Pope Leo XIV has appointed Cardinal Robert Sarah as his special envoy for the celebrations taking place in France commemorating the 400th anniversary of the apparitions of St. Anne to the Breton peasant Yvon Nicolazic.
FIND THE POPE’S BIOGRAPHY HERE
The Vatican stated that, as the papal special envoy, the prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments will preside over “the liturgical celebrations to be held July 25-26 at the Shrine of Sainte-Anne-d’Auray, Diocese of Vannes (France), on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the apparitions of St. Anne to the Breton peasant Yvon Nicolazic.”
In the early 1620s, Nicolazic experienced a vision of a radiant lady, later identified as St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She reportedly instructed him to rebuild a long-lost chapel dedicated to her on his land.
On its website, the Sainte-Anne-d’Auray Shrine states that this happened on July 25, 1624, the eve of the feast of St. Anne.
“The next 7th of March, following St. Anne’s call, Yvon Nicolazic discovered a statue of St. Anne in the ruins of a chapel in his field at Bocenno. It was the sign giving proof of the truth of the apparitions,” the website adds.
The shrine notes that “from that day forward, pilgrims came in droves to this place then called “Keranna,” or “the village of Anne,” proving that St. Anne was honored in this place even before the apparitions, a fact borne out by the presence of the old chapel stones among which the statue was found.”
The shrine notes that after four centuries, the pilgrimages “retain their vitality.” St. John Paul II visited the Shrine of Sainte-Anne d’Auray on Sept. 20, 1996.
As part of the fourth centenary of the apparitions, the shrine is also celebrating its jubilee year, holding a series of devotional and academic activities.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER HERE
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
