The Great Cross at night Holy Masses at ‘Rinfillières’
- 29^th of August 2010 -

©. All rights reserved for all countries. June 2016.

The excerpts taken from writings by Claire Ferchaud belong to the Association Saint-Jean à Loublande,  France 79700.

– II –

Major events in the life and mission of Claire Ferchaud

- 5 May 1896: Born at ‘Rinfillières’ (Maine-et-Loire), close to Loublande (Deux-Sèvres), and baptized on that very day in the church of Puy-St-Bonnet, her parish.

- 1905: Law of Separation between Church and State in France.

- 12 May 1907: Holy Communion at Puy-St-Bonnet.

- April 28 1910: Confirmation at La Chapelle-Largeau.

- Between the 6th and the 20th of November 1916:  Retreat at the ‘Maison Montfort’ (Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre).

- 26th of November and 16 December 1916 :

The Sacred Heart appears to Sister Claire and He entrusts her with the Mission of  becoming an instrument for the Conversion of France (thus winning victory against her enemies from without, but  above all against those from within): Our Lord wills that the ruling Powers make one first stop towards the spiritual regeneration of their country by allowing the Image of the Bruised Heart of Jesus to be placed on the flags of the Army, as well as permitting those catholic soldiers who would faithfully honour this emblem, to wear it on their uniform.  

- 28 December 1916: Cross-questioning before the Episcopal Commission of Inquiry in Poitiers.

- 1^st  January 1917 : Letter to the Président of the French Republic, Raymond Poincaré (as was requested by the Sacred Heart).

-  20 February 1917: Leaves Rinfillières for Paris.

- 21 February: Arrives in Paris at 117 Avenue Victor-Hugo, where she is received by the Daughters of Wisdom (The Order of Blessed Marie-Louise of Jesus, born ‘Trichet’ ~ † 28 April 1759. It was founded in 1703, in Poitiers, by St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort: born in 1673  ~   † 28 April 1716).

- 15-16 March: Night-long worship of the Blessed Sacrament in the Basilica of Montmartre.

- 21 March 1917: Claire is given audience by the President of the French Republic, Raymond Poincaré.

- 24 March: She returns to Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, the Mother House of the Daughters of Wisdom .

- 7 May 1917: Sends her Letter to the French generals.

- Christmas 1917:  Having settled in Loublande, she is joined by five young women, her first associates in the cold and damp room of a youth fellowship: the future convent, known as the House of the Sacred Heart (picture p. 58).

Claire and her five companions offer themselves as ‘victims of expiation’ for the salvation of France, of the Church, and of all souls.

- 21 February: Arrives in Paris at 117 Avenue Victor-Hugo, where she is received by the Daughters of Wisdom (The Order of Blessed Marie-Louise of Jesus, born ‘Trichet’ ~ † 28 April 1759. It was founded in 1703, in Poitiers, by St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort: born in 1673  ~   † 28 April 1716).

- 15-16 March: Night-long worship of the Blessed Sacrament in the Basilica of Montmartre.

- 21 March 1917: Claire is given audience by the President of the French Republic, Raymond Poincaré.

- 24 March: She returns to Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, the Mother House of the Daughters of Wisdom .

- 7 May 1917: Sends her Letter to the French generals.

- Christmas 1917:  Having settled in Loublande, she is joined by five young women, her first associates in the cold and damp room of a youth fellowship: the future convent, known as the House of the Sacred Heart (picture p. 58)

Claire and her five companions offer themselves as ‘victims of expiation’ for the salvation of France, of the Church, and of all souls.

- 12 June 1918:

Mgr Humbrecht, Bishop of Poitiers, consecrates The Chapel of the House of the Sacred Heart, and he celebrates the first Mass. The Blessed Sacrament has always been kept in the Chapel.

- 15 July 1918: Five new young ladies join Claire Ferchaud’s group of working and praying women.

- First Friday of September 1918:  Processions and public forms of devotion are no longer tolerated in Loublande.

- End of September 1918: Mgr Humbrecht becomes Archbishop of Besançon.

- November 1918: Mgr de Durfort is the new Bishop of Poitiers.

- 12 / 24 March 1920 : Decree of the Holy Office.

