OUR LADY OF GRACES AND THE BIRTH OF LOUIS XIV
A KING, A QUEEN AND A WHOLE COUNTRY IMPLORE GOD TO GIVE THEM AN HEIR TO THE THRONE.

Married very young in 1615, Louis XIII and Anne of Austria still had no children. The matter became worrying even if only from a political point of view. The Queen prayed continually for an heir. Alas, in 1630 her pregnancy was again no more successful than before. It was said that a miracle was required. The miracle happened after 22 years of marriage, by the intercession of Our Lady of Graces.

Brother Fiacre receives a promise and a request from heaven. : On 27th October 1637, while he was in prayer with his brothers in the chancel, Brother Fiacre had a sudden inner revelation: The Queen should publicly ask that the people make three novenas to the Blessed Virgin, and a son would be granted to her. The first novena at Our Lady of Graces in Provence, the second at Notre Dame de Paris, the cathedral, and the third at Our Lady of Victories, the church of his monastery. In fact, brother Fiacre two years earlier, as a young novice, had received the same inspiration, but with less conviction. Nevertheless, his superiors remained sceptical and refused him permission to speak of it. Unless of course he had proof??
Six days later, on 3rd November towards 2 am, the pious brother in his cell is disturbed from his prayers by the cries of a child. He is astonished and afraid when he finds himself before the Virgin Mary who shows him the crying baby she is holding in her arms. "Don't be afraid, she said, I am the Mother of God, and the baby that you see is the Prince which God wants to give to France." The vision disappeared only to return for a short moment without further words. Two hours later, Mary re-appeared but alone. She said "Dispel any doubts my child in what you have told your confessor. To show you that I want the Queen to make three novenas to me, here is the same picture which is at Our Lady of Graces in Provence, and the appearance of the church." And Brother Fiacre saw the picture in detail as well as the choir where it was placed (as it is today).
Immediately informed, his superiors who, like him, had never been to Cotignac, consulted friends who had made the pilgrimage. The descriptions corresponded exactly. On 5th November, a witness statement was drawn up and signed by the whole Augustinian community, and sent to Cardinal Rouchefoucald as these three novenas had become a matter of State. Soon informed, the Queen began to believe in the heavenly promises transmitted through Brother Fiacre. Her husband also heard of it but the opinion of the Cardinal was the determining factor and he was taking advice. Time passed...
But goaded on by a strong urge, on 8th November 1637 brother Fiacre had already begun the three novenas in the name of the Queen. These finished on the 5th December (the Queen found out) and as it was thus discretely written in the biography of the venerable brother "precisely 9 months before the birth of the future King Louis XIV".
In the first days of February 1638, the Queen felt the child moving inside her, and felt that she must get to know the famous brother Fiacre. The humble monk was thus obliged to go to the Louvre where, embarrassed and moved, he saw the Queen kneel in front of him and thank him. This showed how profoundly Anne of Austria believed in the happy success of her pregnancy. A little later, he was summoned before the King who commanded him and a brother priest to go to Cotignac. On 7th February, the Royal command ordering them to go to Cotignac was received. The King made sure that all that was necessary for the journey was made available to them. At the end of the letter he ordered all the governors and general lieutenants to give the bearers safe and free passage and giving them every favour and assistance which may be required. Brother Fiacre would nevertheless have been ready to make the journey without this.

The Vow of Louis XIII : Since 1635 France had been at war with Spain which was allied to the Empire, and was suffering serious military reverses, so the idea of dedicating the whole country to Our Lady was in the air. Louis XIII himself, pious King, had already outlined various forms of consecration. Counselled by his confessor, father Caussin, in November 1637 a text was at last submitted to Parliament. It was signed by the King on 10th February 1638 and registered as law. It was the famous Vow of Louis XIII (which would be celebrated each year on the feast of the Assumption, the 15th August.) What therefore happened during this period?
Father Caussin, according to his biography, persuaded the King to consecrate France as soon as the Queen's pregnancy was confirmed - in February 1638, the Queen having been pregnant for two months. Also, three days before the 10th February, Louis had just sent to the sanctuary at Cotignac a bare footed Augustinian brother, brother Fiacre (1609 - 1684) with his superior, so that Mass could be celebrated for nine days, according to the Royal Ordinance, so that by the offering of a great sacrifice, it may please God to bless the pregnancy of his spouse, the Queen, which all of France was hoping for, so that it may come to a successful conclusion. The start of the letter mentioned the great help that several pregnant women had received for the successful conclusion to their pregnancies, by the intercession of Our Lady of Graces. As the King and Queen had absolute faith in a happy outcome, it would have been absurd, not to say indecent, to wait further before issuing the famous Vow of Louis XIII, conceived as a thanksgiving. Three days later, the King therefore signed this Consecration dedicating France to Our Lady.
The pregnancy of Anne of Austria was probably the determining factor in the Vow of the 10th February. More importantly, one should say that this Consecration was a veritable act of Christian faith.

