In a little hollow, they suddenly noticed a globe of fire "as though the sun had fallen on that spot." Within the dazzling light they gradually perceived a woman seated on a stone, her elbows resting on her knees and her face buried in her hands. The beautiful lady rose and said to the children, "Come near, my children; do not be afraid. I am here to tell you great news." She took a few steps towards them. Maximin and Melanie, reassured, ran down and stood very close to her.

The lady wept all the time she spoke. She was tall and radiated light. She wore the typical garb of the women of the area: a long dress, an apron around her waist, a shawl crossed over her breast and tied behind her back, and a close-fitting bonnet.

Our Lady appeared to the children weeping constantly (right)

The Messages

"If my people refuse to submit, I will be forced to let go the arm of my son. It is so strong and so heavy, I can no longer hold it back. How long a time I have suffered for you! If I want my son not to abandon you, I am obliged to plead with him constantly.

"If the harvest is ruined, it is only on account of yourselves. I warned you last year with the potatoes. You paid no heed. Instead, when you found the potatoes spoiled, you swore. They are going to continue to spoil, and by Christmas this year there will be none left."

[An interesting aside: "Potatoes" in the local dialect were called "las truffas." The lady had used the term "pommes de terre." Noticing that the children did not understand, she asked, "Don't you understand, my children? Let me find another way to say it." Using the local dialect, she repeated what she had said about the harvest, and continued.]

"All nature will tremble because of the disorder and the misdeeds of men, which will rise to the very heavens. During the period of the hollow peace, the seasons will change.

"The peace among men which will set in after the great scourge [WWII is implied] will be only an ostensible peace. During this period the earth will shake because of manifold concussions and convulsions. Mankind will experience continuous wars, which finally will lead to the last great war.

"A period of peace will follow, but only for the space of twenty-five years. The forerunner of the Antichrist will assemble an army of men drawn from many nations united under his banner [The UN?]. He will lead them in a bloody war against those still faithful to the living God.

"The seasons will be altered, the earth will produce nothing but bad fruit; the stars will lose their regular motion; the moon will only reflect a faint reddish glow. Water and fire will give the earth's globe convulsions, and terrible earthquakes that will swallow up mountains and cities.

"If you have wheat, you must not sow it. Anything you sow, the vermin will eat, and whatever does grow will fall into dust when you thresh it. A great famine is coming. Before the famine comes, children under seven will be seized with trembling and die in the arms of those who hold them. The rest will do penance through the famine. The walnuts will become worm-eaten; the grapes will rot. "

The Secret Messages

"Melanie, what I am about to tell you now will not always be a secret. You may make it public in 1858. The priests, ministers of my son, the priests, by their wicked lives, by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the holy mysteries, by their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures, the priests have become cesspools of impurity. Yes, the priests are asking vengeance, and vengeance is hanging over their heads. Woe to the priests and to those dedicated to God who by their unfaithfulness and their wicked lives are crucifying my son again!

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"May the Pope guard against the performers of miracles. For the time has come when the most astonishing wonders will take place on the earth and in the air. Evil books will be abundant on earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere. They will have great power over Nature: there will be churches built to serve these spirits. People will be transported from one place to another by these evil spirits, even priests. On occasion, the
dead and the righteous will be brought back to life. Everywhere there will be extraordinary wonders, as true faith has faded and false light brightens the people. Woe to the princes of the Church who think only of piling riches upon riches to protect their authority and dominate with pride.

"The Vicar of my Son will suffer a great deal because for a while the Church will yield to large persecution and will witness a frightful crisis. Spiritual faith having been forgotten, each individual will want to be on his own and be superior to people of same identity. They will abolish civil rights; all order and all justice would be trampled underfoot and only murder, hate, jealousy, lies and dissension would be seen, without love for country or family.

"The Holy Father will suffer a great deal. I will be with him until the end and receive his sacrifice. The mischievous would attempt several times during his life to do harm and shorten his days, but neither he nor his successor will see the triumph of God. All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every spiritual principle, making way for materialism and vice of all kinds.

"The earth will be struck by calamities of all kinds in addition to plague and famine which will be wide-spread. There will be a series of wars until the last war, which will then be fought by the ten Kings of the Antichrist, all of whom will have one and the same plan and will be the only rulers of the world.

"Before this comes to pass, there will be a kind of false peace in the world. People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin. But the children of faith will grow in their love for God and in all precious virtues. Blessed are the souls humbly guided by the Holy Spirit! I shall fight at their side until they reach a fullness of years.

"The Church will be in eclipse, the world will be in dismay. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! There will be bloody wars and famines, plagues and infectious diseases. It will rain with a fearful hail of animals. There will be thunderstorms which will shake cities, earthquakes which will swallow up countries. Voices will be heard in the air. Men will beat their heads against walls, call for their death, and on another side death will be their torment. Blood will flow on all sides. Who will be the victor if God does not shorten the length of the test? All the blood, the tears and the prayers of the righteous: God will relent. Enoch and Eli will be put to death. Pagan Rome will disappear. The fire of Heaven will fall and consume three cities. All the universe will be struck with terror.

"The earth, which will have been in a continuous series of evolutions for three days, will open up its fiery bowels; and then water and fire will purge the earth and consume all the works of men's pride, and all will be renewed. God will be served and glorified."