Pontmain, Prophecy, and Protest

The Author: Cheryl A. Porte, M.S.C. has been an instructor of theology at St. Louis University, Missouri, and at Our Lady of Holy Cross College, New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a Ph.D. in historical theology from St. Louis University and degrees in education and adult faith formation. She has frequently given presentations and retreats on the Virgin Mary, as well as written reviews on Marian literature for various journals.

"Cheryl A. Porte here decodes a popular nineteenth-century apparition of Mary to several French peasant children and its subsequent cult, using contemporary theological and psychological analyses of mystical experience, set within the broader geographic, economic, political, and social context of its time. She thus displays a fascinating and multifaceted picture of popular Marian devotion, much in the tradition of similar studies by Norman Ravitch, Ralph Gibson, and Thomas Kselman, but with a theological depth that is all her own." (Francis W. Nichols, Associate Professor, Department of Theological Studies, Saint Louis University)
"Cheryl A. Porte's work is a very unusual balance of several factors: respect for historical people and events; scholarly objectivity; careful research in a wide variety of sources; lively presentation in straightforward prose; detailed knowledge of the social and political situation; and a determination to study a hot-button historical and theological issue. The product is a remarkably readable account of a major Marian narrative of the nineteenth century. Scholars of religion and especially of Catholicism are in her debt." (William M. Shea, Director, Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts)
"Cheryl A. Porte has produced a stunning piece of historical research that adds distinction to Marian theological scholarship. It is readable, inspirational, and a gift to the Catholic Church today - particularly to those deepening their Marian understanding and searching for resources to assist in enlivening their Marian spirituality." (Carol Stoecklin, R. S. M., Assistant Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Education, University of Detroit-Mercy)