2019: A jubilee year for the Shrine of Cotignac

Our Lady of Graces Shrine in Cotignac (southern France) is celebrating a jubilee year in 2019, for the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in this blessed place. And from Saturday, August 10th, to Friday, August 16, 2019, there will be a Jubilee Festival to commemorate the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Jean de la Baume.

Brother Jean Marie Baptiste, from the Community of Saint John that operates the shrine, gives the reason for this special jubilee:

"The tradition of jubilees in the Church comes from the Hebrews who, at the invitation of the Lord, marked a special year of celebration every 50 years, during which debts were cancelled, slaves freed, and divine mercy offered to all ... A jubilee is a time of thanksgiving and deep joy. Those who come on pilgrimage pray, renew their fervor and can benefit from the plenary indulgence that is "the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose fault is already erased by confession," as explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Each shrine has its own grace or mission. Cotignac is called the Shrine of the Holy Family, attracting families and couples who come here to be renewed. In 1519, Mary appeared with the Child Jesus, and in 1660, 4 kilometers from this first place of apparition, Saint Joseph also appeared to a thirsty shepherd to whom he said: "Lift this rock and you will drink," revealing a hidden source. The rock we are asked to remove is our heart of stone hardened by sin that prevents the flow of grace, source of life. Saint Joseph was the protector of Jesus and Mary, and he is now the protector of the Church and of all families. Mary and Joseph remind us how much the family is a gift from God, the place of love and fruitfulness."

Source: Famille Chretienne