On September 14, 1226, the Society of the Grey Penitents was founded by King Louis VIII of France. The goal of this society was to atone for the offenses to God caused by the Albigensian heresy, which, among other things, denied the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist.

To honor Our Lord and inspire devotion in his people, King Louis held a grand procession, in which the Blessed Sacrament was carried to a chapel where it remained exposed for public adoration. The king himself made daily visits to the Eucharist, which led to his subjects forming the Confraternity of Perpetual Adoration. This holy practice was carried out faithfully and without interruption for three hundred years.

The chapel of the Grey Penitents was located in Avignon. This city rests on the river Rhone, and not far from it are the Durance and Vaucluse Rivers. As such, terrible floods often occurred when heavy rains swelled all three rivers.

The year 1433 brought a flood which the people would never forget. The entire city was submerged, and the waters reached as far as the chapel. Rushing to save the Eucharist, the Confraternity officials traveled by rowboat to the church.

They were not prepared for what they saw when they arrived...

The historical account of the event is as follows:

"A wonderful miracle occurred in this chapel in the year 1433, as the waters of the flood reached the chapel. The flood was at its highest on Monday morning, the 29th of November. The water had reached the upper part of the altar, but though all the valuable papers and documents, books, vestments and linens were stored away under the altar, not one drop of water had touched them, everything being perfectly dry.

"On Wednesday the waters began to recede and by Thursday the people could again enter the church. Armand and Jean de Pussilliac, the wardens of the church, found that the water stood four feet high along the side of the building. The pews along the wall were water-soaked, whilst those in the front in the middle aisle were perfectly dry. No water had entered the room where the grey habits were stored away. Twelve witnesses were called and these called in twelve additional witnesses, three of whom were doctors of theology, and all averred that a stupendous miracle had taken place on the spot."

Deeply grateful for such an incredible sign of God’s power and love, the awe-struck people renewed their whole-hearted devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. And every year, on November 29th, the Grey Penitents celebrated, with deep gratitude and love, the anniversary of the miraculous protection for their chapel.