The various detractors of Claire Ferchaud’s mission had seized upon this Act of the Vatican to persuade themselves and the public at large that Claire had been allegedly ‘condemned’. Such an assertion proceeded from either a willful or at least an unwitting misreading of the Act: at worst, it could be a gross lie, a biased and malicious interpretation of the Decree (only God knows). At ‘best’, it reveals a hasty reading, a clear dodging of the precise terms that had been chosen and weighed by the Inquisitors of the Holy Office.

            Here is the truth of the matter:

When, over 90 years ago, they wrote about the ‘facts of Loublande’, saying that these “cannot be approved” (but for how long?), it did not mean and will never mean ~ from a canonical standpoint ~ that they “are condemned”. *

Indeed, the religious Authorities are perfectly aware of the infinite distance ~ both in form and content ~ that separates one wording from the other. Never forget the number of saints whose prophecies and visions have been ‘disapproved’ and their actions temporarily suspended but not ‘condemned’ ~ strictly speaking ~, before being fully recognized later on, even though it is well known that the Church cannot grant the same status to private revelations as She does to the unchanging, definitive Revelation given by Our Lord to His Apostles. 

No one should forget the significant reply of Cardinal Merry del Val (himself a wise member of the Holy Office) to Claire Ferchaud, who had been understandably upset in 1920:

“No my child, you committed no error. The decree was not meant to strike you, but to impose silence. We know how pious and loyal you are and that you never intended to deceive anyone”.

And also, this ominous admission:

“Politics has been meddling with it all…”.

Indeed this was no evasive answer from the Cardinal, but a statement true to facts. For we know now that silencing the annoying prophetess from Vendée, stifling the Voice of her God and His Demands, that was one of the conditions posed by the Government of France for the long-awaited resumption of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the Masonic French Republic (See the enlightening footnote on page 215, in ‘Claire des Rinfillières’, Pierre Téqui, 1998; but also in Claude Mouton’s books: a few revelations on the unedifying aspects of the affair).

- 18 November 1921:  Fr. Alexandre Audebert, the parish priest of Loublande, is replaced by Abbé Girard who, himself will be another first-hand witness.  (Abbé Girard’s conclusive report  is a precise, objective, and in-depth testimony in relation to Sister Claire: it minutely corroborates  what  Alexandre Audebert  had already noticed and admired while in office.  Worth reading : «Mon expérience à Loublande : 1921-1940 », pages 145 to 154, in « Claire des Rinfillières » /op. cit.). 

- January 1922: His Holiness Benedict XV summons Claire for a private audience in Rome, and the date had already been fixed, but the Pope dies before the encounter could take place.

- May 1925: Claire goes to Rome, where she meets Cardinal Merry del Val, and Cardinal Laurenti (several times) who warns Claire that it will take “a long time, a very long time” before the Holy Office reconsider their verdict. He takes leave of her with notable words of encouragement (See ‘Notes autobiographiques’, by Sister Claire, Volume I, page 141. Ed. Tequi).

- 12 December 1932: Mgr de Durfort resigns.

- 8 December 1933: Mgr Mesguen is appointed Bishop of Poitiers.

25 -28 April 1935 :

A great Triduum of holy Masses will mark a turning-point in the context of Claire Ferchaud’s Mission :

The English Cardinal Francis Alphonsus Bourne (1861- † 1935), enjoying the support of French Cardinal Verdier, will suggest to Pope Pie XI that  a Triduum of uninterrupted Masses be celebrated in the Grotto of Lourdes during those three days (and three nights) in April (25-28), with the aim of crowning the closing ceremonies of the Jubilee of  Redemption - 1933-1935.    (April 28 is also the Feast Day of saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort).

What the two cardinals had in mind, and the Holy Father himself of course (who  enthusiastically endorsed the idea), was « to storm Heaven », so to speak,  with a mounting wave of prayers and supplications - thanks to this Triduum -,  so as to ward off the calamities which were already so plainly evident on a national and an international scale; but also a far worse calamity: the terrible threats of war looming ahead with the rise of Communism and Nazism, bracing themselves ~ each in its own way ~ to defeat once and for all the tottering decadent democracies of the West. The Triduum obtained for us a reprieve of 4 years before the explosion of 1939-40, but the nations were not inclined to understand, and were even less ready to accept the Message of Mercy passed on to us by its blessed mediators and by so many victim souls throughout the 20^th century (and notably since the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal).

In any case, the Lourdes event will shine like a beacon-light in the mystical experience and the spiritual mission of Claire Ferchaud.

