As soon as Mr. Dupont heard of the apparition of the Immaculate Virgin in the grotto of Lourdes, the hope of the speedy triumph of the Church over the powers of hell, which had been enkindled in his heart by the miracle of La Salette, revived in full force. “Everything conspires to encourage the thought that the Pyrenees will, in future, have no cause to envy the Alps. Undoubtedly, the apparition of La Salette is more than sufficient to make known to the world the value Mary places upon man’s salvation; but, if it be true that she has again descended upon earth, what an additional cause for gratitude, and, withal, what ground for hope that the Church is on the eve of a grand triumph; for it is impossible to doubt that so great and repeated graces will subdue, and bring under obedience very many rebellious hearts. The evil is certainly great; but God can curb the malice of Satan; let us hope that the wicked beast may be put to shame, and that God may be glorified.”

It was not long before he received a full account of the apparition from intelligent and well-informed persons. He immediately draws the contrast in his mind between La Salette and Lourdes: “At La Salette, Mary weeps; at Lourdes, she smiles. At La Salette, she wears on her garments the signs of the Passion; at Lourdes, can we not consider her white dress, her blue cincture, her radiant countenance, the emblems of joy? At La Salette, there is question of dreadful menaces, of scourges, as Pius IX read in the secret of the two children; at Lourdes, there is a simple recommendation to pray for sinners. What a sweet word is that! such a recommendation includes, in its very nature, the idea that God wills to pardon; how different His dealing with us when He does not wish to grant favors! For instance, He forbids Moses and Isaiah to pray for His people, ‘lest they be converted and live.’ Moreover, at La Salette, Mary hides her hands when she speaks to the children (Mélanie told me so in 1847); at Lourdes, they are uncovered, she raises them, joins them, places them near her heart…; now hands are the symbol and the channel of liberality; the idea of liberality is connected with the hand: Aperis manum tuam, et imples omne animal benedictine. ‘Thou openest Thy hand, and Thou fillest all animals with benediction.’ To-day then, Mary wishes to give; and she is rich enough to give lavishly. But she first makes a demand; she demands a sanctuary to be erected on the spot where she appeared, in order to perpetuate the remembrance of her visit of mercy. This fact should inspire us with peculiar confidence. She required no sanctuary at La Salette; but, as there is question of one at Lourdes, is it not because we are about to emerge from the period of demolition, and to enter that of reconstruction? Tempus destruendi, tempus aedificandi. ‘There is a time to destroy and a time to build.’ Mary would not direct us to build, if God were about to permit Satan to destroy.”

Elsewhere, he draws the following conclusion: “This second invitation, it is to be hoped, will induce us to enter upon the grand work of reparation foreshadowed by the definition of the Immaculate Conception. Then the surviving disciples of philosophy will direct their rage against the rock of Massabielle, whilst the children of the Church will draw from the miraculous fountain health and all kinds of graces. Their portions are indeed unequal, but the difference between them will be still more marked, when the figure of this world will have passed away. Then the exiles from their heavenly country will exclaim without ceasing: Insensati… (Wisdom v, 4.) But we, who believe it a misery to be separated from God in time and eternity, should devote ourselves, with our whole hearts, to such works as may help sinners to return to the good God. It is an undeniable truth that France and Europe would have turned their hearts to God, if the apparition at La Salette had been more generally believed and proclaimed. If the order to construct a chapel be obeyed, they will assuredly enter the path which leads to conversion.”

Thus Mr. Dupont wrote twenty years ago. At the present moment, when we see the popular impulse directing thousands to Lourdes, it is a pleasure to follow the man of God as he reads the future.

