Here is a true story of devotion to St. Anne that
you might
want to add to your site. This is probably one of the most remarkable
miracles I have ever read.
What struck me about the story is that it is a living example of the verse in Romans about God working out all things for the good of those who love Him. Building a monastery over a coal mine might not seem like a good idea. However, God had other plans. --- Christine Thank you, very, very much, good friend of Catholic Tradition. The great shrine of Sainte Anne d'Auray, founded in the 17th century, is one of the largest pilgrimage centers in Europe and is especially popular with the Bretons of France. Settlers from that region brought their devotion to Canada where they established the shrine of Sainte Anne de Beaupre near Quebec in 1658. In 1905 American Passionist Priests and Brothers built a monastery in the mining center of Scranton, Pennsylvania and dedicated their foundation to Saint Anne. The monastery was built over a coal mine. On August 15, 1911 the monastery shook, cracked and split due to a severe mine subsidence. The community of priests moved out. But they had complete confidence that they would be able to come back again. In their words, "Saint Anne will take care of her own." In a short time, with repairs, all was safe and the Passionists returned. Again on July 28, 1913, an even more menacing disturbance took place. A gigantic "squeeze" threatened to slide the whole monastery and church down the hill. Immediately the Passionists and the neighbors prayed for help through the intercession of Saint Anne. The next morning, on an inspection of the mines that run under the monastery, it was found that the slide had suddenly stopped, turned back and settled solidly under the monastery. So started the history of devotion to Saint Anne at Saint Anne's Shrine in Scranton. The magnificent structure which is now Saint Ann's Monastery Church was dedicated on April 2nd, 1929. Here, the weekly Saint Ann's Novena has continued every Monday throughout the years. More than 10,000 people per day attend the annual ten day Saint Anne's Solemn Novena which begins July 17th and ends on July 26th, the Feast of Saint Anne. |