Eighteen
Our Lady of
Graces: Cotignac France
On August 10, 1519, the feast of St
Lawrence Martyr, a lumberjack named Jean de la Baume, climbed Mont Verdaille
which overlooks Cotignac. The twenty-two-year-old began his day by praying.
Suddenly a cloud appeared to him, surrounding Mother Mary standing with the
Child Jesus in her arms. She was accompanied by Saint Michael the Archangel and
Saint Bernard.
Mother Mary told Jean, “I am the
Virgin Mary. Go and tell the clergy and the consuls of Cotignac to build me a
church here, under the name of Our
Lady of Graces, and that they come in procession to receive the gifts
that I want to spread there.” Then the vision disappeared.
Jean kept the message to himself. The
next day, he returned to the same place to complete the wood cut. The
apparition re-occurred, and Jean received the same message again. This time Jean
rushed to the village to announce what he had seen and heard.
His testimony was well received. Less
than a month after the apparitions, on September 14 (feast of the Holy Cross)
the villagers held a great procession. Present were the entire community and
clergy, with the mayor in the lead. After the procession, the first stone of
the new church was laid.
Ecclesiastical approval followed, and on March 17, 1521, Pope Leo X issued a papal bull which granted a series of privileges to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Graces. 54
Among the miracles granted by Our Lady of Cotignac, the most famous is that of the birth of King Louis XIV on September 5, 1638. In 1637, after twenty-three years of marriage, Louis XIII and Anne of Austria had remained childless. The French throne had no heir.
Then, on the night of November 3,
1637, Mother Mary, holding in her arms a child, appeared four times to Brother
Fiacre. The apparitions occurred at the Convent of Our Lady of Victory in
Paris. Fiacre was a friar of the congregation of the Discalced Augustinians.
Brother Fiacre had received a message
while at prayer; that Queen Anne of Austria should publicly request three
novenas of prayers in honour of the Virgin Mary. Three novenas of the rosary
should be addressed to the Holy Virgin - one to Our Lady of Paris, one to Our
Lady of Victories, and one to Our
Lady of Graces. Thereafter, a son would be given to her.
This message was confirmed by four
apparitions of Mother Mary on November 3. While Brother Fiacre was praying in the convent
chapel, Mary (sometimes holding the infant future sovereign, at times the
Infant Jesus) confirmed to Fiacre that the queen indeed would have a
son, if the royal had these prayers performed.
As a sign of the authenticity of his vision, Mother Mary told Brother Fiacre that in the church of Cotignac, he would find a painting depicting her with the same features as in his vision. The next day, Brother Fiacre reported this to his superior, and a report was drawn up with the friar's statement.
Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld was
instructed to verify the friar’s claims. The Cardinal wrote to the governor of
Provence and the Cardinal of Fréjus to have the detailed description of the
painting provided by Brother Fiacre (who had never left Paris), verified. The
investigation proved positive.
Brother Fiacre obtained an audience
with the King and Queen, who, once informed, commissioned three novenas. The
novenas began on November 8, 1637, and concluded on December 5 of the same
year. Exactly nine months later, the
Dauphin was born.
During Queen Anne’s pregnancy, she sent
Brother Fiacre to the Shrine
of Our Lady of Graces in Cotignac, to celebrate a novena of Masses so
that the pregnancy would go well. Following
their son’s birth, King Louis XIII consecrated the kingdom of France to Mary.
On February 20, 1660, Louis XIV, son
of Louis XIII and Anne, visited the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Graces at Cotignac. He came to thank
Mother Mary for interceding for his birth. 55
The personal visit of King Louis XIV accompanied by his mother in 1660, together with the King’s tokens of
recognition to the sanctuary, showed the strong link between the monarchy and
the sanctuary of Our Lady of
Graces.
The history of Cotignac offers important witness to the Church’s longstanding recognition of Mary as Our Lady of Graces.
The apparition of 1519 is
particularly significant because Mary herself had requested that a sanctuary be
established under the title Our
Lady of Graces, and spoke of the gifts she desired to bestow there.
This early expression of Marian
devotion reflected a Mariological conviction that became increasingly
articulated within Church tradition. Mary, by virtue of her singular
participation in the mystery of Redemption, exercises a unique maternal role in
the distribution of Divine grace.
The events associated with
Brother Fiacre in 1637, the birth of Louis XIV, consecration of France to Mary,
and royal pilgrimage to Cotignac further strengthened the sanctuary's
association with Mary's maternal intercession.
The title Mother of All Graces therefore expresses the Church's enduring recognition of Mary's unique co-operation in the Divine plan of salvation.
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54. The Church of Our
Lady of Graces in Cotignac. Accessed 7 September 2026
https://fsspx.news/en/news/church-our-lady-graces-cotignac-28225
55. Villes Sanctuaires. Cotignac Accessed 7 September 2026
https://www.villes-sanctuaires.com/villes-sanctuaires/cotignac
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