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CV NEWS FEED // A Catholic elementary school that is opening in 2025 in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, recently received its finalized name, drawing inspiration from a little-known French Marian apparition.
Our Lady of Hope School is set to join the Holy Trinity Catholic School Division in Moose Jaw, Canada. During the trustees’ board meeting on March 18, Division Chaplain Lisa Busta shared the story of the 1871 apparition that inspired the school’s name, according to Canadian news outlet Moose Jaw Today.
The apparition of Our Lady of Hope occurred in Pontmain, France, during the Franco-Prussian war. In March 1871, two brothers were working in a barn with their father. The elder of the brothers, Eùgene Barbadette, went outside and looked at the sky. He noticed a section of the sky that had no stars. An apparition of a woman presented itself in that part of the sky. Eùgene saw the woman smiling at him.
The lady “was wearing a blue gown covered with golden stars, and a black veil under a golden crown,” according to Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church’s website. Eùgene’s younger brother, Joseph, also came outside and saw the lady. When their father, mother, and neighbor came outside, they did not see the woman. The boys’ mother, Victoire, “suggested that it might be the Blessed Virgin, and that they should all say five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys in her honor.” The family returned indoors and had dinner. The brothers went back outside after the meal, and still saw the apparition in the sky. More people, including a local school teacher and a priest, began to arrive at the site, but only children perceived the apparition. Several young girls who saw the apparition reacted joyfully to the sight. Their description of the Lady matched the brothers’. The crowd grew to about 60 children and adults. Though the adults could not see anything, they prayed the rosary and listened to the children.
“A blue oval frame with four candles, two at the level of the shoulders and two at the knees, was being formed around the Lady, and a short red cross had appeared over her heart,” according to the church’s website.
As the rosary progressed the figure and its frame grew larger, until it was twice life size; the stars around the Lady began to multiply and attach themselves to her dress until it was covered with them.
As the Magnificat was being said, the four children cried out, “Something else is happening.” A broad streamer on which letters were appearing unrolled beneath the feet of the Lady, so that eventually the phrase, “But pray, my children,” could be read.
As they continued to pray the Magnificat, more words appeared on the banner: “God will soon answer you. My Son allows Himself to be moved.”
The parish priest then suggested those present sing the hymn “Mother of Hope.” As the adults sang, the sight of the Lady filled the children with joy. According to EWTN, the children said, “See how she smiles! Oh, how beautiful she is!”
A verse of the hymn then included a penitential prayer: “Gentle Jesus, Pardon now our penitent hearts…”
When they sang this verse, a red cross with the figure of Jesus hanging on it appeared before Our Lady, and her smile changed to a deeply sad expression
The banner disappeared when the Mother of Hope hymn concluded.
“One of the stars then lit the four candles that surrounded the figure, as the crucifix vanished and the group began night prayers,” according to the church website:
As these were being recited, the children reported that a white veil was rising from the Lady’s feet and gradually blotting her out, until finally, at about nine o’clock, the apparition was over.
The Franco-Prussian war ended in the same month that Our Lady appeared to the children in Pontmain.
About a year later, after an extensive canonical inquiry that the local bishop led with theologians and a doctor, the bishop declared that the apparition was the Blessed Virgin Mary and that the children were telling the truth. Joseph and Eùgene, as adults, were both ordained priests.
The 1871 apparition in France of the Blessed Mother became known as Our Lady of Pontmain, or Our Lady of Hope.
According to a March 18 article from MooseJaw Today, the school board chair, Joann Blazieko, said that the story of the apparition “reinforces our message that no matter the challenges (the students) may face, they can find strength, resilience and hope within our school community.”
“Our Lady of Hope will serve as a beacon guiding our students towards a future filled with promise and possibility,” Blazieko added.
Moose Jaw Today reported that the local archbishop, Don Bolen, praised the school’s new name.
“Our world presents so many challenges to students, and hope can be hard to find. But we need hope to live in joy, and Catholic schools should be artisans of fostering hope in our students,” Bolen said, according to the news outlet. “Our hope comes from God, whose loving face we see in Jesus. His mother, Mary, opened herself fully to the grace of God and is a beacon of hope. May all future students, faculty and staff of Our Lady of Hope know that they are beloved of God, and may they draw strength from Mary’s example and follow her in being beacons of hope.”
