Saint Anne's Shrine is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

shrine and retreat center in

Isle La Motte Isle La Motte () is an island in Lake Champlain in northwestern Vermont, United States. At 7 mi (11 km) by 2 mi (3 km), it lies close to the place that the lake empties into the Richelieu River. It is incorporated as a New Engl ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, on the shores of

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

. The shrine and retreat center is located several miles south of the Canada–US border, on Shrine Road, near U.S. Route 2.

History

In 1666, Fort Sainte Anne was built on Isle La Motte to protect

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

from attacks by the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

Indians. Both the fort and chapel were dedicated to

Saint Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

, the mother of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. It was the site of the first Catholic Mass celebrated in Vermont. In 1668, the bishop of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

François de Laval Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (; 30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of New France from 1658 to 1674 and as Bishop of Quebec from its creat ...

, came to Isle La Motte to baptize a number of Iroquois to Christianity. Even after the abandonment of the fort, the shrine continued to offer mass to worshipers. The Fort was destroyed sometime between 1670 and 1690; the Way of Calvary at the Shrine marks the place where the Fort once stood.Sayers, Laylee. "Saint Anne’s Shrine a well-established piece of Saint Michael’s life, history", St. Michael's College, July 7, 2022
/ref> In 1892,

Louis de Goesbriand Louis Joseph Marie Théodore de Goesbriand (August 4, 1816 – November 3, 1899) was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Burlington in Vermont from 1853 until his death in 1899 ...

, the Bishop of Burlington was able to purchase the land at Fort Saint Anne in order to preserve its history. A small chapel was built. Father Joseph Kerlidou was the first director of St. Anne's Shrine. He excavated a portion of the site, uncovering knives, buttons, pottery, and other artifacts. They attest to not only French, but earlier Native American presence on the site. Some of the artifacts are on display at St. Anne's.

Present day

The shrine is run by the Edmundite Fathers in cooperation with the

Diocese of Burlington The Diocese of Burlington () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church for Vermont in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston. The Diocese of Burlington was erected on July 29, 1853, by Pope ...

. The shrine hosts various functions, such as retreats, pilgrimages, and the Annual Diocesan Family Day Mass. Daily mass is offered at 11:15 AM through July & August. The Retreat Center is open year around and can accommodate 86 guests per night. The meeting center and dining room can hold 150 people. The ground are open to the public year around and feature a Chapel, a grotto, numerous statues and places to light candles, reflection gardens, and a beach. There is a memorial that visitors can walk through and learn about local history as well as a statue of

Samuel De Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

."Saint Anne’s Shrine", ''Vermont Living Magazine''
/ref> The all purpose Welcome Center provides space in inclement weather. The Cafe and History Room are open from Memorial Day to Columbus Day Wednesday-Friday & Sunday 10–2 with Saturdays 12–5 and closed Monday & Tuesday.

References

External links

Official site

address by Sen. Henry W. Hill, July 9, 1909. {{authority control Islands of Lake Champlain Populated places in Grand Isle County, Vermont Lake islands of Vermont Islands of Grand Isle County, Vermont Roman Catholic shrines in the United States

History

Present day

References

Further reading

External links