Our Mission
Shrine
of Our Lady of La Salette Program Center offers educational and
spiritual services in a professional manner to the People of God.
We work with small and large groups using the dynamics of the learning
situation to help persons become informed in their Christian
convictions. Community experience is a vital technique in
formation. All of our programs are informally structured and seek
to build a sense of community and hospitality among
participants. People of all faiths are welcome.
In addition to our Shrine programming, some of which is scheduled with the diocesan offices and renewal movements within the Church, we host pilgrimages and programs for other groups, inc. civic and ecumenical. Group food service of either a light lunch or a pasta dinner is available by pre-arrangement for a nominal fee. Please contact the La Salette Shrine Program Center for further details.
Our Lady of La Salette Chapel
The Shrine Chapel has a character that fits the setting: its rustic
simplicity mirrors the simple and quiet beauty of the surrounding
countryside and Lake Mascoma.
Wagon wheel lighting reminds all
pilgrims that the life journey they are on is slow and steady and that
God is calling us forward.
The old wooden pews provide just enough comfort to prevent our minds from wandering but not enough to distract us from the journey.
Gift Shop ~ 603-632-4301
Manager - Brother David Carignan, MS
Hours for Mothers' Day thru December 1st
Weekdays 10:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Weekends 10:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Hours for Christmas Season (December)
Weekdays 1:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m.
Weekends 12 Noon- 9:00 p.m.
Hours for January thru Mothers' Day
Tuesday-Sunday 12 Noon- 4:00 p.m. (Closed Monday)
La Salette Gift Shop offers a variety of religious articles of varying
prices to accommodate all of life's special occasions that you would
want to honor with the depth of the sacred: statues, crucifixes,
rosaries, religious jewelry, Nativity figures and more. We carry
a wide selection of books and music as well.
The La Salette Cross
The children to whom Mary appeared at La Salette, France, on September
19, 1846, described the crucifix on Mary's breast as more radiant than
anything else in the apparition.
A hammer hung on one side and
pliers on the other. Although Mary did not explain the significance of
these implements, it is thought that the hammer represents sin, which
nailed Jesus to the Cross. Just as the pliers removed the nails,
penance and prayer help us reconcile the world to God.
Around the world, the La Salette Cross
has become the characteristic symbol of Mary's message to be reconciled
to God.
La Salette Cafeteria & Program Center
The
Cafeteria has a fully equipped kitchen. Food service is available on
the weekends during Christmas Light season and for our
programs.
On the 2nd floor is our Program Center, with meeting rooms, and a
library of books and other materials. Please see the Program Center
Coordinator for further details.
The Cafeteria
& Program Center is largely used for larger day retreat groups and
hosts a variety of civic groups. These groups need to contact the
Program Center Coordinator far enough in advance to secure its use. A donation is requested.
Grounds
La Salette Shrine is
located on the shores of Lake Mascoma, on Route 4A in Enfield, New
Hampshire.
The Shakers (of The Miracle
of Enfield) called this patch of heaven "Chosen Vale". Mascoma's
blue waters mirror the birch, pine, and maple that populate the
surrounding hills and mountains and give this valley a unique beauty
the year 'round. It is no surprise that the spirit jumps into prayer
once arrived.
Last Supper Reconciliation Chapel
A chapel is located on
the edge of our property. It is used for many of our prayer and worship
programs. It will soon host our Nativity collection as well.
Pavilion
On the hill is located the
Pavilion. The Pavilion which seats approximately 80 is used as a place
for prayer services, music and relaxation.
The Miracle of Enfield: A Vale Chosen by God Himself
It’s 1782 and many of the folks in Mascoma Valley have become
involved in Protestant religious revival. Since the Nineteenth
Century is just around the corner, many wonder if the Lord might not
choose this time for his Second Coming. And if he does come, what
might he expect to find among his followers?
At the invitation of one of
the townspeople, two brothers come to the valley to address the
faithful on the Shaker religious beliefs. Their celibate
community claims that Mother Ann—their foundress—is the feminine
counterpart of Christ and that both men and women must now work
diligently to build a perfect earth if they are to be acceptable for a
perfect heaven. A number of the townspeople like what they hear
and before long, a community is born.