He lived long enough to witness the commencement of the great work of reparation instituted at Lourdes. The events of the previous ten years justified his foresight, and filled him with joy. “The pilgrimages of this year,” he said (April 12, 1873), “present us good grounds of hope for the future, with the more reason, as this external expression of Christian piety is becoming general, and extending among all the nations of Europe. If our fathers exclaimed at the time of the Crusades: ‘God wills it!’ we of the nineteenth century, with equal reason and confidence, may say: ‘Mary wills it!’ She everywhere wills, as a good Mother, to impel us towards Jesus.” “Yes, it is in the order of things that Mary should lead us to Jesus. It is not for her individual honor that she is striving, when she says to Bernadette: ‘Tell the priests to erect a sanctuary on this spot…; the people will come here in processions…’ Mary knew well that thousands of souls would repair from the grotto to the Eucharistic banquet.”

As to the numerous miracles effected in the name of our Lady of Lourdes, he had less cause than others to be astonished. Indeed, we may say that one of the first graces of this kind was obtained through his instrumentality. He narrated the fact himself: “I had a relative residing in the vicinity of Lourdes. I begged her to write me the particulars of what had taken place. She related to me in her first letter what had occurred up to the fifth apparition. I received this letter as I was about to go to the Little Sisters of the Poor; after reading it, I put it in my pocket, and, thinking of other things, I went to make them my usual visit. On arriving, I noticed that a Sister, whom I generally saw, was absent, and that her duties were discharged by another. I was told upon inquiry that she was suffering from a very severe toothache and a heavy cold. As I passed through the house, I met her; the poor Sister was in an agony of pain; she held her rosary in her hand. I said to her: ‘My good Sister, after every decade of the rosary, repeat three times the invocation: “O Mary immaculate, who hast deigned to appear at Lourdes, cure me!”, The Sister continued saying her beads, and repeated the invocation; after I had made my visit the portress said to me at the door: ‘Sister X—– is no longer suffering; the toothache left her whilst she was saying the rosary, but she still has a cold.’ The next day I heard that she was relieved of the cold also.”

Another instance of a similar kind was related to us by a religious, the Superioress of the Daughters of Charity. “Mr. Dupont stopped at our house one day, as he passed on his return from the Little Sisters of the Poor. It was during recreation, and the Sisters collected in the parlor. It was always a great pleasure to the Community to see the holy man and hear him speak of God. He entered smiling and very bright, holding in his hand a medal. ‘Do you see this little medal?’ he said, ‘I have just received it from Lourdes, and it has already been the instrument of a miracle.’ He then related what had passed at the Little Sisters of the Poor; how one of the Sisters, who had been suffering intensely from toothache, had been completely relieved in an hour. Delighted and astonished, we wished to inspect closely the interesting medal; it passed from one to the other; each contemplated it, and reverently kissed it. There was seated among us our Sister Rosalie, who was so lame and feeble that, for two years, she had been incapacitated for duty, and consequently was unable, to her great sorrow, to visit the poor. ‘Ah! Sir.’ she said to the servant of God, ‘will you let me place your medal on my foot, that I also may be cured, and be able again to visit my poor patients?’ ‘Certainly,’ replied Mr. Dupont, ‘here it is.’ ‘And what shall I do with it?’ asked the Sister. ‘What prayer shall I say? Must I commence a novena?’ ‘No, no,’ replied Mr. Dupont with vivacity; ‘there is no need of so much time; say simply: “My God, through the intercession of our Lady of Lourdes, my good mother, cure me, that I may visit my poor.”’ The Sister did as directed; she placed the medal on her foot and repeated the invocation. ‘Now,’ said Mr, Dupont, ‘rise and walk around the room.’ The Sister arose and walked, but it was with pain and difficulty. ‘Are you cured?’ asked Mr. Dupont. ‘Not entirely.’ ‘Very well, apply the medal again.’ A second time it was placed upon her foot and the prayer repeated; a second time she endeavored to walk, and still the cure was not complete. But encouraged by the slight improvement in her condition, the Sister made a promise, if she were entirely cured, to visit the Holy Face in Mr. Dupont’s room. The next day, Sister Rosalie, who, for two years, had been unable to walk, went to Saint-Etienne Street alone, without support of any kind, and returned in the same manner, without experiencing either fatigue or pain. From that time she did not suffer from her limbs; she resumed her usual duties among the sick and the poor, continuing them until her death, a period of six years.”

