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No Proof of Val Dor Miracles”—Bishops, Pastoral LetterAmos. Que.—Following an investi-Stion by a special board of inquiry, Most Rev. Joseph A. Desmarais, Bishop of Amos, has declared “there is no proof in the case of Pierrette RegimbaldHe was referring to the 18-year-old girl of Vai D'Or Quebec, whose claims of visions of St. Francis of Assisi have been widely publicised in Canada and the United States.Bishop Demands' declaration was made on the feast of St Francis, Oct 4. in a pastoral letter to be read in all churches of the diocese. Vai D'Or is in Amos diocese.Text of PastoralThe letter follows:“Beloved brethren: A little girl of our diocese, Pierrette Regimbald of Val D'Or, had for a few weeks past drawn upon her, and retained the attention of the public.“Thousands of persons in the English-speaking provinces and in the United States, as well as in the Province of Quebec, have lent a credulous ear to certain mis-informed news publications which have published strange reports on the child's pretentions and the behavior of her entourage.“Apparitions have been spoken of, in this case St. Francis of Assisi; people have cried ’miracle' about a grotto, wholly built without authorisation; comparisons have gone so far as to compare the girl to Bernadette of Lourdes and the children of Fatima. We esteem that it was, in truth, according her too great an honor.“If we have abstained ourselves from speaking sooner to put our faithful on guard against the sensational publicity which has been made concerning this affair, it is that we have ourselves feared to appear attaching too much importance to the rumors, facts and activities of Pierrette Regimbald, which we had reason to believe devoid of all foundation.Counsels Prudence“In collaboration with the parish priest of Val D'Or we have deemed it necessary to counsel prudence and we have done our utmost to avoid expense and useless trips for persons who declared themselves ready to come great distances to the grotto to beg their cure, while others wrote asking that water from the well spring be sent to them that they be cured in the home.“During this time the girl received hundreds of letters, had her receiving hours at home, distributed relics which she claimed to be ‘blessed by St. Francis!' This, when she was not travelling to Amos, or to Montreal in order to consult her director, visit the sick and to organise her centre of pilgrimage.“Evidently all this goes without comment. Whatever the case may be, it is undeniable that the public opinion has been deeply stirred, so much so that hundreds of persons, coming from many parts, have hurried to the grotto without even taking the precaution to seek the attitude of the religious authority in such a circumstance.“These facts before us, desirous toIn Dulci JubiloAN a day, it was the eve of tht Feast of the Holy Angels, the Servant was in great distres of mind and body, when he heard a heavenly song sung as it seemed by an invisible choir of angels, and straightway his distress was forgotten, and a voice said: “As thou aost rejoice in the song we have sung, so too we in thy Bong of the Eternal Wisdom, and this song of ours is that which will be sung by the chosen on the day of judgment. On the next day, it being the feast itself, while he was meditating on what he had heard, there appeared to the Servant a radiant youth of noblest bearing with others his fellows, of whom he was the princely leader. And this youth came right graciously to him and told him that they had been sent by God to bring him happiness in his suffering. And he took the Servant by the hand and bade him join their dance. Then the youth sang to him a merry carol of the infant Jesus, which runs:In dulci jubiloSing ye, and gladness show!See our bliss reclining In praesepio,The very sun outshining Matris in gremio Qui Alpha es et O,Qui Alpha ob et O,0 Jesu parvule,1 yearn for thee alway:Grant my heart may hold Thee, 0 puer optime!Through her that did enfold Thee, Pnnceps gloriae Trahe me post te,Trahe me post te,Ubi sunt gaudia?If not in Heaven afar,There where birds go singing Nova cantica,And there where bells go ringing In regis curia Eia qualia Eia qualiaMater et filia la maiden Maria Doomed were we sore stained Per nostra crimina Till she for us regained Coelorum gaudia O quanta gratia O quanta gratia!and the youth made a three-fold repe-trnorr of the words: Ergo merito, etc. Thus was the song received by the Servant of the Eternal Wisdom, from whom it has been handed down to us.—B. Henry Suao, O.P. (1300-1866).enlighten the public opinion on this matter, we decided to appoint a board of inquiry, whose conclusion permits us to declare the following:_ “The inquiry on the alleged apparitions and miraculous cures at vil D’Or terminated, *ve believe it opportune to make public herewith, through the present letter, the statement following:“There is no proof in the case of Pierrette Regimbald.“Let this circular be read from the' pulpit at all Masses on the Sunday following its reception.
Newspaper Details
Adelaide Southern Cross
Adelaide, South Australia, AU
Fri, Jan 04, 1946
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Richard L.
CA 20 Oct 2022
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