The website of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon highlights that “on August 10, 1519, on the feast of Saint Lawrence, the Virgin Mary, accompanied by Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint Bernard, appeared in the field to a very pious man named Jean de la Baume.”
The Mother of God “ordered him to tell, on his part, the clergy and community of Cotignac to go in procession to Mount Verdaille and to build a church, under the invocation of Our Lady of Graces, for her desire to grant many graces.” and favors to those who invoke her in that place.”
Among the famous pilgrims who came to that place is King Louis XIV, who thanked him for the gift of his birth.
Nowadays, many people make pilgrimages to ask for the gift of a child or to be grateful for having received some grace. Pregnant women also visit this place to give thanks for the gift of life.