“This was not the only proof we had, during that visit, of the efficacy of the medal,” said the Superioress. “A postulant, forty years of age, had recently entered the Community; she had a gastric affection which caused frequent vomiting. Fearing this might prove an obstacle to her admission, she very improperly determined to conceal her malady from the Sisters; thus, no one was aware of it. Whilst the Sisters were passing the medal to each other and kissing it with respect, the postulant secretly took advantage of the opportunity to obtain the cure of an infirmity, which, by incapacitating her for continuous duty, would, in time, betray itself and cause her rejection. Pressing the medal to her lips, she said interiorly: ‘O my God, by Mr. Dupont’s faith in our Lady of Lourdes, cure me, that I may remain in this house.’ She instantly felt that she was cured. She, however, waited a short time before mentioning the circumstance. As several days had passed without any return of the vomiting, and she was free from pain, she regarded her restoration to health as certain, and she came to me to acknowledge all. She begged pardon for having concealed her infirmity, but asserted that she was now perfectly well, thoroughly cured by the virtue of Mr. Dupont’s medal. And such, in reality, was the case. The malady never returned, and, for several years, she fulfilled in our Community, under the name of Sister Gabriel, all the duties assigned her.”

We see clearly that, from the very beginning, there was a bond of union between the grotto of Lourdes and the oratory of the Sacred Face, between the marvelous apparitions of the Immaculate Virgin at the rock of Massabielle, and the graces granted at Tours through the instrumentality of the solitary of Saint-Etienne Street. There was another miraculous cure effected by the oil of the Sacred Face, which naturally finds its place in this connection. It is that of the historian of Lourdes, Mr. Henri Lasserre. The account of it was given by the celebrated author himself, in a letter sent to Mr. Dupont as a testimony of his faith and gratitude. We quote from the letter the important passages.

“I had enjoyed during my whole life,” says Mr. Lasserre, “excellent sight. I was able to distinguish objects at a very great distance, and, at the same time, I could read a book, however near it was to my eyes. I passed entire nights in study, without experiencing the least fatigue. I myself was amazed at the flexibility, clearness and strength of my vision. I was, consequently, painfully surprised when, during the course of last June and July (1862), I realized that my sight was gradually failing, and that I was incapable of night work; at last, I was forced to abandon altogether reading and writing. When I attempted to read, the eye was so fatigued after three or four lines that I was compelled to desist. I consulted several physicians, particularly, two specialists, Doctors Desmares and Giraud-Teulon.

“The remedies prescribed did me no good; they even seemed to aggravate the evil. Such was my condition for three months, when, fearing the affection would become chronic, I was seriously alarmed. I suffered from great depression of spirits, which I concealed from my relatives and friends, who were as convinced as myself that my sight was permanently injured; we, however, mutually encouraged each other with a hope which neither party really entertained.”

Mr. Lasserre then relates the miraculous cure effected by the use of the water of Lourdes, to which he had recourse by the advice of a friend. This restoration of sight, which was a great happiness to him, and which he regarded as a wonderful grace, did not continue long,— a circumstance, humbly called by Mr. Lasserre “a chastisement;” in our opinion, a permission of God, Who wished, together with the power of the Virgin of Lourdes, to manifest, in a striking manner, the power of the picture venerated in Mr. Dupont’s oratory.

