Our Lady of Pontmain

Our Lady of Pontmain refers to the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a group of children in the village of Pontmain in northwestern France on the evening of 17 January 1871, during the dark days of the Franco-Prussian War, when the Prussian armies were advancing and the men of the village were away at the front. In the winter sky above a farmhouse the children saw a beautiful Lady clothed in a starry blue robe, though the adults present could not see her.

As the villagers gathered and prayed, a message appeared to the children letter by letter beneath the figure: "But pray, my children. God will hear you in a little while. My Son allows Himself to be moved." The Virgin's face grew sorrowful as she showed them a crucifix, yet her message was one of hope and the power of prayer. Within days the Prussian advance halted before the town, an armistice was signed, and the village's absent soldiers returned home safe. The Church approved the apparition in 1872, and the feast of Our Lady of Pontmain, or Our Lady of Hope, is kept on 17 January.