History
From 8 to 14 December 1947, a series of quite remarkable events unfolded in L'Île-Bouchard. The apparitions coincided with the troubled state of France, with violent uprisings and deaths. The country was also plagued by strikes. France was on the brink of civil war. At that moment, Mary appeared and urgently requested prayers for France. A week later, the danger had passed and the country was saved.
The small town of L'Île-Bouchard, situated on the river La Vienne in the L'Indre-et-Loire department, is making its presence known. This gives rise to spiritual fruits, as the messages given by Mary in L'Île-Bouchard are still relevant today.
The Second World War (1940-1945) ends on a down note for France, as much of the country lies in ruins. There is no money for reconstruction and economic activity has declined drastically. France is on the brink of bankruptcy. The black market is flourishing like never before.
In 1947, the international political context became radicalised, and the beginning of a Cold War was looming. The stance of the communist Soviet Union hardened. Communism aimed to spread throughout the entire world. During this time of tension, the European economic situation was catastrophic. However, aid came from the United States of America through the implementation of the Marshall Plan. This increased America's influence in Western Europe. In France, strikes occurred multiple times, and riots broke out. This was the context in 1947. Then, Maria appeared in L’Île-Bouchard…
The first apparition of the Virgin Mary is on 8 December 1947; the feast day of the Immaculate Conception. Four girls see the Virgin Mary and the angel Gabriel in the parish church of Saint-Gilles. Mary appears to them ten times, and this always happens in the parish church. The visionaries are: Jacqueline Aubry (1935-2016), aged 12, Jeanette Aubry (1940-2011), Jacqueline's younger sister, aged 7, Nicole Robin (1937-2018), Jacqueline's niece, aged 10, and Laura Croizon (1939-1999), Jacqueline's neighbour, aged 8. Jacqueline Aubry gives many testimonies.
Canon Priest Ségelle (1874-1970) is suspicious of the apparitions. However, a remarkable event causes him to change his mind. On December 10, 1947, Our Lady told Jacqueline Aubry: “I have not come here to perform miracles, but to ask you to pray for France. Tomorrow you will see clearly and will no longer need glasses.” The next day, Jacqueline awoke. Her eyes were no longer in a particularly bad state. She had normal vision. Her eyes were healed overnight. Priest Ségelle heard about this, saw Jacqueline, and was suddenly convinced that Our Lady was the Apparition.
On 12 December 1947, Our Lady wears a crown with 12 rays, each around 30 centimetres in size. Mary holds her hands low and the word “Magnificat” is clearly visible at Her side.
On 14 December 1947, there was the 10th and final apparition. Each of the seers had a bouquet of flowers with them. “Mary is coming and She has never been so beautiful,” said the girls. The angel Gabriel accompanied Mary on this occasion as well. The children saw Mary looking at the four bouquets and She was pleased with them. Mary smiled, but did not take the flowers with Her. She did, however, bless each bouquet. The final apparition lasted about 35 minutes, but Mary did not speak during Her last visit to the church. There were, however, exchanges of feelings from soul to soul and heart to heart.
A striking aspect of the apparitions is that Mary always states when she will return. Mary also announces in advance that she will be making her final visit. Our Lady communicates that a living ray of the sun will be visible before her departure. This occurs during the final apparition on 14 December 1947. Through a church window, a sunbeam appears, precisely indicating the location of the apparition. This beam gradually covers an increasingly larger area. Those present in the church feel the heat from the beam. The window through which the beam enters is partially blocked by a pillar, yet the beam of light reaches the choir. This inexplicable sunbeam falls on a spot in the church where the sun cannot shine. This cannot be explained scientifically.
The apparitions in L’Île-Bouchard are seen as an entire development of prayer. Monseigneur Fiot, the Bishop of Tours, has requested prayers for the Virgin of L’Île-Bouchard, under the title of “Our Lady of Prayer”.
