In one new letter addressed to the Archbishop of Bourges (France), the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Víctor Fernández, approved the devotion to Our Lady of Mercy linked to the Marian sanctuary of Pellevoisin, where the Virgin Mary would have appeared to Estelle Faguette.
Based on the new rules for the study of alleged apparitions in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Fernández specified that, although it is not the current practice of this Dicastery to pronounce on the supernatural character or the divine origin of supernatural phenomena and supposed messages, “the expressions that Estelle presented as coming from the Virgin Mary “They have a particular value that allows us to glimpse an action of the Holy Spirit in the midst of this spiritual experience.”
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The Vatican authority stated that “there are many and beautiful fruits of faith and charity that have been produced around the sanctuary” and also specified that other Pontiffs, such as Leo XIII or Benedict XV, authorized gestures of devotion linked to these events.
Who was Estelle Faguette?
Estelle was born on September 12, 1843 into a very poor family. To support her parents, she worked as a laundress and as a domestic.
After falling ill, the young woman wrote a letter to the Virgin Mary to ask for her recovery so she could continue supporting her family.
In February 1876, at the age of 32, the first apparitions began. The Virgin Mary would have promised her that she would be cured after the fifth apparition, and so it happened.
A miraculous cure
As the prelate recalled in the letter, released this August 30, during her serious and incurable illness, “Estelle Faguette experienced the presence of the Virgin Mary, who spoke to her on several occasions about the love of Jesus Christ.”
“His healing, beyond any natural explanation, was confirmed as miraculous by the Archbishop of Bourges, on September 8, 1893, with the consent of the then Holy Office,” he continued.
Referring to the writings and narratives of the alleged clairvoyant, the cardinal stressed that they “are surprising for their simplicity, clarity and humility.”
“Estelle narrates the suffering caused by her illness. She does not flaunt a Christian spirit of resignation. On the contrary, she explains his inner resistance to an illness that disrupted his life project,” she commented.
In her writings, the young woman assured that the Virgin consoled her with some phrases such as: “Do not be afraid, you are my daughter”; “If you want to be at my service, be simple”; “Calm down, my daughter, be patient, you will have suffering, but I am here.”
Furthermore, the Virgin also addressed him “gentle exhortations that Estelle calls reproaches.” For example, when Estelle says that she would prefer to die, the Virgin responds with a smile: “Ungrateful one, if my Son gives you life it is because you need it. What has he given to man on earth more precious than life?”
After the young woman’s healing, the cardinal concluded that “the Mother knows how to recognize all the good that is hidden behind our words.”
According to the visionary, the Virgin Mary also told her “that she would like to restore peace to the Church, because in the Church there is not the calm that I desire.”
Mary, intercessor of her Son
Cardinal Fernández specified that Pellevoisin’s experience “is Marian, but at the same time it is strongly Christological.”
In fact, the cardinal continued, “the great request that the Virgin addresses to Estelle is that she extend to her the scapular with the image of the Heart of Christ, and the great message of Mary is the invitation to turn towards that loving Heart of the Lord.”
The Virgin Mary would also have lamented in one of her appearances “the lack of respect” that we have “for my Son in Holy Communion and the attitude of prayer that we adopt when our minds are occupied with other things.”
For the Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery, of particular importance and beauty “is the scene in which Mary avoids making it clear that the graces poured out are hers.”
Estelle says that “the Blessed Virgin extended her hands and an abundant rain fell, and in each of these drops I seemed to see written graces such as mercy, salvation, trust, conversion and health.” But the Virgin added: “These graces come from my Son.”
Good for the entire Church
In this way, Cardinal Fernández denies “doctrinal, moral or other objections to this spiritual event” and allows the faithful to “give their assent in a prudent manner.”
Furthermore, he reiterated that in this case the devotion, already flourishing, “is particularly recommended for those who freely want to adhere to it.”
“You will find in it a path of spiritual simplicity, of trust, of love, which will do you great good. Therefore, it is possible to issue the pertinent decree of nothing stands in the way that has been proposed to us. It will certainly be a good for the entire Church,” she concluded.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
I am a graduate in Journalism and Advertising from the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. I have been a senior correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in the Vatican for two years and I am currently a European correspondent based in Spain.