"Tell the people to come here in procession to receive the gifts I want to bestow!"

On August 10, 1519, a lumberman called John de la Baume hiked up Mount Verdaille, above the village of Cotignac in the Var region of southern France. He was alone. As usual, he began his day with a prayer. As soon as he got up, a cloud appeared, revealing the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus, surrounded by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Catherine the Martyr, and the Archangel Saint Michael. 

Our Lady was standing with her feet on a crescent moon. She said to John: "I am the Virgin Mary. Go and tell the clergy and the consuls of Cotignac to build me a church here, under the name of 'Our Lady of Graces', and tell them to come in procession to receive the gifts that I want to bestow in this place." 

The vision left. John may have wondered if it had been a dream, because for some unknown reason he kept the message to himself on that day. Consequently, the apparition returned on the next day, August 11, on the same spot where John was working, and with the same request. This time, he quickly went down to the village to share the message.

Since he was a respected and pious man, the people believed him. They built a small chapel on the site of the apparitions. Since then, the shrine has been the source of many graces and miracles, and is credited for the birth of King Louis XIV of France.

 The Mary of Nazareth team