Village Rumors

At day’s end the children return to Les Ablandis. To justify not having reported to his employer that afternoon, Maximin said matter-of-faculty: “Sir, Melanie and I met a beautiful Lady who spoke to us a long time.”

“Well, let’s go see Melanie at Pra’s house.”

The Pras owned the neighboring farm. The grandmother was waiting for them on the stoop. Maximin called out to her: “Hey, Mama Caron, didn’t you see a beautiful Lady dressed in fire fly over the valley?”

Everyone gathered in the kitchen and Maximin told his story in French and in dialect. Melanie was summoned from her stable work and fully confirmed it.

Grandmother Pra declared, “It is the virgin that these children have seen. She is the only one whose Son reigns in heaven!

The next day, Sunday, the children were escorted to the pastor. Before Mass he listened to the story and was visibly shaken. Later, speaking from the pulpit, he stammered, moved to tears. From that moment rumors flew. Learning of the event, the mayor went to Les Albandins that afternoon to interrogate the two young shepherds. But Maximin had terminated his work at Pierre Selme’s and gone back to Corps.

All afternoon the mayor tried unsuccessfully to trap Melanie in some contradiction. He made promises. He threatened. Even bribery could not buy Melanie’s silence. “The Lady told me to say it, and will say it!”

Deeply moved. Jean-Baptiste Pra, Pierre Selme and their neighbor Jean-Moussier wisely decided to put everything on paper, with Melanie  dictating the Virgin’s words.

Thanks to their enterprise, the first documenwritten on La Salette will be the Virgin’s message. It was dated the day following the apparition, and all parties signed it.

On Monday, the mayor himself interrogated Maximin at Corps and won over Maximin’s self-assurance, his candor and tenacity. His testimony fully agreed with that of Melanie.