Our Lady of La Salette began weeping on December 8, 2024, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

On September 19, 1846, two young shepherd children, Maximin Giraud and Melanie Calvat, saw a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows on the slopes of Mount Gargas near La Salette in the French Alps appearing in France, the Eldest Daughter of the Church. The children described the apparition as a beautiful lady weeping profusely. Speaking to them in French, she wept over the evil sins of bishops, priests and humanity and warned them of the perils about to take place and what would happen in the future if people did not repent.

Our Lady of Salette weeping is a typology of the Church, weeping at the condition of the Church and humanity.
The local Bishop Bruillard, conducted an investigation and formally approved the apparition on September 19, 1851. The message of La Salette emphasized the need for conversion, penance, and prayer. The apparition became a focal point for pilgrimages, and a sanctuary was built at the site.

On May 1, 1852 Mgr de Bruillard announces that a shrine would be erected on the mountain of the Apparition and the institution of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, commissioned to serve the shrine.

In 1879, Pope Leo XIII granted a canonical coronation to the image of Our Lady of La Salette, further solidifying its significance within the Catholic Church. The shrine continues to be a place of pilgrimage and devotion, attracting visitors from around the world.

Melanie’s messages received much resistance from Rome despite this approval, presumably because the content of the messages condemned wicked priests and said Rome would lose faith and be the seat of the Antichrist. Yet despite this Pope Leo XIII and popes thereafter defended these messages.

What follows is a summary of those messages. They are not just a warning for the times in the 19th Century as many theologians have stated but for today and what is to come.

Messages of Our Lady of La Salette

The messages delivered by the Virgin Mary to Maximin and Melanie focused on several key themes:

• Repentance and Conversion: Our Lady urged people to turn away from sin and seek reconciliation with God. She emphasized the importance of daily prayer.
• Reverence for the Holy Name of God: Our Lady emphasized the importance of respecting God’s name and not using it in vain. She expressed deep sorrow over the disrespect shown towards God’s name as this blasphemy was a heavy burden on her Son..
• Sunday Observance: Our Blessed Mother lamented the lack of respect for the Lord’s Day, the Sabbath, and the tendency of people to work on Sundays. She warned that this disobedience weighed heavily on her Son’s arm. She emphasized the need for attending Mass regularly.
• Warning of the Impending Potato Famine: Our Lady warned as a consequence of sin of a future famine that would affect the potato crop, which was a staple food in the region. This was a significant message as the Great Irish Famine occurred shortly after, causing widespread suffering
• Prayer and Devotion: Mary encouraged the children to pray regularly and to encourage others to do the same. She stressed the importance of maintaining a strong spiritual life.
• Hope and Mercy: Despite the warnings, Mary also conveyed a message of hope. She assured that if people repented and turned to God, the stones would become mounds of wheat, and the potatoes would grow self-sown.
• Secrets to the Children: Our Lady entrusted the children with three secrets. These secrets were meant to be revealed at a later time.

Melanie Calvat’s secret, containing 33 elements, from the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette is divided into several parts, and it includes warnings about what was occurring at the time and various future events.

The secret given to Melanie by Our Lady of La Salette was written down in 1851 by Melanie and sealed and given to Pope Pius IX in 1851 and archived in the Holy Office in Rome. Melanie wrote down the message a second time and published this second version in 1879 as a booklet bearing the imprimatur of Bishop Salvatore of the Diocese of Luigi Zola of Lecce, Italy called Apparition of the Blessed Virgin on the Mountain of La Salette. The 1879 version is much longer and more precise, containing details not found in the first version. You can read the full version of the 1879 version here: Secret of Our Lady of La Salette (1879 Version)

Here is a brief summary of the 1879 version of Our Lady of La Salette’s message to Melanie:

