From the alps to Altamont Visions of the Virgin celebrated
From the alps to Altamont
Visions of the Virgin celebrated
ALTAMONT Spreading the story of LaSalette took missionaries from their native France, from which they were expelled, to Northern Europe, where they found no refuge, to the shores of America, where they built a shrine on the shoulder of the Helderbergs.
The Missionaries of LaSalette were first welcomed in Connecticut, said Father Jeffrey LArche, who lives and works at the Shrine of LaSalette that is nestled into the escarpment off of Route 146. Their headquarters are still in Hartford, but the shrine has been in Altamont since 1924, when they bought the old Kushaqua Hotel and turned it into a seminary.
It has been pared down since then, LArche said. When the old hotel burned in 1952, missionaries built a brick building that they later sold to Father Peter Young. The shrine is now across the street on 52 acres that used to be Henry Boyd Thachers estate. LArche lives there with two brothers, some chickens, and a cat.
He holds a weekly mass there, every Wednesday night, but really the shrine serves as a ministerial center, LArche said, a place for days of recollection, parish missions, and rosary rallies, like the one held here last week for Our Lady of Fatima.
On May 13, 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal, the story goes. She returned each month, for the next six months, on the 13th. A piece of the Holm oak tree that she appeared over sits at the feet of her statue in Edward Breitenbachs living room.
He is a deeply religious man who has faith in the stories of miracles and is eager to share their meaning.
The statue came from Father Harold Colgan, founder of the Blue Army, Breitenbach said. In 1947, Colgan was told that he had only six months to live, so he prayed to Our Lady of Fatima and promised to spread her story throughout the world if he lived, said Breitenbach.
"Six months later, he was given a total healing," said Breitenbach. "He said to his parishioners, ‘Wear something blue. We are going to be the Blue Army in opposition to the Red Army of Russia.’" And so the Blue Army, which is now 23 million strong, was born.
Now, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima is used for healing, says Breitenbach. He takes it to the homes of the sick and ailing to heal them. Years ago, he took the relic, pieces of the Holm oak, to a man who had severe heart problems; they prayed together. The man has since healed, Breitenbach said, and sends a check for $125 every month, without fail, to help Breitenbach produce a newsletter about Our Lady of Fatima.
He and his late wife spent 45 days taking the statue to every church in the diocese, said Breitenbach. When he went to gather it up after one visit, he found a woman in tears at the foot of Mary. Her son had been paralyzed in an accident.
Breitenbach switched rosaries with her and prayed. The next month, she was back again. "His arms are starting to move. His legs are starting to move," she said, and again they prayed with the relic.
The next month she came back and said, "He’s in a wheelchair. He’s back in college." They prayed a third time, and, when she came back the next month, she said, "He’s walking."
Mary and her relic traveled to the Shrine of LaSalette, most recently, for a celebration of the 90th anniversary of Our Ladys first appearance at Fatima. The celebration drew a crowd of about 150, LArche guessed.
Before she appeared to the children in Portugal, Our Lady appeared to a pair of children in the French Alps, in a place called LaSalette. The story is similar to her later appearance at Fatima in that the virgin appeared to children, upset, warning them about the future and begging for man to repent.
The shrine is there for people to come to for peace and to answer questions, LArche said.
"It’s a very tender story," he said. "It’s a very compelling story."
