Eugène Barbedette, the first to see the Beautiful Lady and her wondrous smile on the evening of 17th January 1871, was always very reserved about this event. Deeply humble, he remained true to his line of conduct, never speaking about the Apparition unless through duty or obedience, never during the Little Seminary, nor during his theological studies, nor in the different ministries which were conferred upon him.

Very attached to his duty, he enlightened each of the parishes he passed through. He was vicar at Renazé and at Our Lady of Laval, priest at Peuton then at Châtillon-sur-Colmont where he died on 2nd May 1927 having spent seventeen years of his ministry there. He is buried in the cemetery of Châtillon-sur-Colmont.

Joseph Barbedette was ten years old at the time of the Apparition. A little later he entered the Small Seminary of Mayenne, then the Large Seminary of Laval. Called to a life of religion, he became an Oblate of Mary Immaculate and was involved in the Pontmain pilgrimage. A novice at St.Gerlach near Maästricht in Belgium, he was then sent to Our Lady of Sion near Nancy where he was in charge of the bursar’s office and was responsible for the “Frères coadjuteurs.”
He came to Pontmain to rest for several months and that was where he wrote the account of his vision for his Superior. Sent to the diocese of Bordeaux, he occupied the post of parish priest’s vicar at Our Lady of Talence. Later, nominated as Superior and master of novices at Bestin in Belgium, he founded an orphanage.
In 1906 be returned to the Mayenne as a missionary at Château-Gontier. He settled in Laval and was then sent to the parish of Vautorte, St Pierre sur Erve and finally Boulay. Stricken by illness, he returned to Pontmain on 15th July 1929 and he died there on 3rd November 1930. He is buried in the cemetery of Pontmain in the family vault, at his own request, near the vault of the Oblate Fathers.

Françoise Richer. She remained as she had been at the moment of the Apparition, a deeply
Christian soul who carried out her daily tasks with the aim of pleasing God and the Virgin
Mary. She earned her livelihood first as a domestic servant and later worked in several small
country schools.
In about 1900 she came to work as house-keeper to Father Eugène Barbedette in his presbytery in Peuton and then at Châtillon-sur-Colmont where she spent the last fifteen years of her life, leaving behind her a reputation as a humble and exemplary Christian. She died on 28th March 1915, suffering greatly but not in agony. When she had breathed her last breath her face became peaceful again and she seemed to be sleeping. Like Father Eugène Barbedette, she was buried in the cemetery of Châtillon-sur-Colmont.

Jeanne-Marie Lebossé. Helped by the Oblate Order, she entered into the Holy Family of Bordeaux with the aim of becoming a teaching nun. On 8th September 1881 she took the habit and was given the name of Sister Saint-André. From 1903 to 1909 she lived in Belgium before going to the retirement home in Bordeaux to take on the management of the sacristy,
which she did with joy and humility. The things that set her apart were her unaffected humility, her discreet but devoted sense of compassion, her kind expression and her smile.
She carried out all sorts of manual work for her community and her talents as an artist were often called upon. She was paralysed for the last ten years of her life and in March 1933 she lost her physical capacities altogether. She gave up her soul to God on 12th December 1933. She is buried in her community’s sepulchre in the central cemetery in Bordeaux.