Our Lady of Laus: the oil that does wonders

A stone's throw away, only a few tens of kilometers from the border with Piedmont, on the Maritime Alps of the Dauphiné, there is a sanctuary wrapped in mysterious perfumes. It is the sanctuary of Notre Dame of Laus where, for fifty-four years, the Madonna chose a poor shepherdess of the place, rough and illiterate, Benedetta Rencurel, educated her little by little to faith to make it an extraordinary instrument of divine grace.
That of Notre Dame de Laus is a spiritual message of deep hope addressed to all humanity, which deserves to be known and appreciated more than it has been to date. In fact, not only did Lourdes appear in Lourdes, but on French territory this happened much earlier, in the years from 1647 until 1718, when the human and spiritual adventure of the visionary of Laus ended here on earth, to open up to the infinite spaces of Heaven.
Benedetta Rencurel was a 16-year-old shepherdess when in May 1664 she had the first apparition of the Madonna, above the village of St. Etienne, in a place called Vallone dei forni, holding a beautiful baby by the hand.
To that apparition soon others are added, but all silent. Maria doesn't speak, doesn't say anything. It almost seems like his, a precise "pedagogy", aimed at educating, through the spiritual strategy of small steps, a crude and ignorant shepherdess.
Gradually, a little at a time, the beautiful lady becomes familiar with Benedetta and involves her in questions and answers, guides, comforts, reassures her, asks her to do something for her, helps her to better understand others and to love God more.
Although urged by the beautiful lady to become even more humble, the young seer cannot hide for much longer what is happening to her. Soon the authorities are also involved and demand explanations. Our Lady, because it is now clear that she is of the Virgin Mary, she asks for a procession of all the people at the Vallon des Fours and at the point of arrival she finally reveals her name: "My name is Maria!", To then add: "Not I will reappear for a while! ”.
In fact, it will take about a month for it to reappear again, this time at Pindreau. He has a message for Benedetta: “My daughter, go up the Laus coast. There you will find a chapel where you will smell violet. "
The next day Benedetta sets off in search of this place and discovers, from the promised perfumes, the small chapel dedicated to Notre Dame de la Bonne Rencontre. Benedetta opens the portal with trepidation and finds the Mother of the Lord waiting for her above the dusty altar. In fact, the chapel is deserted and rather abandoned. "I wish to build a larger church here in honor of my beloved Son," Maria announces. “It will be the place of conversion for numerous sinners. And it will be the place where I will appear to you very often. "
The apparitions at Laus lasted fifty-four years: in the first months they occurred every day, then they were almost monthly. Thousands of pilgrims begin to rush to the Laus. A devotion that never stopped and survived many ups and downs, such as the fury of the French Revolution and the suppression of the diocese of Embrun.
The sanctuary of Notre Dame de Laus (in the Occitan language "Our Lady of the Lake") still preserves the primitive chapel inside, called de La Bonne Rencontre, where the Virgin appeared to Benoîte Rencurel. In the apse of the chapel, in front of the tabernacle of the high altar, the lamp burns in whose oil the pilgrims use to dip the fingers of the right hand to devoutly make the sign of the cross.
In small vials this same oil is then sent to all the countries of France and everywhere in the world the cult of Our Lady of Laus is widespread. It is an oil with marvelous abilities. As Our Lady had promised to her seer, if it had been used with a profound attitude of faith towards the omnipotence of her Son, it would have produced prodigious healings not only physical but also spiritual, as in fact has happened punctually for over two centuries.
A long series of bishops have recognized the supernaturality of the apparition by encouraging pilgrimages to the sanctuary. The Madonna appeared in that part of France also wanted to leave a tangible sign of her loving presence in that blessed place: a very sweet perfume.
Anyone who climbs to Laus can feel these mysterious scents with their noses, which give everyone spiritual consolation and a profound inner serenity.
Laus perfumes are an inexplicable phenomenon, which science has tried to explain but without actually managing anything. It is a bit 'the mystery and charm of this Marian citadel nestled on a lonely plateau in the French Alps, which attracts a large number of pilgrims from all over the world every year.