After the apparitions, the four girls are extensively interrogated several times. Their statements remain consistent, even when they are subjected to questioning separately. Subsequently, the visionaries and their experiences are portrayed in a negative light, as the communist-leaning interrogators have no time for events in the church. This leads to the stagnation of the process for approving the apparitions. The investigations depict authentic apparitions. However, recognition by the Catholic Church is withheld. The Catholic Church remains silent during and after the apparitions. This may partly be due to the eldest visionary, Jacqueline Aubry (1935-2016), who was a victim of abuse for more than 10 years during her youth and was a drug user. Jeanette received no help, neither after the abuse nor with her addiction to narcotics. This already casts a somewhat dark shadow over the apparitions. The failure of the clergy to practice preached charity is absent in the case of Jacqueline Aubry. Covering up events is being complicit in abuse. Jacqueline Aubry passed away on 15 March 2016 and was buried on 19 March 2016, the feast day of Saint Joseph.
In 1966, Our Lady of L’Île-Bouchard received the title Our Lady of Prayer.
On 8 December 2001, Monseigneur André Vingt-Trois (born 1942), Bishop of Tours, proclaimed the decree recognising L’Île-Bouchard as a new Marian place of pilgrimage. This occurred 54 years (!) after the apparitions in 1947. The bishop permitted pilgrimages to the church. He also granted approval to place a grotto with two statues in the church. It was then made possible by Catholic authority to hold public veneration and celebration in the church of Saint-Gilles, and to pray to Our Lady and invoke Her there.
The main messages in L’Île-Bouchard are:
Yes, I am your Heavenly Mother.“
“Listen, my little children, pray for France, for she is in great need.”
Sing the Hail Mary, I love this hymn“
“Give me your hand to kiss”
Kiss the crucifix of my rosary“
“Say a decade of the Rosary”
Kiss my hand“
- “Do you pray for sinners?”
I will make families happy“
Tell the people to sing the Magnificat.
These messages are still relevant.
Pilgrimage site
Every year on 8 December and the following Sunday, the number of pilgrims peaks in L’Île-Bouchard. The pilgrims visit the Virgin of L’Île-Bouchard, who is known here as “Our Lady of Prayer”.
On 8 December 1947, the beautiful Lady stands on a stone block, adorned with a wreath of 5 roses. At the bottom of the block it says: “O Mary, Immaculate Conception, pray for us who have recourse to you”. On 9 December, the words on the Lady's stone are: “I am the Immaculate Conception”. The place where this happened attracts the interest of visiting pilgrims to the church.
On 8 December 2001, the episcopal authority granted approval for the construction of a representation of an artificial grotto and two statues in the church of Saint-Gilles. This grotto, depicting Our Lady and the Archangel Gabriel, is a request from “the beautiful Lady” to four children in 1947. Since then, the number of pilgrims to the church has increased.
The church's presbytery features, among other things, a stained-glass window of Our Lady of Lourdes, the altar of the Blessed Virgin, an effigy of Our Lady of Victories, the high altar, the altar of Saint-Laurent, and the stained-glass window through which the sunbeam has passed.
For pilgrims, the two annual highlights are on 15 August and 8 December.
Every day in the morning, the rosary is recited, followed by a Mass. In the reception area (Accueil Notre-Dame), a film about the apparitions is shown.
ACCESSIBILITY
L'Île-Bouchard lies about fifteen kilometres from Chinon and some 40 kilometres southwest of the large city of Tours.
On the A10, the motorway from Paris to Bordeaux, take exit 25 and follow the signs for Sainte-Maure and Noyant (D760) to reach L’Île-Bouchard. The town can also be reached by taking exit 5 at Bourgueil on the A85 motorway and then heading towards Chinon. The church of Saint-Gilles is located north of the river La Vienne, which crosses L’Île-Bouchard.
For more information, the address is: Librairie Notre-Dame, 49 Rue de la Liberté, F 37220 L’Île-Bouchard.
The necessary information can also be obtained on www.ilebouchard.com.
Experience
Next to the church, on the “Place Jean Sibileau, 1918-1944, Maquisard de Scevolles”, I park the car and immediately go into the Saint-Gilles church.
