Our Lady of La Salette

The Story

Our Lady of La Salette is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in connection with an apparition reported on September 19, 1846, on a mountainside above the hamlet of La Salette-Fallavaux in the French Alps, in the Diocese of Grenoble. Two young shepherds, Mélanie Calvat, about fourteen, and Maximin Giraud, about eleven, were tending cattle at an altitude of roughly 1,800 meters when the event occurred. According to the traditional account, the children saw a globe of brilliant light in which a beautiful lady sat weeping, her face in her hands. She rose and spoke to them at length, first in French and then in their local dialect. She grieved over blasphemy and the neglect of Sunday worship, warned of hardship if people did not turn back to God, and called for prayer, penance, and fidelity. She also confided a secret to each child; these were later sent in writing to Pope Pius IX. Throughout the encounter she wept, and the image of the weeping Mother has remained central to the devotion. After a five-year canonical investigation, Bishop Philibert de Bruillard of Grenoble declared on November 16, 1851, that the apparition bore the marks of truth and that the faithful were justified in believing it. A basilica was built on the mountain at the site of the apparition, and the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette were founded to serve the shrine and carry its message of reconciliation throughout the world. The spirituality of La Salette centers on reconciliation with God: Mary appears as a sorrowing mother who intercedes for her people and calls them back to her Son. The apparition's summons to honor the Lord's Day, to pray daily, and to do penance anticipated themes later echoed at Lourdes and Fatima. Today the Sanctuary of Our Lady of La Salette remains one of France's major Marian pilgrimage sites. Pilgrims climb to the mountain shrine, especially during the summer months, and the anniversary of the apparition is celebrated on September 19.

Church Recognition

Declared worthy of belief by the Bishop of Grenoble in 1851.

Catholic Teaching

A message of penance, reconciliation, and observance of the Lord's Day.

Plan Your Visit

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Practical

1 Additional Information ▾

The mountain sanctuary at La Salette sits above 1,800 m and draws pilgrims through the summer season.

Go Deeper

Learn more at the official sanctuary website, lasalette.cef.fr. Bishop de Bruillard's 1851 decree of approval and the writings of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette on reconciliation offer further depth.