As a humble « victim of expiation », Claire’s life was  entirely dedicated to revealing to the world two successive Messages, which are not just completing each other, but are closely knit together so as to form one whole:

The Message of the Bruised Heart of Jesus, and His most urgent Request: the institution of the Perpetual Mass for the salvation of the world.

In the eyes of Claire Ferchaud, the celebrations of April 1935 meant more than a grandiose anticipation of what was to come: it was a legitimizing realization of God’s Desire for the Church.

After the lofty and mystically fruitful ceremonies of the Lourdes Triduum,  Claire Ferchaud will be in a strong position to defend the core of the Message she had received from the Lord. To this effect she uses the most convincing arguments in her correspondence with Father Lémius (he had been Rector of the Montmartre Basilica in 1917).

Now, one major point should be stressed:

The Last Holy Sacrifice of the Triduum was celebrated by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who will succeed Pope Pius XI in 1939.

No wonder therefore, if this venerable Pontiff, Pius XII (born on March 2, 1876, †  October 9 1958), was perfectly able to penetrate the meaning and the implications of the Perpetual Mass, such as it had been presented and explained to him shortly after the Second World War.

- 20 September 1939: His Holiness Pius XII sends his blessing to Claire Ferchaud and gives his consent (quote) to Claire’s

“self-sacrifice on behalf of the Church,

the priesthood, and the salvation of souls”.

- 10 May 1940: Abbé Girard is replaced by Abbé Marsault, parish priest.

- 29 October 1940: The Chapel is closed to the public and to the priests, except to the Montfortian Fathers (from Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre). This will mean a new cross for Claire Ferchaud and the beginning of a long period of seclusion in her convent, which coincides with the miseries of the Second World War.

- After 1945: Pope Pius XII who, as Cardinal, celebrated the Last Mass of the Lourdes Triduum (those 3 days and 3 nights of continuous Masses in the Grotto of Massabielle), considered very favourably and fully understood the true portent of the Message of the Sacred Heart in Loublande.

Pius XII was even ready to abrogate the ‘famous’ Decree of 1920, so widely misinterpreted.

For sure, the Pope would have unreservedly opened the path for the Institution of the Perpetual Mass, had it not been blocked by those people (clerics or laymen) who will be accountable to God for their betrayals or stubborn opposition (blindness, if not cowardice and double-talk, so well unveiled and analysed by Claude Mouton  in  ‘Au plus fort de la tourmente’ and ‘Et Jésus modela son âme’).

Fortunately we also have, in defense of Claire Ferchaud, not just the part played by Mgr Humbrecht of course, but also the powerful public and private testimonies, given by high-ranking Members of the Hierarchy: enlightened theologians, such as Mgr Nègre (1853-1931 /Archbishop of Tours,), Mgr de Durfort (Archbishop of Poitiers, from 1918 to 1932), Mgr Saudreau who will send one of the best-documented, and most decisive reports to Pope Pius XII on the character of Claire Ferchaud and on the scope of her mission (Mgr Saudreau was ~ among other titles ~ First Chaplain of the Sisters of the Good Pastor, from 1895 to 1942 †).

(See ‘Claire des Rinfillières ’- Part I, page 19 to 154. Compiled by Associates to the Spiritual Work of Loublande ~ publ. by Téqui, 2000 ~, this book is full of stunning details, with fresh information from long since unpublished documents, showing at once the depths and the dizzying heights of Claire’s intimacy with the Very Holy Trinity and Our Lord’s Mother).

- 1st  July 1964: By decision of the Holy Office, the reopening of the Chapel of the Convent is officially granted,  with the approval of Pope Paul VI.  On that very day – 1^st of July 1964 - Cardinal Ottaviani, in his capacity as Pro-Prefect at the Holy Office, asks Mgr Vion, Bishop of Poitiers, to comply with the reopening of the Chapel.

- 8 September 1964:  Pope Paul VI decrees the reopening of the Chapel on the Feast Day of The Nativity of Our Blessed Lady, and Cardinal Ottaviani informs Claire Ferchaud that “the Calvary of Loublande is now over”. (More information is given on page 87).

- 29 November 1964:  The Chapel is officially reopened and becomes a public shrine.

- 28 January 1966: Pope Paul VI praises Claire’s “humility and obedience”.

- 29 January 1972: Claire Ferchaud dies, having committed her soul and the soul of her enemies to the Mercy of God.

