Shrines honor Blessed Mother

There's Our Lady of La Salette Shrine in Altamont, for example, which recently celebrated her feast day with a Triduum. Our Lady of Lourdes is enshrined at both the Wayside Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Haines Falls and the Wayside Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in New Lebanon. And Our Lady of Knock Shrine in East Durham honors Our Lady's apparition in 1877 in Ireland.

Each shrine enables devotees of Our Lady to spend time in quiet prayer while viewing her as she appeared in sites throughout the world.

Our Lady of La Salette Shrine commemorates the apparition of Mary on September 19, 1846 in the French village of La Salette. Appearing to Maximin Giraud and Melanie Calvat, she wept the entire time she spoke to them about Catholics who had turned away from the Church. The scene is depicted in statues on the hillside leading up to the Altamont shrine, which also features the Pieta and the Way of the Cross.

The shrine dates back to 1965, according to Rev. Jeffrey L'Arche, shrine director and moderator. Last month, it hosted a Triduum to remember the feast of Our Lady of La Salette with events and liturgical celebrations. Visitors are welcome to place vigil lights before the statues of Our Lady, and there is a gift shop where people can purchase booklets and other materials connected to Mary.

BY appearing to children in the remote village of La Salette, Our Lady could have been reaching out to those who are estranged from society, and such people have become the focus of much of the La Salette order's work, Father L'Arche remarked.

"Mary appeared in an out-of-the-way place. I think we take that as a sign that God goes all around looking for reconciliation among people," he said.

At the Wayside Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Haines Falls, people come from downstate New York and New Jersey to feel the presence of Our Lady of Lourdes, an apparition that happened in 1858. The shrine, built in 1926, is not alone; there also are shrines to St. Therese of the Child Jesus and St. Agnes.

According to Rev. Anthony Motta, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Haines Falls, one tradition there is a special procession from the church to the shrine on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15. Visitors are welcome year-round, and Father Motta is happy that so many people show their love for Mary at the shrine.

"People see it, contemplate and meditate. It's a beautiful inspiration to everyone," he said.

The Wayside Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in New Lebanon has been open to visitors since 1929. Modeled after the original site in Lourdes, France, it contains actual bricks from that shrine, said Rev. Joseph Halloran, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church. A shrine to Our Lady of Fatima is located across the street from the parish and Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine.

For those who wish to gaze upon a statue of an apparition that took place in Ireland on August 21, 1877, there's Our Lady of Knock Shrine in East Durham. Completed nine years ago, it attracts numerous Irish people who live locally and those from New York City and Boston, according to Rev. Jeremiah Nunan, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Cairo, which administers the shrine.

Much of the artwork was created in Donegal, Ireland; stained glass windows show Our Lady, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist.

The busiest time of year is between June and October, Father Nunan remarked, when people come for pilgrimages or other special events and stay at one many nearby resorts. Often, Irish food and music are in abundance at the shrine, and a Mass celebrating the peace agreement in Ireland was offered there in late August.

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