Pierre Maximin Giraud (26 August 1835 – 1 March 1875) was a French man known for his Marian visionary of

Our Lady of La Salette Our Lady of La Salette () is a Marian apparition reported by two French children, Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat, to have occurred at La Salette-Fallavaux, France, in 1846. On 19 September 1851, the local bishop formally approved the p ...

Early life

Maximin Giraud was born on 26 August 1835, in

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

. His mother, Anne-Marie Templier hailed from the same region. His father, Germain Giraud was from the neighboring district of Trièves."Maximin Giraud", La Salette, Province of Mary, Mother of the Americas
/ref> The mother died leaving Maximin, then 17 months old, and a daughter, Angélique, who was eight years of age. Shortly after, Germain Giraud, a

wheelwright A wheelwright is a Artisan, craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker - as also in shipbuilding, shipwright ...

by trade, remarried Marie Court. His new wife was reportedly not interested in Maximin and even neglected the child. Maximin grew up in haphazard fashion, spending much of his time with carefree abandon in the sole company of his dog and goat as they roamed the streets of Corps en Isère. Attendance at school was not compulsory and so he never attended classes. The same was true with regard to religious instructions. Giraud spoke the

Vivaro-Alpine Vivaro-Alpine () is a variety of Occitan spoken in southeastern France (namely, around the Dauphiné area) and northwestern Italy (the Occitan Valleys of Piedmont and Liguria). There is also a small Vivaro-Alpine enclave in the Guardia Piemontes ...

Bert and Costa (2010: 18). ( Dauphinois) dialect of the

Occitan language Occitan (; ), also known by its native speakers as (; ), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, ...

, like everybody else in town, but he learned a few words of French as he circulated among the wagon-drivers and travelers at the stage coach relays. He was 11 years old in 1846.

Marian apparition

On 19 September 1846, about three o'clock in the afternoon, on a mountain about three miles distant from the village of La Salette-Fallavaux, it is related that two children, a shepherdess of fifteen named Mélanie Calvat, called Mathieu, and a shepherd-boy of eleven named Maximin Giraud, both of them uneducated, beheld in a resplendent light a "beautiful lady" clad in a strange costume. Speaking alternately in French and in patois, she passed a message which they were "to deliver to all her people". After complaining of the impiety of Christians, and threatening them with dreadful chastisements in case they should persevere in evil, she promised them the Divine mercy if they would amend. The lady also said something in secret to each of the children. As she spoke to each in turn, the other could see her lips move, but could not hear what she said. The apparition was approved by Mgr. Philibert de Bruillard,

Bishop of Grenoble The Diocese of Grenoble–Vienne-les-Allobroges (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in south-eastern France. The diocese, erected in the 4th century as the Diocese of Grenoble, comprises the department of Isère and the former ...

16 November 1851 under the title of

."La Salette Apparition", Univ. of Dayton
/ref> Both secrets were written down by the visionaries and sent to the pope in the same year.

Maximin's secret

The edition of 3 July 1851 was reproduced on request of Benjamin Dausse, a friend and trustee of Maximin. A second edition followed on 11 August 1851. A third edition was produced on 5 August 1853 at the request of Jacques-Marie-Achille Ginoulhiac, the new bishop of Grenoble, who was unacquainted with the secret.

Interpretation

Sociologist Michael P. Carroll hypothesizes that the apparition may have grown out of an initial hallucination, shaped by an unconscious desire on the part of Maximin to punish his step-mother for mistreating him. Indications that Maximin may have on occasion gone hungry would be reflected in the predicted punishments relating to famine. Both Melanie's and Maximin's initial impression of the weeping woman was that of a possible victim of domestic violence. In one interview, Maximin said that he thought of a woman "whose son had beaten her and then left her".

Life after the apparition

During the three years following the apparition, his half-brother Jean-François, his stepmother and his father died. His mother's brother, called ''oncle Templier'', became Maximin's guardian. After the apparition, he was placed as a boarder in the Sisters of Providence School in Corps en Isère, where an inquiry concerning the apparition took place. His progress in school was slow, hampered by constant pressure from pilgrims and other curious people. The children never contradicted the story of the apparition, despite being interrogated separately. Giraud went to Ars to meet Saint Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney three times, and was questioned by him about the apparitions. Giraud reportedly did not enjoy the visit but did enjoy the ride and the chance to see new sights. Due to the malice of an assistant priest of Vianney, a misunderstanding arose, which only after eight years was resolved and the Curé once again confirmed his belief in the apparitions. Afterwards, Maximin moved from place to place. He entered the Minor Seminary of Rondeau in

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, afterwards moving to the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

of the

Grande Chartreuse Grande Chartreuse () is the head monastery of the Carthusian religious order. It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, north of the city of Grenoble, in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse (Isère), France. History Originally, the c ...

