marian anniversaries     november

November 3

Mère de Dieu, Paris, France

In 1631, Denys Antheaume entered the discalced Augustines of Paris under the name of Brother Fiacre de Sainte-Marguerite. On November 3, 1637, as he was saying matins in his cell around 2:00 AM, he heard a baby crying and looked around to find himself before the the Queen of Heaven, softly radiant, seated on a throne, with three crowns atop her shoulder-length hair, dressed in a starry blue gown, and holding a wailing child in her arms: "Have no fear," she said. "I am the Mother of God, and the child you see is the Dauphin God wants to give France." Two hours later, Mary showed herself again, alone, and said, "Don't have any more doubts about what you told your confessor. To confirm that I want you to advise the Queen to make three novenas in my honor, behold my image at Notre-Dame de Grâces, in Provence, and the appearance of the church." Brother Fiacre saw precisely the scene and the choir where the image was (as it is today in Cotignac). He ran to tell his superiors who, never having been to Cotignac either, consulted some friends who'd made the pilgrimage; the descriptions corresponded. The King and Queen, childless after 22 years of marriage, were informed, but while they awaited the Cardinal's approval, Brother Fiacre started the three nine-day prayer petitions in the Queen's name. Nine months after they ended, Anne of Austria gave birth to the future Louis XIV.