Normandy Days 5-6

 After our single night on Mont Saint Michel, we stayed in an old country home / farm house not too far away. I made this reservation through a sort of Christian airbnb type of service. This home is actually owned by a priest, Pere Jean, who was so kind and hospitable. I never met him in person, but he sent me plenty of messages and texts. He had wood set up in the fireplace ready to go so that all we had to do when we arrived was to light a match to start a fire.

 He happens to have an American niece who is also named Sarah who lives not too far away from that house of his and he arranged for us to meet each other: their family and ours. Sarah and her husband and their four young children kindly welcomed us to their farm and fed us two meals and showed us some of their animals. (I didn't get any pictures with them, however.)

From Pere Jean's house, we went to visit the town of Pontmain, where Our Lady appeared to four young children 150 years ago. The barn over which she appeared that night is still there, and when you go inside there is a little recorded presentation that tells the story.

They built a basilica in Pontmain after the apparition which was constructed in the style of 12th-13th century gothic cathedral. This church was magnificent! One of the things that we found so impressive was the effect of the light shining through the stained glass. Here, they have most of the windows in predominantly blue, with patches of other colors mixed in, and the interior was bathed in other-wordly blue light, reminiscent of the Virgin Mary herself. 

The barn over which Mary appeared.

Here is a depiction of the apparition inside the barn. She didn't speak any words to the children, but words appeared in the sky: "But pray my children God will hear you in a short time My son permits Himself to be moved."

An English translation of the complete story of Pontmain can be read here. This site and this apparition ties into other sites that we visited which I will explain in a future post.