. From there, he travelled to Seyssin, and then to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and thence to

Dax The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...

Aire-sur-l'Adour Aire-sur-l'Adour (; or simply , before 1962: ''Aire'')Déc ...

and

Le Vésinet Le Vésinet () is a suburban Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of western Paris, from ...

, then to Tonnerre, to Jouy-en-Josas near

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, and finally

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Maximin tried his

vocation A vocation () is an Work (human activity), occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity. ...

as a seminarian, and after that, he worked as a nursing-home

employee Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

and a medical student. Failing the state examinations, he went to work in a pharmacy. In 1865, the Marquise de Pignerolles gave him a trip to Rome, where in April, Maximin enlisted as member of the

of Papal Zouaves, who were responsible for the defense of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

and the protection of the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. Because of his time at the Paris Medical School, in 1862 he was assigned to the Health Service as a nurse. His time in the Zouaves combined a religious element, with his interest in the military, and his medical training, in an atmosphere of camaraderie. While there, he worked on his memoirs, an account requested by Madame Jourdain. In his subsequent writings, Giraud noted with pride his service with the Zouaves. Giraud saw no major battles and after his enlistment ended, he returned to Paris. The newspaper '' La Vie Parisienne'' published an attack on la Salette and the two children. Giraud protested and the newspaper printed a correction. In reaction towards this, in 1866 he published a short work called ''Ma profession de foi sur l'apparition de Notre-Dame de La Salette''.Borrelli, Antonio. "Maximin Giraud", ''Santi Beati'', April 6, 2006
/ref> It was during this time that the Jourdain family, a couple devoted to him, brought a measure of stability into his life, and, at financial risk to themselves, cleared his debts. In 1869, Giraud then entered into a partnership with a liquor dealer who used his now-famous name to increase sales. Giraud was fraudulently abused by him and failed to profit from the association. In 1870 he was drafted by the Imperial Army and assigned to Fort Barrau in Grenoble. Following this he returned to Corps and was joined there by the Jourdains. The three were poor but were helped by the fathers of the shrine with the approval of the bishop. In November 1874 Giraud made a pilgrimage to the shrine. In the presence of an audience, he repeated the story of La Salette as he had done on the very first day. This would be the last time he would do so. In February 1875 he visited the parish church, also for the last time.

Death

On the evening of 1 March 1875, Giraud received the sacrament of Penance and Holy Communion, made his last Confession and drank the La Salette holy water to swallow the Eucharist. Shortly thereafter he died, not yet 40."Witnesses: Melanie and Maximin", Notre Dame de La Salette
/ref> His remains lie in the cemetery of

. He wanted to underscore once again his love for La Salette and solemnly proclaimed:

References

Bibliography

* Bert, Michael, James Costa. 2010.
Linguistic borders, language revitalisation and the imagining of new regional entities

(Newcastle upon Tyne, 8–9 January 2010), 18. * Rousselot, Pierre Joseph. 1848. ''La verité sur l'événement de La Salette du 19 September 1846 ou rapport à Mgr l'évêque de Grenoble sur l'apparition de la Sainte Vierge à deux petits bergers sur la montagne de La Salette, canton de Corps (Isère)''. Grenoble: Baratier. * Rousselot, Pierre Joseph. 1850. ''Nouveaux documents''. Grenoble: Baratier. * Rousselot, Pierre Joseph. 1853. ''Un nouveau Sanctuaire à Marie, ou Conclusion de l'affaire de La Salette''. Grenoble: Baratier. * Giraud, Maximin. 1866. ''Ma profession de foi sur l'apparition de Notre-Dame de La Salette''. (1st edition.) Paris: Charpentier. * Giraud, Maximin.

866 __NOTOC__ Year 866 ( DCCCLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * April 21 – Bardas, the regent of the Byzantine Empire, is murdered by Basil the Macedonian at Miletu ...

1870. ''Ma profession de foi sur l'apparition de Notre-Dame de La Salette''. (Reprint.) Paris: Charpentier. * Giraud, Maximin.

1873. ''Ma profession de foi sur l'apparition de Notre-Dame de La Salette''. (Reprint.) Paris: Charpentier. * Roullet, Hervé, ''L'apparition de la Vierge Marie à La Salette. Marie réconciliatrice. Les vies de Mélanie Calvat et Maximin Giraud. Actualité des secrets'', Roullet Hervé, Dif. AVM, Paris, 2021. See in particular Chapters II, XII and XIII.

External links

La Salette at www.christ-roi.net (French).

Borrelli, Antonio and Flocchini, Emilia. "Maximin Giraud", ''Santi e Beati'', September 14, 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giraud, Maximin 1835 births 1875 deaths People from Isère French Roman Catholics Papal Zouaves Marian visionaries Our Lady of La Salette