On 3 February 1822, a Eucharistic Miracle a took place in the chapel of the Association of the Holy
Family in Bordeaux – an Association that was still very much in its infancy. Since the Founder was
unable to give the blessings and he requested Fr. Delort, formerly Priest in charge of the Parish of
Barie and then retired in the parish of St. Eulalie, Bordeaux, was asked by Fr. Noailles to give
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the House of the Ladies of Loreto.

Scarcely had he exposed the Blessed Sacrament on the altar when the Sacred Species moved slightly
and the bust and head of Our Lord, surrounded by a brilliant halo, were distinctly seen. They were
encircled by the rays of the monstrance like a portrait in its frame, with this difference- that the
person was alive. His face was of dazzling brightness and represented a young man of about thirty,
exceptionally beautiful. He had fair hair, which fell in ringlets on to his shoulders, he wore a red
scarf; his left hand rested on his heart and his right was stretched out towards the people who were
in the chapel. He bowed from time to time and seemed then to detach himself from the circle of the
monstrance, which appeared bigger than usual. He had a kind of luminous diamond on each
shoulder and one would have said that the Chapel was lighted up by brilliant lights.
Amongst the people present, some were absorbed in deep contemplation, others wept tears of joy,
love and gratitude; several could not contain their sentiments of fervour.

This miraculous apparition continued during the hymn of the Blessed Sacrament, Domine Salvum
Fac, the prayers, canticle and up to the blessing, that is to say, twenty minutes.
Of the twenty-one persons probably present in the chapel (plus those unknown), fourteen testified.
Sr. Marie Louise Françoise Peychaud, who did not see the apparition, but had her eyes closed in
deep prayer, heard these words in her heart.

I am the One who is and there is no other.
Honour and the esteem of creatures are but smoke
and I am the One who is.
Their friendship is but dust
and I am the One who is.
wealth and pleasure are but mud
and I am the One who is
and there I no other.

These words set the seal on Pierre Bienvenu’s motto: God Alone!

Pierre Bienvenu Noailles experienced deep joy at this event. In a letter to the Vicar General he
writes, “I believe in the reality of the wonder which I did not have the happiness to witness and I
am not the only one convinced by these testimonies. Many highly respected priests and pious
persons give it as much credence as I do, even though they have not had the same opportunity as
I of listening to the witnesses, whose simplicity and fervour are most impressive”. 

The Apparition of 1822 was therefore consistent with all that Pierre Bienvenu Noailles had
hitherto lived. He was in no doubt. “It is unquestionable proof that the Holy Family is the work
of God”, he wrote to Fr. Gouffret. From it he drew new strength to go forward, strength from
which the whole Association would benefit, from generation to generation.
The Archbishop d’Aviau of Bordeaux issued a decree in 1823, repeated in 1825, in which he
granted the Sisters permission to commemorate “the favour they had received on Septuagesima
Sunday from our Divine Saviour”; (Eucharistic Miracle, Peyrous)