Jean-François Lavère
Chemical engineer by profession, Jean-François Lavère has studied the work of Maria Valtorta for over 30 years. Convinced that the historicity of Maria Valtorta's work could either be demonstrated or found flawed by the many details it contains, he undertook a systematic study of all the details provided by the work. Over several years, he methodically listed the data from the work in various fields (arts, astronomy, fauna and flora, ethnology, geography, geology, history and geopolitics, techniques, metrology, religions, social sciences, …).
Bruno Perrinet, founding president of the Maria Valtorta association and longtime friend, introduces him in the itinerant conferences he gives as follows:"In 2003, Jean-François Lavère tried to convince his wife that Maria Valtorta’s work was not authentic but was invented by a woman with a great imagination. Maria Valtorta was indeed paralyzed, bedridden, how could she specify thousands of details other than by personal invention? Jean-François Lavère therefore undertook a systematic demonstration of the deception of the descriptions. To his great surprise, the more he searched, the more he realized that the details were not only perfectly precise but corresponded to reality.He thus methodically listed, over the years, the data from the work in as varied domains as arts, astronomy, fauna and flora, ethnology, geography, geology, history and geopolitics, techniques, metrology, religions, social sciences, …
His studies today contribute to confirming the supernatural character of the work, attesting to the authenticity of the visions."
Encounter with the work of Maria Valtorta
In the booklet[1] recounting his meeting with Mgr René Laurentin, the latter questions him about the circumstances of this encounter:A little further on, Jean-François Lavère explains his working method illustrated with some examples:"R.L.: When did you start reading Maria Valtorta?
J-F.L.: In 1982 or 1983, on the advice of a priest friend[2]. He strongly recommended this reading to my wife and me. Having already read the work three times, and armed with his doctorate in theology, he was able to confirm its orthodoxy from a doctrinal point of view. Then, he suggested that I adopt a scientific approach to this work, as he had already proposed to the historian Jean Aulagnier[3].
R.L.: But that was a time when you still had a job?
J-F.L.: I was indeed still active at that time. As an engineer, I was a project manager for the construction of turnkey plants. Later I realized that this multidisciplinary activity would be very useful to approach Maria Valtorta’s work in the most objective and methodical way possible.
R.L.: And it is since your retirement that you began this systematic classification and verification of Maria Valtorta?
J-F.L.: I started a little before retirement but not systematically. Since 2004, I have been dedicating four to five hours daily to study.
R.L.: What is the purpose of your research?
J-F.L.: To systematically test the truthfulness of all the material details contained in this work."
"R.L.: Besides chronology, what are your other research axes?
J-F.L.: My goal was to verify all the material data in the work that could be verified. My research is therefore truly multidisciplinary. For example, if a village or a monument is described, I try to find its historical mention or its location if any trace remains today. When Maria Valtorta describes the synagogue of Corozaïn, and says it is black, one can today verify both the existence of this synagogue and that the remains of the archaeological site are basalt, but this was still unknown in 1944!
So, everything that could be verified, I systematically enter into a database. I research the location of all the geographical sites described (there are about 450 in the work); I try to find historical traces of about 750 to 800 characters; I verify the fauna, flora, craftsmanship techniques, Jewish or Roman customs, the plausibility of characters’ movements, coins, units of measurement, even sociocultural references... I aim to verify everything, except what is completely outside my expertise, such as exegesis or medicine."
[...]
R.L.: According to what criteria do you classify all the data studied?
J-F.L.: Depending on the result of the analysis, I assign them a qualifier selected from a list of eight possibilities: Exact; Consistent; Decisive; Possible; Improbable; Illogical; False; Unresolved."
[...]
R.L.: And during your verifications, have you found any errors in this work?
