- A high-place Marian yesterday and today ...
- A appearance: Pontmain is a picturesque village, where the Virgin Mary appeared to children. On 17 January at half past five in the evening and for more than three hours, the Virgin Mary, illuminated the sky Pontmain. She delivered a message of hope on a banner, which was read and spelled by some children. Once the message is finished, the children saw a new sign. The Virgin Mary has a large red crucifix on a white placard stand the words "Jesus Christ".
- More than 200,000 pilgrims travel to Pontmain each year for pilgrimages, family, individual, adult gatherings, youth and children, spiritual retreats.
- A little history:
- Pontmain is located in Mayenne and its inhabitants are Pontaminois.
- What happened to Pontmain? Fear reigns Pontmain is the Franco-Prussian War. And defeats of Napoleon the third lead enemy at the gates of Laval. A Pontmain, Sunday, January 15 one has the courage to sing the song usual "mother of hope." Father Guerin, pastor since 1840, with his unshakeable faith in the Virgin Mary, comforting the faithful. Songs and prayers rise like usual.
- A appearance saving: January 17, 1871, the Virgin Mary appeared to four children from the village of Pontmain. The Virgin Mary wearing a blue dress, studded with stars and a gold crown with a red border in the middle said, "but pray God my children will hear you in a short time, my son is touched."
- Eleven days later the armistice was signed, the Prussians are not entering Laval.
- On February 2, 1872 the authenticity of the apparition was officially proven. "We believe that the immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God has truly emerged, January 17, 1871, in Eugene Barbedette, Joseph Barbedette, Francoise Richer and Jeanne-Marie Lebossé, in the hamlet of Pontmain". The virgin will then take the title of "Mother of Hope" and "our lady of prayer."
- Missionaries of Pontmain: 1st October 1872, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate came to Pontmain to organize a pilgrimage, and to build a church whose construction will begin in June 1873 and will end in 1894.
- In 1946, the ceremonies of the 75th anniversary of the apparition are presided over by Monsignor Roncalli, later Pope John XXIII.
- The network of sanctuary cities: The combination of sanctuary cities was created to better accommodate tourists, pilgrims and to build bridges between these communities. Now 14 cities are working on a joint promotion. They created in France Trump a working group called "tourism and spirituality," which aims to promote its members internationally.
