On a quiet September afternoon in 1846, two children met a weeping woman on a mountain—and the world has never been the same.

Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat were tending cows on Mount Sous-Les Baisses above the small French village of La Salette. What they encountered that day would soon ripple far beyond their Alpine hamlet of just a few hundred people. They saw, as they later recounted, “a beautiful lady” dressed in radiant white, seated on a rock, her face in her hands, weeping. Roses crowned her feet and shoulders, and around her neck hung a shining crucifix.

She spoke—first in French, then in their native dialect—through tears that never ceased. She gave each child a secret, warned of hardship and spiritual neglect, and finally climbed a nearby slope and vanished into the light.

A Call to Conversion, Then and Now

The heart of her message was simple, sorrowful, and urgent: honor the Lord’s Day, revere His name, and return to God. Her reference to failing crops, especially potatoes, was tragically prophetic—Europe and Ireland would face severe famine in the months following. But her warning was not only about food; it was about faith.

Our Lady of La Salette’s message was not one of condemnation, but of reconciliation. As Fr. René Butler, M.S., put it: “The whole purpose of the Apparition… was reconciliation.” She called her people—then and now—back to her Son, Jesus the Christ.

A Message That Took Root

Five years later, after careful investigation, Bishop Philibert de Bruillard declared the apparition “indubitable and sure.” He approved public devotion and called for the construction of a sanctuary high in the mountains where the Beautiful Lady had appeared. He also created a missionary community tasked with welcoming pilgrims flocking to the site of the Apparition, preaching the Gospel, and administering the sacraments—especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist.

These were the first Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette.

Walking With Mary, 179 Years Later

Today, the mission continues. From rural France to global frontiers, the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette walk in the footsteps of the Beautiful Lady. Her message of prayer, conversion, and hope is as timely now as it was in 1846.

We proclaim Christ, the Reconciler—crucified and risen—who stands at the center of all we are and do. We invite others into that mystery through our words, our presence, and our lives.

Because in the end, her tears were not only sorrowful—they were filled with mercy, and full of hope.