J-F.L.: After verifying more than 8000 pieces of information, I found very few. But as it is a work written by a human hand, it naturally contains some imperfections inherent in human nature. It is easy to distinguish between the words of Jesus, always exact, and the impressions of the author Valtorta which sometimes prove imprecise or inaccurate. Like when she says “on a beautiful winter day,” while the chronology clearly shows the scene takes place in autumn. Moreover, Maria Valtorta is aware of her own limits. For example, estimating the width of the Jordan River at 20 meters, she adds "Do not take my figures as gospel truth"... Or believing she saw a screwdriver, which would be anachronistic, she immediately adds "as it seems to me."
R.L.: Are there other scientific fields in which you have made observations that we have not yet discussed?
J-F.L.: Of course, many other fields! I could mention knowledge of ancient architecture, or of Roman and Hebrew calendars. In the work, the delicate subject of intercalary years, these years of 13 months that allowed resetting the lunar cycle with the solar cycle of the seasons, is mentioned and perfectly taken into account.
One should also mention information related to Jewish customs, such as the presence of ten witnesses (the minyan) during the coming of age examination…
[...]
R.L.: So continue your daily studies on the historicity of Maria Valtorta and publish them as I suggest, in annotated notes on every chronological, archaeological, historical detail… that you continue to find each day."
Work and publications
Articles
- 2010 - series of articles published in "Chrétiens magazine" on Maria Valtorta’s remarkable knowledge. Examples: The Flight into Egypt (Matarea) - Investigation in Phoenicia (Alexandroscène) - Did Maria Valtorta visit Antioch of Syria … in the time of Jesus? - A surprising panorama in the center of Judea - The ascent of Adomin - The Parable of the Mustard Seed - The Nazirite Vow - etc.
- 2018 - he writes for the site Valtorta.fr, 80 short notes, brief articles justifying Maria Valtorta’s remarkable knowledge.
Publications
- 2010 - The Valtorta Enigma, Volume 1. Scientific and historical approach to some major questions, RSI editions, republished in 2017. Translated into Italian and English.
- 2012 - Dictionary of Characters of the Gospel according to Maria Valtorta, in collaboration with René Laurentin - François-Michel Debroise, Salvator editions. Biographical and historical entries of more than 700 characters mentioned by Maria Valtorta.
- 2014 - The Valtorta Enigma, Volume 2, RSI editions, 2014. Scientific and historical approach of The Gospel as it was revealed to me.
- 2017 - Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel according to Maria Valtorta, RSI editions. Descriptive entries of places, monuments, and peoples mentioned in the Work.
- 2017 - Investigation of the events concomitant to the Resurrection of Jesus, a two-part study on the coherence of the four Gospel accounts of the morning of the Resurrection. Freely downloadable: 1) Investigation of the events concomitant to the Resurrection of Jesus (PDF) - 2) Timed analysis of movements (PowerPoint).
- 2021 - Investigation on the dating of the life of Jesus. Illuminated by the study of the Gospels and the writings of Maria Valtorta, CEV editions. A summary booklet of the author's work on the subject.
Works
- 2014 - He is the author of the reconstruction of the face of the suffering Christ based on the Shroud of Turin and the Veil of Veronica (Holy Face by Domenico Fetti). Only three points of overlap were enough for him to obtain this portrait.
- Ongoing: Jean-François Lavère has been working for several years with a team of researchers (theologians, exegete, specialists of the work) on the annotated translation of The Gospel as it was revealed to me and the related dictionary integrating the 24,000 remarkable data recorded to date. Planned publication date: 2030.
Conferences
Jean-François Lavère has given only one public conference.
| 2018 - Tours | |
|---|---|
| The scientific authenticity of The Gospel as it was revealed to me by Maria Valtorta. | |
Notes and references
- ↑ Interview with Monsignor René Laurentin on the Gospel as it was revealed to me by Maria Valtorta.
- ↑ This is Abbé André Richard, co-founder of the magazine "L'Homme nouveau".
- ↑ Polytechnic engineer, author of the first studies on the dating of the life of Jesus based on Maria Valtorta's work.