The Immaculate Conception chapel soon proved insufficient to accommodate the expansion of the Archconfraternity. Demolished in 1856, it was rebuilt (photo opposite) on a much larger scale; Father Prud’homme himself was the architect. What difficulties and obstacles he had to overcome to build a Marian shrine worthy of Her glory! But nothing could deter the faithful apostle of Our Lady of Hope, and the building was completed in less than twenty months. Saint Pius X elevated it to the rank of minor basilica in 1903. When the Revolution of 1848 occurred, the throne was toppled, blood ran in the streets, disorder and panic prevailed everywhere. In Saint-Brieuc the population came seeking help at the feet of Mary in the chapel of the Immaculate Conception. For an entire month, uninterrupted prayer was made for the salvation of France. Witnessing this extraordinary movement of piety and fearing that it would cease as soon as the danger had passed, Father Prud’homme conceived the project of organizing permanent prayer: this was the origin of the Association of Prayers and Good Works for the Salvation of France, under the patronage of Our Lady of Hope. Gathering a hundred members at first, then several thousand, the Confraternity soon had associates all over the world. This new army needed a rallying cry, a hymn that would be the touching expression of its desires and its reason for being. From the heart of Father Prud’homme sprang the following hymn, which Heaven was to answer in 1871: Mother of Hope Whose name is so sweet, Protect our France, Pray, O pray for us! The wishes of the founder of the Archconfraternity were at the height of fulfillment: he saw the faithful gather in crowds beneath the mantle of Our Lady of Hope and hasten to Her sanctuary. Even so, before he could chant his Nunc Dimittis, Mary Herself wanted to give an irrefutable proof of satisfaction to Her servant, as well as a solemn consecration of the work he had undertaken for Her glory. At the very hour that some of the members of the Archconfraternity were making a vow to Our Lady of Hope in the name of all, the Queen of Heaven appeared in Pontmain. There is more: at the request of the venerable pastor, Father Guérin, Sister MarieÉdouard started to sing a hymn to the Virgin, the one composed by Father Prud’homme. As those moving
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