The Shakers call Mascoma Valley,
“Chosen Vale” and they find God’s presence here in a special way.
Over the years, their example attracts new believers and by the
mid-century over 350 members share their lifestyle in Enfield,
N.H. Numerous buildings spring up and the Great Stone Dwelling
House (1837) effectively becomes the largest Shaker dwelling house ever
built. Even to this day, this magnificent building stands as a
tribute to lives dedicated to God.
The Shaker industriousness knows
no boundaries and seeks perfection in all things. Their farm
skills lead to the development of our modern seed industry; to patent
medicines; and to new forestry techniques. They weave
indestructible sweaters, create beautiful and simple furniture, and set
to paper a whole repertory of music to praise God and his creation.
Times change, however, and with
new times come changes in values and lifestyles. As the Twentieth
Century draws near, the Shakers become aware of a dwindling
membership. They begin to speak the unspeakable—some of their
settlements will have to be closed. Might this be a sign of the
Lord’s Second Coming? The Shakers are finally faced with closing
their Chosen Vale community in 1923. For four years, the property
sits idle.
In 1927, at the invitation of a parish
priest in Lebanon, N.H. Father Zotique Chouinard, M.S., a La Salette
Missionary contacts Elder Bruce in Canterbury and begins negotiations
for acquisition of the property. In early December of that year,
the Shakers sell Chosen Vale for $25,000 — the sum Father Chouinard was
authorized to spend.
The Enfield property now enters a second
phase not unlike the period of the Shakers: young men are to be
trained for the celibate religious life and for the Catholic
priesthood. In August 1928, the Sisters of Saint Martha arrive to
attend to the cooking and household tasks once carried out by the
Shaker Sisters.
For forty years the use of this property continues to evolve, but
manages to maintain the prayerful commitment of a celibate life
dedicated to God along with a quest for practicality and a respect for
roots. The beautiful and stately Mary Keane Memorial Chapel is
added in 1930 thanks to the generosity of an eminent benefactress.
In 1974 the seminary closes its doors as
a result of soaring costs and a change in lifestyles, which
results in reduced numbers of vocations at the high school level.
Chosen Vale enters yet another phase. The scenic shores of
Mascoma begin to attract families seeking a sacred place in which to
rest and be recreated. Some even sell their homes to be near the
La Salette Missionaries in their search for God’s will today.
In the heart of this great valley home there lies a place of special
value and sacredness: The Shaker and La Salette Cemeteries. These
sacred grounds bear witness not to death, but to life, to life lived
out fully in the service of God. Here lie in peace such heroes as
Moses Johnson who built a number of Shaker Meeting Houses; Caleb Dyer
who built many of the great edifices in this Chosen Vale and who
brought the Shaker Community to its apex; Rev Zotique Chouinard, M.S.
who saw the dream of a LaSalette Community come to life at great
personal expense to himself and to the early fathers and brothers; Miss
Mary Keane who returned to God the hundredfold of gifts with which he
had blessed her; and so many others who were able to find here a
special presence of God and who proclaim to all that this valley is
special, that this is God’s Chosen Vale.
La Salette continues to be a
special gift from God. The community which flowed from the
apparition of Our Lady at La Salette France in 1846 has grown to
encompass mission areas all over the world. The Enfield community
sprang from a residence and mother Province in Hartford,
Connecticut. From Enfield has come a whole new religious Province
in the Philippine Islands. The movement goes on. Where the
future and God will lead cannot be foretold. Who would have
dreamed back in 1782 that today this Chosen Vale would serve families
in a special way? Who would have thought in 1846 when the Shakers
were erecting a Sacred Stone that two weeks later Our Lady would appear
at La Salette and re-echo the message that “from this ground a spring
would flow that would bring healings from afar?” Who would have
dreamed in 1927 that Miss Keane would make possible in 1930 a Church
that none could even imagine?
Many refer to our on-going
story as The Miracle of Enfield. Why doubt it? Nothing
short of a miracle could have brought us to where we are today.
The signs of God never cease to amaze us as we live each sunrise and
sunset under his watchful eye. As St. Paul would say: If
God is for us, who can be against us?
Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
Now and forever, praise be Jesus Christ!