Birth of Louis "Dieudonné" : On 5th September 1638 the heir to the throne was born. The royal couple considered him as a grace obtained from Our Lady of Cotignac and named him Louis Dieudonne' (the Godgiven). Louis XIII announced the happy occasion to the ambassadors, saying in his letter: "All that preceded the delivery, the short labour and all the circumstances surrounding the birth of the Dauphin show that this son is given by God through the intercession of the Holy Virgin."
Four and a half years later the King died, naming Anne of Austria Regent of the Realm, which she was until 1661. For her son, then aged 5 years, she wanted a reign enlightened by the Faith. This was shown by the painting which she commissioned at the time, representing the future ideal King, who is shown as kneeling before Our Lady, piously offering her his sceptre and his crown (Which isn't exactly how history will portray the Roi-Soleil or Sun-King). It was Brother Fiacre who, in 1644, was asked to take the picture to be hung in the Sanctuary at Cotignac.

The visit of thanksgiving of Louis XIV and of Anne of Austria to Our Lady of Graces. : The Regent Anne of Austria and King Louis XIV, at the start of his reign, were to have the chance to visit Cotignac. This chance was occasioned by the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees making peace between France and Spain, when the two Kings were to meet on the common frontier. It was Saturday 21st February that the Royal cortege arrived at Cotignac.
The only route for carriages to get to the Sanctuary was from the Montfort road and it needed to be widened. This Louis XIV th route, as it was to be known, was followed by Louis, the Queen and the whole cortege right up to the stairs which also received his name. The young King who was 21 years old, made a gift of his gold ring and his blue sash. History gives us a description: It was a long sash made of sky -blue watered silk which carried the emblems of the prestigious order or the Knights of the Holy Spirit. Louis was a member of the order as were all the members of the Royal Family. It was the following month of June that the second great supernatural event occurred at Cotignac: The apparition of St. Joseph.
On his return to Paris, Louis XIV asked Brother Fiacre to go to Our Lady of Graces and offer, in his name, several copies of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. Brother Fiacre completed his mission in 1661 before completing his pilgrimage to Rome on behalf of Queen Anne who died in 1666. One year later, Louis XIV had a plaque installed in the Sanctuary in memory of his mother, commemorating the fact that he had been given to his people by the vows that Anne of Austria had made in this church. It is still there for all to see.

The death of Brother Fiacre and the gift of his heart : In his turn, on 16th February 1684, brother Fiacre died in the peace of Christ. The news of his death, which appeared in The Mercure of Paris, made big news. One month before his death, brother Fiacre had expressed the following wish, which is typical of the time :
"Very Holy Mary, It was to the church of Our Lady of Graces that I made the first pilgrimage to get a prince for Louis XIII and Anne of Austria who sent me to this holy place to ask for this miracle, after 22 years of marriage without issue. This is why it is to the Holy Virgin (of Cotignac) that I have signed with my purest blood this donation of my heart."

Brother Fiacre - Paris, 1st January 1684 : Knowing that he was going to die, he showed this testament to his rather surprised superior, gave him a letter to be given to the King after his death and assured him that the King would ensure the realisation of his wish. Thus it was. Two weeks after the venerable brother was reunited with God, Louis XIV wrote to the Oratorian fathers of Cotignac to receive the heart of brother Fiacre in their church, where it was in fact placed. Today there only remains the double lead casket which contained it. A plaque shows the place in the left wall where it had been placed.

Main extract of the text of the Vow of Louis XIII, made by the King as a thanksgiving. : The King begins by recalling in a general way the various events in his reign which had been influenced by Heavenly help, such as the division of his political enemies, the protestant rebellion and the foreign wars. Then he declares that, as he is unworthy to thank his Heavenly King himself, he would take as mediatrix of his thanks to God, She who had been the mediatrix of the answers to his prayers. This is why he adds:
"To this end, we have declared and we declare that, taking the very holy and glorious Virgin Mary as special protectress of our kingdom, we particularly consecrate to her our own Self, the State, our Crown and our subjects, and we notify the said Archbishop of Paris and nevertheless order him that every year, on the feast of the Assumption, he should commemorate our present declaration at high mass, which will be said in his cathedral church, and that after that day's vespers, a procession should be made within the said church, which will be attended by all the sovereign companies and corps de ville, with the same ceremonials which are observed for the most solemn general processions. We also wish this to be done in all the churches, both in parishes as well as in monasteries of the said town and suburbs, and in all the towns, market towns and villages of the said diocese of Paris. We similarly exhort the archbishops and bishops of our Kingdom, and nevertheless order them, to have the same solemn celebrations in their Episcopal churches, and others of their dioceses, being understood that at the said ceremony the members of parliament and other sovereign companies, and the principal officers of the towns should be present, and to notify all the people to have a special devotion to the Virgin, on that day to implore her protection, so that, under so powerful a patron, our Kingdom will be protected from all the wiles of our enemies and enjoy a good and lasting peace, that God will be served and revered in such a holy way that we and our subjects may happily reach the final end for which we have all been created, such is our wish."
Given in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the tenth day of February, in the year of grace one thousand six hundred and thirty eight and the 28th of our Reign.

Signed: Louis

Apparitions of Our Lady of Graces
The apparition of St Joseph
To the present day