Autobiography of Estelle

Below is a summary of her life, accompanied by audio extracts from her autobiography “Estelle nous parle”.

Estelle Faguette was born in Champagne, in Saint-Memmie, a suburb of present-day Châlons-sur-Marne. Her parents, small innkeepers, were ill-advised and soon ruined. From an early age, two traits characterized her spiritual life: a great love of the Blessed Virgin, and a concern for the poorest. At the age of 14, she followed her parents to Paris, living in a poor apartment on rue d’Estrèe, in the Gros-Caillou district. She was received as a Child of Mary by the Sisters of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.

At the age of 17, on September 15, 1860, she entered the Augustines de l’Hotel-Dieu de Paris. She wanted to become a nursing sister. She stayed for three years, and was very happy.

Following a bad fall, it became clear that her knee could not be healed: Estelle had to leave religious life and return to her family.

To support her family, Estelle looked for work: thanks to a chance meeting, she entered the service of Mme de La Rochefoucauld, duchess of Estissac, as a dressmaker. In her spare time, she took care of the sick in her neighbourhood. When her sister died, she was entrusted with the upbringing of her two children.  In 1865, she was hired by Countess Arthur de La Rochefoucauld to look after her children, and moved to the Château de Poiriers in Pellevoisin.

No sooner had she arrived at Poiriers than she contracted acute peritonitis, from which she recovered thanks to the intervention of the Countess de La Rochefoucauld.

A more peaceful period followed, with Estelle following the Countess between Paris and Pellevoisin, looking after the children and caring for the sick day and night. However, she endured the insults and malice of the chef, until the truth came out and he was dismissed by the Countess.

In June 1875, a new crisis struck: the doctor declared that, in addition to peritonitis, Estelle had tuberculosis and a tumour the size of an orange on her left groin. Her life was considered to be in danger. She would no longer be able to care for the family’s children. She was isolated in a room in the château and suffered from loneliness. It was then that she wrote her letter to the Virgin Mary. Her condition worsened, and the Count and Countess decided to transfer her to a small house in the village of Pellevoisin, where she would be able to bring her parents.

On February 14, 1876, Estelle was at the end of her tether: the doctor thought she had only four or five hours to live. At midnight, the Virgin Mary appeared to her for the first time, driving away the devil who had come to torment her. She told her that “If my son gives you back your life, I want you to publish my Glory”. She returned the following four nights, telling her that she would be healed on Saturday, urging her to keep up her courage and reassuring her.

As the Virgin Mary left Estelle at the end of the 5th apparition, she first felt a strong pain, stronger than during her illness. She offered her suffering to God. Finally, she felt as if life-giving blood was irrigating her body: she knew she was cured. Her father, who had been watching over her, asked her if she was all right and if she wanted a drink. She asked for beer, then broth.

Ten further apparitions took place between July and December 1876. During some, the Virgin Mary remained silent. Throughout these apparitions, she continued to exhort Estelle to be courageous, calm and confident, and warned her that she would encounter opposition. She showed her the scapular she wore, and asked her to spread, as it was a devotion she liked. She complained about the behaviour of France and the Church. At the last apparition, she sent down a shower of graces from her hands.

At the Virgin Mary’s request, Estelle met the bishop of Bourges, Monseigneur de le Tour d’Auvergne, on December 10, to present the scapular she had made and tell him about the apparitions. The following January, Monseigneur de la Tour d’Auvergne ordered an investigation into Estelle’s illness and recovery.

In May 1877, Abbé Salmon, parish priest of Pellevoisin and Estelle’s confessor, travelled to Rome with Monseigneur de la Tour d’Auvergne, and submitted the project for a confraternity, canonically erected under the title of “All merciful Mother”.

In January 1900, Estelle was received by Pope Leo XIII and presented him with the scapular of the Sacred Heart, which was approved by the Sacred Congregation of Rites the following April.

She was to face many contradictions and slanderous comments, as the Virgin Mary had foretold, notably from Bishop Servonnet, who halted the third canonical inquiry in progress, and forbade access to the chapel of apparitions in July 1905, in the context of the law separating church and state.

After the resumption of pilgrimages in 1910, Estelle continued to live peacefully in Pellevoisin, close to the Dominican monastery that had guarded the site of the apparitions since 1893.

In 1922, she assisted her parish priest, Abbé Salmon, who died after confirming his belief in the apparitions in his will.

A few years before her death, she herself maintained her declarations, kneeling before the Archbishop of Bourges. She died aged 86 on August 23, 1929.