Catholic communities (parishes, congregations, schools etc.) throughout the world.

Anne Bernet, a specialist in Church History, postulator of a cause for beatification and journalist for a number of Catholic media. Bernet is also the author of over forty books, most of them devoted to holiness.

Going further:

Find out more about the Archconfraternity created by Father Desgenettes on the Notre-Dame des Victoires website.

More information:

Anonymous, Notre-Dame des Victoires, refuge des pécheurs, 2015.
Bulletin paroissial de la Sainte Trinité, 1927.
Jean Clapier, Quand la Vierge Marie sourit aux pécheurs, Notre-Dame des Victoires, Salvator. 2013.