The pious writer continues his recital: “The Rev. Father Gratry, having been informed of my miraculous cure, wrote to me to inquire if it was true. In answer, I narrated succinctly all that had passed. Father Gratry was then at Tours, and I determined, in order to see him, to pass through this city on my return to Paris; other affairs demanded my attention, also, in that direction. Whilst in conversation with the illustrious oratorian, Mr. Dupont’s name was mentioned by him, I do not remember in what connection; it was a chance remark. ‘Mr. Dupont!’ I exclaimed, ‘I have desired, for several years, to become acquainted with him, and I often intended to stop at Tours, in order to visit him. Strange, that having formed the intention, some days ago, to come to Tours, and having been here since the morning, the idea of going to see him did not occur to me! I shall certainly not now lose the opportunity of being introduced to him.’ For this purpose, I delayed, by several hours, my return to Paris.

“It is, indeed, worth the trouble to stop at Tours, or even go there expressly, to see Mr. Dupont. One fact will explain all: in his house, blessed by Heaven, by a simple unction he makes with a miraculous oil, are realized, to the letter, the celebrated sentence of the Gospel and the prophecy of Isaiah: Caeci vidunt, claudi ambulant, leprosi mundantur, surdi audiunt. ‘The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are healed, the deaf hear.’

“When going to visit him, I had not the least idea of asking anything for myself. I hoped that, on my return to Paris, I should recover from my partial relapse, by using the Lourdes water; I was wholly averse, to employ any other means than which had benefited me before, or to have recourse to other intercession. My only object was to know and see in his own home, the servant of God, of whom I had heard so much, and to beg the aid of his prayers for a great miracle in the moral order, the miracle of my perfect conversion.

“Mr. Dupont was at home when I called. I was detained a few moments in a large apartment situated on the ground floor. I looked around me, whilst the servant went to notify the master of the house. The furniture was very simple; at intervals on the walls, were hung ex voto offerings. Beside a desk covered with papers, upon a kind of stand in the form of a pulpit, I saw a large open book; I recognized the Holy Scripture. But my attention was principally arrested by one of those engravings of the ‘Holy Face,’ which represents the Face of our Lord such as He impressed it upon the veil of Veronica on the day of His passion. Before this Holy Face a lamp burned, or rather, a taper, floating on a limpid oil contained in a crystal vase.

“The door opened, and Mr. Dupont entered.

“I strove to conquer my embarrassment. He inquired what service he could render me, and I told him my visit had no other motive than my desire to make his acquaintance; that I came to see him in consequence of what I had heard of all the wonders, the miracles, which, according to report, were accomplished in his house. ‘Yes, Sir,’ he replied, with a familiarity of language which struck me, ‘it is now nearly eleven years since, in this room, before that Holy Face, our Lord commenced to perform His miracles. And He deigned to choose the house of a miserable creature like myself, in order that nothing could be attributed to the merit of the man, and to prove that He alone does all.’

“I requested him to relate to me on what occasion the wonders of which he spoke, first manifested themselves. ‘I was far from suspecting,’ he replied, ‘that this room would become a place of pilgrimage, and that in it, would be effected innumerable miracles. But such was the design of God.’” Here Mr. Dupont related to his visitor what we already know of his idea of exposing the picture in his drawing-room, and of the first miracles it had effected. “‘Since that time,’ he continued, ‘miraculous cures have not ceased. Not a day passes, that some wonder of the kind does not occur. The oil, when sent to foreign countries, is as efficacious there to heal the infirm, as in this place. Ah! Sir,’ he exclaimed in conclusion, ‘how great is God! how good is God!’

“‘Yes, certainly,’ I said, after a moment’s silence, ‘God is good. No one knows it better than I, no one has been more ungrateful to so kind a benefactor. I am not surprised at the miracles which are accomplished here, as I was myself formerly favored by a grace similar to the cures which are granted before that holy picture; but I proved unworthy of it, and I see that, at the present moment, the hand of God is about to precipitate me into my former condition.’

