Holy Dress: Our Lady of La Salette
The Symbolism in Our Lady's apparition
As a fashion designer, one of my favorite aspects of apparitions and miraculous images has been, what is she wearing? Typically, it’s a variation of her traditional robe, mantle, and veil. But once in a while, she leaves us with a different image to remember her by.
“. . .they saw a woman seated on some stones which surrounded the bed of a dried stream. Her elbows rested on her knees, her face was buried in her hands, and she wept.
The children were frightened and did not know what to do, when the Lady arose and in the sweetest of tones, said:
“Come near, my children; do not be afraid. I am here to tell you great news.”
The children obeyed and when they were close, they saw that the woman’s countenance was of rare beauty, though her eyes were filled with tears. They saw that her shoes were sparkling white, the buckles on them were square and golden. Encircling the soles were tiny roses which did not crush as she stood on the tips of the blades of grass. Her apron was golden and it reached to the bottom of her full white dress. Her arms folded before her were concealed within broad straight sleeves which reached beyond her fingertips. Along the border of her plain white kerchief crossed on her breast, ran many-colored roses both large and small, and besides these was a flat, thin gold chain about an inch in breadth. . . .Her headdress was white and above it, a royal diadem wreathed with roses of many hues glittered, while on her bosom rested a golden crucifix, with the pincers and hammer of the Passion. Her majestic beauty was ravishing; her face exceedingly beautiful – yet profoundly sad. It was not earthly.
- Roman Catholic Saints
Most of us are probably familiar with the sorrowful apparition of Our Lady at La Salette, the only one I know of off-hand where she wept. So, too, is it memorable for unusual dress. Why?
I didn’t put that question until I started writing this post, but doesn’t it seem strange that she would deviate so far from her traditional outfit? There must be a reason behind the different dress here. My thoughts below may not be the definite intention of any of it, but may help.
We’ve always associated roses with Mary, being the queen of the flowers, and thus the most fitting for Mary, who herself is the Mystic Rose. Seeing them here is no surprise, perhaps God being full of love for His Mother, Daughter, and Spouse, that He gladly places roses all around her, even under her feet; and perhaps too, He did so for how fond His children are of Mary as the Queen of Roses.
Another detail which other accounts add, is that her dress was covered with pearls. Pearls are a symbol of purity and innocence, and remind at once of the “pearl of great price” which is Heaven.
While unusual in design, the crucifix isn’t necessarily startling, though I can’t think of many apparitions where Our Lady appeared with a crucifix. Combined with her tears, it clashes with the beauty of her dress, a full-stop in the middle of beauty to remember the sorrow of the most beautiful love ever given - that of Christ on the Cross.
These may be easy to understand, but what of the actual style?
If we consider that her clothing could fill a similar role to that of medieval stained glass, the symbolism of each could connect to her message. Let’s begin with the colors.
White symbolizes purity and innocence, a color commonly worn by Our Lady. Gold speaks of royalty, and is considered to represent compassion, love, and wisdom, all fitting for the Mother who brings a message to her children.
The apron brings to mind the image of housewife and mother, and Mary’s precious time as both, serving God in her vocation in the home in humility and love. Now her work is to be a mother, the mother, to all of God’s children! She puts in so much effort, repeating her warnings and encouragement to us, striving to draw us to repentance, reparation, love, and holiness. I think this is another detail that would make the children feel more at home with her, something they’d be so used to seeing their mother, and other mothers, wearing.
The kerchief/shawl may be similar. At least for me, I tend to associate shawls with motherly figures, though in these times it tends to be a more luxurious accessory for special occasions, or more casual ones are occasionally styled for winter wear. Mary, however, wouldn’t have been cold, so I like the motherly image here. I don’t tend to picture queens from throughout history as wearing shawls, so despite the overall regal-tone of her dress, I don’t think it corresponds to today’s association.
The crown, however, is the opposite. Not one of Our Lady’s frequented accessories, crafted of roses and light, it symbolizes her unearthly queenship, her soul “full of grace,” and her rank.
The satin cap is another striking element. Once again, I can’t recall another apparition or miraculous image in which Our Lady is wearing a hat of any type (if you know of one, please comment below!). According to Bellatory,
“During the 19th century, women of Western Europe and North America always wore head coverings outdoors or in public. Women kept their hair covered due to modesty, tradition, religious beliefs, personal decoration, and protection from the elements.”
Yet this wouldn’t seem a reason to swap the veil for a cap. I’m still puzzled as to what the possible reason might be, other than the fact that a veil could have been too much visually with the rest of the garb, or simply to align herself with her children? What do you think? I don’t have any ideas about the buckled shoes, either, which sound very pretty, and not something I would have pictured her wearing.
Still the chains might be the most puzzling detail! Usually they call to mind slavery and the bonds of sin, which Christ broke. Why would Our Lady be draped in them? It doesn’t seem to make sense, but my first thought here is of the tradition, per St. Louis de Montfort, of wearing a chain necklace or bracelet after making the Total Consecration to Our Lady.1
Perhaps Mary intended this connotation to be brought to mind. This tradition had been started over a hundred years before, so surely it would have jogged the memory of some. At any rate, the Total Consecration has been considered one of the quickest, if not the quickest, routes to sanctity, to Jesus through Mary; surely our Mother would be happy to have such an important devotion thought of.
Together, I think all of these details paint the portrait of a Mother who is also Queen - but in the words of St. Therese, she is “more Mother than Queen.”
For the love of so good a Mother, let’s do our best to dry her tears each day.
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