• Consecrated Persons and Priests: were living wicked lives because of their love of money, honors and pleasures, and impurity and their actions were bringing down God’s wrath upon them. She was warned that unless they repented, they would face severe chastisements.
• God’s Wrath: God would strike in an unprecedented way, and that the sins of consecrated persons were crying out to Heaven for vengeance.
• Society’s Scourges: She was told that society was on the eve of terrible scourges and great events. God would permit divisions among rulers, societies, and families, leading to physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon the people and punishments will follow one after another for 35 years.
• Pope Pius IX: Melanie was instructed to tell Pope Pius IX that he should not leave Rome after 1859 and that he should remain firm and generous in fighting with the weapons of faith and love. (refer to CUP’s Blog on “>>>>>” regarding Pope Pius IX earlier fleeing Rome due to the invasion by revolutionaries … communists and freemasons.)
• Napoleon, the Church and Bishops: Our Lady warns about Napoleon, describing his heart as double and predicting that he would fall because of his ambition to be both Pope and emperor. Italy will face severe consequences for trying to distance itself from religious authority. This includes war, widespread violence, desecration of churches, persecution of clergy, and a significant number of priests and religious members abandoning their faith, including some bishops.

Then Our Lady names the year 1864 as the year in which demons will be unleashed from hell:

“In the year 1864, Lucifer together with a large number of demons will be unloosed from hell; they will put an end to faith little by little, even in those dedicated to God. They will blind them in such a way, that unless they are blessed with a special grace, these people will take on the spirit of these angels in hell; several religious institutes will lose all faith and lose many souls. “

Why is 1864 particularly noteworthy? This is the year Pope Pius IX published the “Syllabus of Errors” condemning liberalism, rationalism, and socialism.

What is terrifying about the next set of passages in the 1879 message is how Our Lady describes the end of the world, with the advent of the antichrist coming upon the earth:

• Desecration and Corruption: In 1865, holy places will be desecrated. Convents will lose their sanctity, and the devil will infiltrate religious communities, spreading disorder and carnal pleasures. Religious leaders must be vigilant.
• Wars and Bloodshed: France, Italy, Spain, and England will face war. Blood will flow in the streets, and internal strife will ravage these countries. A general war will follow, causing widespread destruction. God’s memory of France and Italy will fade due to the neglect of Christ’s Gospel. Men will massacre each other even in their homes. Major cities like Paris and Marseille will suffer catastrophic destruction.
• Divine Punishment: Natural disasters will ensue as God’s response to human sins. Mountains and nature will tremble, leading to famine, plague, and widespread calamities. Rome will lose its faith and become the seat of the Antichrist. The Antichrist, born of a false virgin … a Hebrew nun whose father is a bishop will be able to communicate with the old serpent, will blaspheme and perform wonders, leading armies and causing further destruction. Essentially, he will be the devil incarnate.
• Persecution and Suffering: The righteous will suffer greatly, and their prayers will rise to heaven. Jesus Christ will command angels to destroy His enemies, leaving the earth desolate. This will be followed by a temporary period of peace, during which the Church will be strong and united, and mankind will progress in faith.
• The Antichrist and Final Tribulations: A forerunner of the Antichrist will rise, shedding much blood and seeking to eradicate the worship of God. A series of wars will culminate in a final war involving the ten kings of the Antichrist. A false peace will precede this, filled with widespread sin and amusement. The earth will endure alterations in seasons, natural calamities, and heavenly disturbances.
• The Final Battle and Renewal: Enoch and Elijah will preach against the Antichrist, and many will find comfort and faith. The Antichrist will face defeat at the hands of Archangel Michael. The earth will undergo purgation through fire and water, renewing and glorifying God’s creation.
• Call to True Disciples: The message concludes with a call to the true disciples of God, urging them to reveal themselves, fight for Christ, and fill the world with light. The Church will face an eclipse, but the faithful will shine brightly, guided by faith.

We encourage you to discern carefully as you interpret these messages. After the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette, Melanie Calvat joined the Sisters of Providence in Corenc, near Grenoble. Later, she moved to the Carmel of Darlington in England in 1855. She took the religious name Mary of the Cross. But Melanie Calvat faced significant challenges and controversies throughout her life. After her religious experiences and the publication of her messages, she encountered opposition from some ecclesiastical authorities. This led to her being expelled from the Carmel of Darlington in England. Despite this, she continued to live a life dedicated to her faith and the messages she received.