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​The apparitions of Our Lady of La Salette were reported in La Salette in France in 1846 by two shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, followed by numerous accounts of miraculous healings. The Roman Catholic Church investigated the claims and found them basically credible. However, in the late 19th century controversy surrounded the claims of one of the seers, Mélanie Calvat in a France hostile to religion. Recent releases from the Vatican Secret Archives may have clarified the situation to some extent, but some controversy still remains attached to this apparition.



History

On September 19, 1846, Maximin and Melanie reported seeing the Virgin Mary on Mount Sous-Les Baisses, weeping bitterly. According to their account, she continued to weep even as she spoke to them - first in French, then in their own dialect. After speaking, the apparition vanished.
The following day the children's account of the apparition was put into writing and signed by the visionaries and those who had heard the story.
In 1851, the local bishop of Grenoble declared the apparition to be worthy of belief, the first step in approval by the Catholic Church.



Official

Pope John Paul II sent a letter to Msgr. Louis Dufaux, bishop of Grenoble, for the 150th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette.



Unofficial

John Paul II also gave an address to the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, in which he referenced the aforementioned letter.[5]
La Salette - Authentic Documents, Volumes I-III, written by Fr. Jean Stern, the archivist of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette in Rome, presents "the authentic documents on La Salette in chronological order, of which only bits have been revealed to the public up to this point: the interviews with the witnesses, the reports of the investigators, reactions of pilgrims and the opponents of the Apparition, brochures that were peddled at the time, articles in newspapers, etc.





Our Lady of La Salette