“I then related to him my history, my cure and my partial relapse, of which I explained the cause. He did not appear surprised. ‘It often happens,’ he said, ‘that partial or complete relapses occur; and I have remarked that they generally proceed from two causes: either the individuals have been ashamed to testify to the miracle before men, or they have neglected to return thanks to God.’ ‘I have little human respect,’ I replied, ‘and I have not blushed to acknowledge the miracle by which I was favored; but I did not return thanks, and hardly was my sight restored, when I resumed my usual way of life.’

“‘Every fault may be repaired,’ said Mr. Dupont. ‘We will now invoke the Lord, pray before that Holy Face, and anoint your eyes with the miraculous oil. Perhaps it will benefit you.’ ‘No,’ I replied, ‘I have been once cured by the Blessed Virgin honored at Lourdes; it is against her I have sinned; it is she, I hope, who will obtain my pardon and my cure. As soon as I return to Paris, I shall again bathe my eyes with the miraculous water. It is repugnant to my feelings to have recourse to any other intercession; it seems to me that I should fail in the homage I owe the Queen of angels, were I to invoke any power other than hers.’

“Mr. Dupont smiled and said gently: ‘There is no jealousy in Heaven. Nevertheless,’ he added, ‘since such are your sentiments, here is a medal which was given me by Father Hermann; he immersed it himself in the water of Lourdes. It has already been the instrument of several miraculous cures. Will you try it? Apply it successively on your eyes, and we will say together: “Holy Virgin show thyself as powerful at Tours as thou art at the grotto of Lourdes.‘”

“I knelt and did as he directed, but I experienced no relief. We repeated the same invocation several times, but always without effect. ‘Ah I,’ said Mr. Dupont, without being the least disturbed, and lifting his eyes to Heaven as if addressing invisible powers; ‘Ah! Blessed Virgin Mary, since thou refusest this cure, we will apply directly to thy Divine Son.’ We prayed together a short time. Mr. Dupont dipped his finger in the oil which burned before the Holy Face and anointed with it my eyelids and forehead, under the eyebrows, wherever I felt the dangerous heaviness. No cure resulted.

“I dined with Mr. Dupont. After dinner, we recommenced the prayers, and he again applied the oil; but Heaven seemed deaf to our petitions. I experienced not the slightest relief. I attributed the failure to the right cause, and I acknowledged that I had deserved it.

“Mr. Dupont was pained; but, accustomed to deal with things in the supernatural order, his hope did not abate in consequence of the apparent rigor of the Divine Power.” Do not be troubled,’ he said to me; ‘here is a phial of the oil which burns before the Holy Face of our Lord. We will consider the prayers and unctions of to-day, as the first day of a novena. Anoint your eyes daily yourself, and unite with the prayers which are said here every day between the hours of eleven and two. I will pray for you each day.’ We parted; he permitted me to embrace him. I left Tours that same evening, and at four o’clock in the morning I was in Paris.

“On arriving, I went immediately to bed and slept all morning. I arose quite late. My first thought was to make the unctions and say the prayers indicated by Mr. Dupont. They were ineffectual. It was about half-past ten.

“About noon, as I was on my way to attend to some business affairs, I suddenly felt all the heaviness removed from my eyes, and the sensation of a healthy condition seemed to penetrate the eyelids and brow, which had been habitually so much oppressed. The favor of Heaven had suddenly descended in a full stream, like those rains so long desired, which, when they are the least expected, fall like a blessed dew upon the parched earth. I remembered that prayers were being offered at Mr. Dupont’s at that very hour.

“From that day, my sight was restored. A year has passed, and I have had no return of the malady.

Three or four times I have been conscious of a slight weakness in my eyes, so very slight as not to interrupt my work, or even inconvenience me, to which I would not refer, were it not that I desire to make a perfectly true statement. To relieve these trifles, I have always employed effectually the oil of the Holy Face.”

We have purposely preserved the description and the expressions of the celebrated author. His account is an exact picture of what hundreds of others have seen and felt at Mr. Dupont’s, what others have either told or written to us, with the same conviction and the same faith in the power of God and the merits of his servant.