In the church, I notice stained-glass windows with particularly delicate depictions, such as of Mary and Bernadette at Lourdes. How rich this house of God is in statues and large paintings. Mary is depicted in all sorts of forms. I also see other statues, such as of Thérèse of Lisieux, her parents, and Joan of Arc. A beautiful, illustrative Stations of the Cross has been made of white stone.
At 6:15 PM the bells will ring. A few more visitors are entering the sparsely lit church. It is remarkably quiet, as those present maintain a deathly hush. A priest in a completely white robe emerges from the confessional and, with a bag in hand, makes his way to the white stone altar. A few minutes later, a chant begins. Ten people among those present stand up. I am standing too. The monstrance, which has been on the altar for some time, is taken away.
The prayer service begins at 18:30. The white church is currently visited by about 50 worshippers, who are praying while sitting, kneeling, or standing. Is this usually the case here every day? I find the number of attendees quite large. After all, L’Île-Bouchard is a small town and today is a weekday. This church certainly has regional appeal and now even international appeal with the presence of a Dutch person. Two priests lead the ceremony and they are dressed in red robes. There is a lot of singing in French and almost nothing in Latin. At the end of the service, the two leaders turn around and face the statue of Mary. The Magnificat is prayed.
After the service, I'll speak with a priest, who will come to shake hands with those remaining in the church. He'll ask for my name and want to know my home country. We'll talk for a few minutes about the apparitions of Mary in L'Île-Bouchard. After wishing each other well, I'll light some candles and then tour the church.
First, I go to the image of Mary and that of the archangel Gabriel. I light a few candles for a good friend, an old acquaintance and a great friend. All three could use a little support.
The tour in the church continues. I come to a side chapel and see the statue of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) and her parents, Louis Martin (1823-1894) and Marie-Azélie (Zélie) Guérin (1831-1877). Relics of them are present here. I read that this effigy was placed in 1925. The maker is the Austrian artist Robert Hautz. The statue of Saint Thérèse's parents is over one metre high.
At a side entrance to the church, I clearly see it stated that Bishop André Vingt-Trois declared on 8th December 2001 that the apparitions in this church deserve a legitimate place.
On the side of the church, I notice a plaque of Joan of Arc (1412-1431). I read “La route de l’Europe chrétienne” from 30 May 2012. This is a commemoration of Joan of Arc's 600th birth year. Based on a well-established tradition, this combative and courageous woman visited this church on 6 March 1429. Jeanne attended mass here and then went to Chinon to meet King Charles VII.
At number 49, Rue de la Liberté, is the Librairie Notre Dame. There I buy a dozen cards, some of which are for a good friend who also has a great affinity for and devotion to Mary. I also purchase a large print of the statue of Mary standing in the church, as well as a small French booklet about the apparitions.
At the “Accueil Notre Dame” of the sanctuary, on Rue Gambetta, opposite the church, I strike up a conversation with a parish worker. Here, too, the 1947 apparitions are the topic of conversation. He also tells me about the visit of Jeanne d'Arc to L'Île-Bouchard and the renovated chapel of Jeanne Delanoue. The man says his two daughters are staying in the Netherlands to study; one daughter in Amsterdam and the other in Utrecht. It's quite typical that I am here now, meet this man, and that he also has connections with the Netherlands. I take an English explanation about the apparitions with me and receive a French-language brochure from him with details about the apparitions of Mary.
Next to this community centre is the Rue du Maquis de Scévolles. Here I visit the chapel of “Sainte Jeanne Delanoue”. This chapel has been completely renovated. I read that the renewed chapel was reopened on 13 October 2013. Three stained-glass windows depict themes from Scouting. A plaque bears the names of the Scouts involved with the windows. I see three women praying. I walk past them and come to the front of the chapel. To the left is a statue of Mary, which relates to the apparitions in December 1947. I feel like I am in a very devotional space. It is just like Mary's living room.
Posted: 29 July 2020
Last modified: 18 June 2023
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