175th Anniversary of the Apparition of the Virgin Mary at La Salette - France

The Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, next September 19, will celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Apparition of Our Lady to the two shepherd children Maximin and Melanie, which took place on  September 19, 1846, at La Salette, in the southeastern part of the French Alps, in the diocese of Grenoble.

The celebration of this jubilee is very important for the Congregation because its presence in the Church is due to this prodigious Marian event, and its charism, which is that of Reconciliation, springs from the message proclaimed by the BVM to the two little shepherds.

Mgr Philibert de Bruillard, Bishop of Grenoble, after officially approving the Apparition (September 19, 1851) established a small community of diocesan priests for the reception and religious assistance of pilgrims. These first Fathers, moved by admirable pastoral solicitude began the construction of the sanctuary and at the same time laid the foundations of the religious community of the future "Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette".

"To be Salettini today means to be called to manage with responsibility and fidelity a spiritual and Marian patrimony originating from the prodigious event of theApparition,  of undisputed ecclesial importance, which we have welcomed and inherited from those who preceded us in the religious and priestly life of Salette . Today we must transmit, in its entirety, to the new generations of Christians and young Salettini, the charismatic richness handed down to us until today". (Letter to the Congregation of the Superior General, 2021).

The official celebration, as matter of course, will take place in the Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette, which stands on the very site of the Apparition (France), on Sunday September 19,  2021, at 10:00 a.m.