Thursday, February 12, 1981, Châteauneuf-de-Galaure. A grand funeral took place in this small town in southeastern France, which comprised just over 1,000 inhabitants at the time. Some 200 priests, four bishops, one archbishop and more than 5,000 others gathered at the Saint-Bonnet cemetery. On February 14 that year, Le Monde reported on the unusual crowd that gathered around a modest family tomb. That day, a woman whose reputation reached far beyond the local community was laid to rest, one whom many revered: Marthe Robin (1902-1981).

The story of this farmer's daughter, who was struck by a severe illness in her youth, is all the more extraordinary because she spent her entire life bedridden, never leaving her room in the family farm, located in the hamlet of Moïlles, about 2 kilometers from town. There, curled up on the tiny divan that served as her bed and supported her paralyzed body, with legs tucked under her, she received tens of thousands of visitors from the 1930s until her death – 103,000 in total, according to her diaries – who sought her compassionate ear and advice.

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