The Virgin Mary comes to France's rescue by appearing at L'Île-Bouchard

In 1947, the aftermath of WWII caused severe food shortages in France. Riots broke out in front of bakeries. The Cold War was spreading throughout Europe. Stalin even threatened to extend his power to France, where the Communist Party and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) organised a violent insurrectionary strike in the cities. The government had to call on reservists to restore order in the country, threatened by civil war.

In this tense political context, the Virgin Mary appeared on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. From 8 to 14 December 1947, her luminous figure appeared in the peaceful Romanesque church of L'Île-Bouchard, a village in central France (Touraine): accompanied by the angel Gabriel, the "Beautiful Lady" came and placed kisses on the hands of four little girls. Then she invited them to kiss the crucifix of her rosary.

When she finally spoke to the children, the Immaculate Conception looked very concerned and urged the children to pray for France, "for it is in great need". The Virgin entrusted them with a secret, then asked the children repeatedly and insistently: "Do you pray for sinners?" A true teacher, she taught them to pray fervently, and promised those who pray the rosary that their families would be truly happy. Finally, radiant with joy, the Virgin appeared one last time with the words "Magnificat". Civil peace had returned to France.

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Reasons to believe:

The four young seers separately reported similar words and descriptions of the Beautiful Lady to sceptical questioners. The reports were concordant, detailed and judged to be in accordance with the Catholic faith.

Although the thousands of witnesses were unable to see the apparition, they did observe that the visionaries raised their hands at exactly the same time and in exactly the same place, in front of the statue of Our Lady of Victories in the church. The children responded to the Immaculate Conception's request: "Give me your hand to kiss" and "Kiss the cross of my rosary." Observers noticed above all that the eldest child, Jacqueline, was able to carry the younger children towards the Immaculate with astonishing ease. At the same time, the children reproduced the very slow sign of the cross that the Virgin taught them.

Graces of conversion and healing were numerous: the eldest, Jacqueline, was completely cured of an incurable eye disease. The sceptical parish priest began to believe in the authenticity of the apparitions: "It looks like she's truly coming down to visit us!"

On the last day of the events, a fine, intense ray of sunlight appeared before everyone's eyes through a stained-glass window, forming a path that defied the laws of nature, as it rounded the pillars of the church to fan out around the Virgin. This provided an indisputable sign of credibility for those who doubted the authenticity of this last official visit of the Virgin Mary to France.

A light wind even rustled the folds of the Immaculate Conception's dress, and the angel's wings quivered. This wind in an enclosed space made this heavenly apparition very real and alive. In addition, the gentle breeze is consistent with one of the most obvious signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit, mentioned in Sacred Scripture.

In December 1947, in the context of the fierce and destructive riots that had seized many French cities, Our Lady obtained a surprising end to the general strike led by the Communists, through the assiduous prayers of the children. The coincidence of her apparition with this national crisis didn't escape Marian specialists consulted on the subject. Their meticulous work has been published in various works.

Following the apparitions at L'Île-Bouchard, the four seers went about their daily life without trying to attract attention to themselves.

In 2001 by the Archbishop of Tours authorised pilgrimages and the public cult celebrated in the church of St. Gilles of I’Ile-Bouchard, to invoke Our Lady of Prayer.

Summary:

On Monday 8 December 1947, L'Île-Bouchard was a peaceful village with a population of 1,255. Despite the national strikes, the population was calm. The faith was very much alive, through the prayers of the faithful, baptisms, last rites, and the general recourse to the sacraments of the Church.

That morning, it was cold and dry, with no sun. Jacqueline, Jeannette and Nicole set off for school. As they passed by the Romanesque church of Saint-Gilles, they decided to go in and pray. After making the sign of the cross with holy water, the girls genuflected, stopped in front of a statue of Saint Therese of the Lisieux, and then went to kneel on the first kneeler in front of the altar of Our Lady of Victories. As they finished praying the rosary, the children suddenly saw, between the stained glass window and the altar, a "great bright light in the midst of which appeared a Beautiful Lady standing in a grotto with an angel at her right." This angel was Gabriel. Then, after admiring this scene of the Annunciation, they ran out together and saw a school friend, Laura, and her sister, Sergine. Laura was the only one able to see the heavenly apparition with the first three visionaries. Delighted and silent, they gazed at the Virgin without tiring. Relatively tall, the Lady was dressed in a splendid white dress that widened at the bottom and tied in the middle with a blue sash. Her long blonde hair reached down to her knees. Barefoot, her hands clasped, the Beautiful Lady was holding a white rosary mounted on gold on her right arm. Mary's eyes were an ineffable blue, imbued with kindness, gentleness and tenderness. The angel offered the Virgin a lily of three white flowers and remained in contemplation before the Immaculate Conception. A breeze gently rustled the Virgin Mary's dress and the angel's wings. The Lady stood on a rectangular stone block, decorated with a garland of five pink roses, while on the rocks just below were the following words in letters of gold, about three inches high: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you".

The Lady prayed the first part of the Hail Mary with the children, sliding the beads of her rosary over her index finger and moving her lips without making the sound of her voice heard. Throughout the week, the Virgin would pray in this way, often remaining silent in a peaceful attitude of prayer.

During the second apparition, the first sentence she sadly uttered was: "Tell the little children to pray for France, for it is in great need."Then her face returned to a smile, and she replied to the children who asked her about her identity: "Yes, I am your heavenly mother."

Then the Virgin kissed the children's hands. Before leaving, she arranged to meet them that evening and the next day. On the second day, the Virgin invited them to kiss the cross of her rosary and renewed her urgent appeal: "Pray for France, which is in great danger these days."During the other apparitions, the children led an increasingly fervent crowd in praying the rosary, which they simply recited or sang with faith.

Each time, Our Lady led the prayer and explained to them several times that she had not come to perform miracles, but "so that you pray for France". She asked them to build a grotto and sing the Magnificat.

Surprisingly, France had just returned to the path of peace when "Our Lady of Prayer", surrounded by a golden light, visited for the last time on Sunday 14 December, and left after sending "a bright ray of sunshine". The last place where the Virgin Mary appeared in France, l'Île-Bouchard has surely had a lasting effect in protecting this beloved country of hers with her luminous presence.

Diane Suteau, author of the novel Les Conquérants de lumière.

Beyond reasons to believe:

The Virgin's promise - "I will bring happiness to families" - is the main reason why pilgrims flock there. Testimonies abound and numerous plaques mounted in the church are a permanent witness to healings and conversions, recognised by the religious authorities.