lit up the four candles in the oval one by one, and went to place itself above theVirgin’s head. Then came the refrain: Parce Domine, parce populo tuo...15 At these words, Mary’s face was wreathed in poignant sorrow. A bright red cross with a darker red Christ appeared in front of Her; She took it in both hands and presented it to the children. At the top of the crucifix, a white crossbar contained the words: JESUS CHRIST. During the entire hymn, Our Lady kept Her eyes lowered, looking at Her Son. Her lips moved gently as if She were “joining in the hymns of pardon sung by those who were present.” The visionaries later declared, “Never have we seen such sorrow.”16 The hymn Ave Maris Stella brought back the ineffable smile to Mary’s lips. The red crucifix disappeared and the beautiful Lady resumed Her initial position, in the manner of the Miraculous Medal. At the same time, two small white crosses appeared upright on each shoulder. It was about 8:30 in the evening; in Paris, Father Amodru was declaring to the 15. Pardon, O Lord, pardon Your people. gathered faithful: “Today between 8 and 9 o’clock in the evening, an entire people prostrated themselves at the feet of Our Lady ofVictories and were saved by Her!” At that very moment Father Guérin said, “My friends, we are going to say the evening prayer together; then, if the Vision continues, we will continue praying.” During that exercise, a kind of white veil appeared below the blue circle. Little by little it rose “as if unfurling,” gradually hiding the Vision from the children’s eyes. At the end of the prayers, everything suddenly disappeared. “Do you still see anything?” asked the priest. “No, everything is gone. It is all over.” It was almost nine o’clock. Stars were twinkling in the dark winter sky. All the people went home, their hearts filled with the maternal presence of Mary. Although they had been plunged in anguish and discouragement a few hours earlier, now they were all inundated by a profound peace, boundless gratitude and confidence, in the certainty of a prayer already answered. 16. Joseph Barbedette wrote in Récit d’un voyant: “The expression of sorrow on Her face cannot be rendered. Tears did not flow, but Her sorrow was beyond anything one can imagine. I saw my mother in grief a few months later when my father died. One knows how such a sight speaks to the heart of a child, yet I remember that my mother’s sorrow seemed like nothing compared to the sor‐ row of the Blessed Virgin which naturally came to mind. It was indeed the Mother of Jesus at the foot of the cross of Her Son.” The visionaries and inhabitants of Pontmain in front of Barbedette’s barn, as on the evening of the Apparition. Inside Barbedette’s barn, paintings and statues recall the different phases of the Apparition.
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