Chapter Two
After the Apparition
When Maximin returned to Selme’s home, he told his
employer what had happened. Selme decided to question Melanie; her story agreed
with the boy’s version. It was Grandmother Pra at Melanie’s home who first
identified the “Beautiful Lady” as the Blessed Virgin. The adults quickly
decided that the children needed to share the story with Fr. Jacques Perrin who
was in charge of the parish of La Salette.
The next day, the children set off early in the
morning to visit with Fr. Perrin. En route, they encountered a constable who
questioned them about their errand. The constable responded with derisive
laughter, but decided this news was something the mayor needed to hear.
Meanwhile, the children reached the rectory where the
door was answered by the housekeeper, Françoise. She took her job as
gatekeeper for the priest seriously and was not going to allow the priest to be
disturbed. Faced with no other choice, the children shared their story with
her. Little did they know that Fr. Perrin was in the next room, listening intently
to all that they said. Like the Beautiful Lady herself, Fr. Perrin responded to
the children’s recounting of her message with tears.
It was time for Maximin to return home to his father
now that his term of employment was completed. Selme escorted him home. Selme
found Giraud at the local tavern, where he explained to Maximin’s father what
had happened. Giraud’s fellow patrons were quick to poke fun at him and this
pious matter his son seemed to be caught up in.
For his part, Maximin did not bother staying home with
his stepmother; instead he rushed to see his grandmother. He knew that she
would be happy to see him after his time away. When she asked how his time had
been, he retold all that happened. His grandmother had never heard the boy tell
such a story. It was so out of character for Maximin that she knew that he must
be telling the truth. How fortunate that her grandson had been so blessed! She
quickly shared the news with her friends. They rushed to see Maximin and he was
forced to retell the story over and over.
Exhausted by the day’s events, Maximin went home and
went to sleep, only to be rudely awakened by his angry drunk father pulling him
out of bed. His father demanded that Maximin explain what all this foolishness
was about. The weary Maximin began once more to tell of the Beautiful Lady and
her message. As Maximin began to share the first words of the Lady’s message,
Giraud was flabbergasted. How could his ignorant son know such things? He had
never been able to learn much of anything. It was too much for his drunken mind
to comprehend. He sent everyone back to bed. Perhaps by the next day all would
be forgotten.
After the children left the rectory at La Salette and
Maximin had departed to go home, Melanie decided to go to Mass. She very rarely
attended Mass, but after hearing the Lady’s message, it seemed important to go.
Much to her surprise, Fr. Perrin shared the story of all that had happened to
her and Maximin from the pulpit. His words were confused. He spoke through
tears. The parishioners could barely make out what he was saying, much less
understand it. But Melanie did, and so did the mayor who also happened to be
sitting in the congregation.
Mayor Peytard had heard the unbelievable tale from the
constable. He had quickly dismissed the story as a childish prank not to be
given any credence. What was the good priest doing sharing this story from the
pulpit? Even if, by some miracle, the story was true, the mayor knew that this
was not how the Church worked. The matter needed careful investigation before
any sort of pronouncement was made. The other people in the pews may have been
confused at the moment, but they would soon understand. The mayor could only
envision the uproar that was about to take over his quiet community. He had to
put a stop to this foolishness before the matter got out of hand.
Melanie ran home after Mass, eager to escape to the
peace of Ablandins, but her peace would be short-lived. Mayor Peytard headed to
her home that afternoon. After sharing some small talk with Baptiste Pra, he
began to question Melanie, asking her to share what had happened on the
mountain. Mayor Peytard was determined to catch the girl in a lie. He
deliberately contradicted her and questioned her in multiple ways, hoping to
entrap her. He threatened her, telling her she would be a laughing-stock among
her friends. When that didn’t work, he said that if she did not deny the story,
he would have her thrown into jail. She still remained firm. Finally he offered
her three months wages to keep quiet. It was tempting to the impoverished
child. What a blessing that money would be for her family! But, still she
refused, telling the mayor, “You could give me this whole house full of crowns,
and still you would not stop me from saying what I have seen and heard.”[i]
Having witnessed this whole encounter, Baptiste Pra
decided that the story of the vision was worth writing down. This was most
unusual in this time and place. Pra struggled with both writing and spelling,
but he recorded all that had happened for the world to know.
Having struck out with Melanie, Mayor Peytard decided
his next target would be Maximin. Perhaps he could be more successful with the
young boy. The mayor arrived at the Giraud home early Monday morning. This
time, the mayor didn’t even pretend to be kind. He immediately began to
threaten Maximin with prison if he did not recant the story. The boy was as
faithful to his story as Melanie had been. The mayor soon realized he was
getting nowhere with his tactics. Instead, he insisted that he and Melanie both
join him the following Sunday at the place where the vision was alleged to have
taken place. Then, they would get to the bottom of this nonsense and dispense
of this story once and for all.
On Saturday, September 26th, Melanie
visited Corps to see her father, a man who was as eager to believe the story of
the apparition as Giraud had been. Fr. Mélin was the parish priest of
Corps as well as the archpriest of that area (the bishop’s representative).
While no one had spoken to him directly of the apparition, he had heard of it
and was eager to speak to both Melanie and Maximin. When he noticed that
Melanie was in town, he summoned both children to come and see him.
He interviewed the children separately and then
together, cross-examining them. He kept a stoic appearance, offering no
indication of his thoughts on the matter. He demanded that the children
accompany him on Monday the 28th on a visit to the mountain. This
would mean a difficult and long journey for the children two days in a row as
they were already obligated to visit the mountain the following day with the
mayor, but the children offered no objection. They did as they were told.
Indeed, the children were happy to once again be in
the place of the apparition when they went with the mayor. They eagerly
demonstrated where everything happened. The mayor once again tried a show of
force, hoping to put an end to the story. A constable had accompanied the
group; he produced a rope and threatened to tie up Maximin and drag him to
prison. He still would not deny the story. The mayor soon realized the children
were not pretending. Whether it was real or not, the children believed that
they had witnessed a vision.
The following day the children repeated the journey
with Fr. Mélin and five other people brought along to be
objective observers. Melanie and Maximin once again retold the story, pointing
out all the important places. The priest soon became convinced that the
children were telling the truth but he said nothing. Before they left, one
member of the party suggested that they pray. Fr. Mélin agreed and the group
knelt and said the rosary. They also noticed that the spring, which was usually
dried out at that time of year, was now flowing freely. Fr. Mélin
took an empty wine bottle and filled it with water from the spring.
Fr. Mélin was now convinced
of the authenticity of the apparition but kept silent. His job was not to
endorse the apparition, but rather to report what had happened to the bishop.
Fr. Mélin
had decided to give some of the water from the spring to one of his
parishioners who had been ill for a long time. Mme. Anglot began a novena to
Our Lady and drank of the water for nine days. She was unable to eat anything
else but was able to take the water without difficulty. On the ninth day, she
was able to get out of bed and eat heartily. Fr. Mélin refused to call it a
miracle, but did admit the whole matter was extraordinary. It was most
definitely time to write to the bishop and put the matter into his capable hands.
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