- 2^nd of February 1972:       Funeral of the faithful servant of God, on Candlemas Day, Feast of the Purification of The Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Presentation of Our Lord.

“Per Crucem ad Lucem”

“Through the Cross to the Light”

The servant of God Claire (5-5-1896 / 29-1-1972)

 “Humble victim of expiation, she was obedient unto death
for the love of the Church and love of France”

(Photo : Ed. Artaud Frères - 44 Carquefou / France)

“Nothing could be more pleasing to God than the institution of the Perpetual Mass”

Padre Pio’s inspired reply to Fr Michel Pasqueron de Fommervault
and Fr Marcel Lacheteau, in 1955, when they revealed to him the core
of the Message given to Claire Ferchaud
by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord.

This took place on the occasion of a pilgrimage  to San Giovanni Rotondo
and a private visit to the stigmatised priest
(now invoked as Saint Pio/born  1887 † 1968) *

 * - From the English version of the book published by ANDAS, in March 2017:

‘The Sacred Heart of Jesus calls us: Revelations to Claire Ferchaud for the Church and the world.’

References

- The chronological sequence of important dates and the various explanations to be found here complete the short list already given in two works: 

The ‘Notes autobiographiques’ (vol. I, II, Téqui, 1974) and more recently: ‘Claire des Rinfillières’.  They are essential to understand the life and the Message of Claire Ferchaud. These precise, moving, and enlightening accounts were given because she had to comply with the demands of her confessors and her spiritual advisers. Indeed, she never did anything on her own initiative, as she was reluctant to be publicized (unlike a few dubious mystics and ‘stars’ of many modern apparitions). She did it solely at the request of the Ecclesiastical Authority. Apart from these two books, where Claire Ferchaud tells you enough to understand the gravity and urgency of Our Lord’s heart-rending Appeal, we feel the need to mention Claude Mouton-Raimbault’s captivating and in-depth study:

‘Ils regarderont vers Celui qu’ils ont transpercé: Le Sacré-Coeur, des origines à Claire Ferchaud’ (Résiac, 2007).

The first edition of this book had been highly praised by the late Abbé Richard, in the leading article of the excellent Catholic periodical ‘L’Homme Nouveau’, of March 18, 1984. We cannot fail to mention ’Pour l’honneur de Claire’ (Résiac, April 1995), providing us with some crucial information after ‘Et Jésus modela son âme’ (Résiac 1981), which is the continuation (Part II) of ‘Au plus fort de la tourmente … Claire Ferchaud’ (Part I).

- Noteworthy : An excellent film on EWTN by John Bird, ‘The Eldest Daughter of the Church’(Part III), includes several excerpts from the Message of Claire Ferchaud (with views of Loublande), and places her action within the larger frame of France’s historical Mission, her apostasy, and the struggle to save her Christian roots (around 80 mns/on DVD or VHS).         

***

These pages are essentially taken from

‘L’Appel du Sacré Coeur de Jésus: Révélations à Claire Ferchaud pour L’Église et pour le monde’ (pages 78 à 82, et page 87) / Editions ANDAS, 22 Octobre 2016 / revised in February 2019).

The first English version of the book was published by ANDAS in March 2017 (revised in Feb. 2019):

‘The Sacred Heart of Jesus calls us: Revelations to Claire Ferchaud for the Church and the world.’ Author: Michel Canavaggio, in close collaboration with Edward Stanley and Edward Clarke.

- Recently published:

A 60 page-long Supplement (1/in French ; 2/ in English) is dwelling on Cardinal Francis Bourne’s action  and on the Message of God’s Servant, Berthe Petit (whose revelations had a decisive impact on Cardinal Mercier’s pastoral action, and even more on Cardinal Bourne’s):

 - 1- « An APOSTLE of the SORROWFUL and IMMACULATE HEART of MARY  &  Advocate of the GREAT TRIDUUM of CONTINUOUS MASSES (Lourdes 1935): CARDINAL FRANCIS BOURNE ». (Andas, June 2018).

- 2- « APÔTRE du CŒUR DOULOUREUX et IMMACULÉ de MARIE  &  Inspirateur du GRAND TRIDUUM de MESSES PERPÉTUÉES (Lourdes 1935): Le CARDINAL FRANCIS BOURNE ». (Andas, Juin 2018).