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Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn.

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La Salette chapel marks 100 years
Tuesday, 05 August 2008 02:30

HARTFORD – In 1908, the Chapel of Our Lady of La Salette on New Park Avenue looked different than it does today. Its mission, however, remains the same.

As La Salette Father Dennis J. Loomis, superior general of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, said at a Mass marking the 100th anniversary of the chapel’s dedication, “It’s not just the memory of an historic event. It’s the memory of all that we came into this chapel to do, to celebrate the Eucharist.”

Archbishop Henry J. Mansell was principal celebrant of the Mass on July 2, when he expressed his “respect and appreciation for all the missionaries of La Salette over the years.”

Archbishop Mansell read an apostolic blessing in which Pope Benedict XVI, “through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, invokes an abundance of divine graces.”

When then-Bishop Michael Tierney dedicated the chapel on July 2, 1908, the windows were of plain glass. The pews and altar rail were pine. Today stained glass windows depict Marian scenes, including the 1846 apparition of Mary to two children in La Salette, France. The altar rails are marble now. The pews are white oak.

Ninety-nine years of improvements to the chapel were almost wiped out this past October, though, when a sprinkler head exploded in the nursing office above the chapel. Water damaged the lighting fixtures, pews, organ, floor, carpet and a wall mural. Since then, the chapel has been repainted and the sanctuary has a new altar, chairs, pulpit and carpeting. There is new lighting, and paintings of the Stations of the Cross have been refurbished. Other improvements include new air conditioning, a new speaker system, a new organ and a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

La Salette Father Joseph G. Bachand, provincial superior of the Province of Mary, Mother of the Americas, said in his homily, “This is important to us as human beings, celebrating the passage of time of events that unfolded before we ever came to be.” He said celebrating the centennial of the chapel is a way of honoring the many La Salette priests and religious who have served in the chapel over the years. “We are connected to them, not just because we now occupy the same space they did, but because we share ties to La Salette,” he said.

He noted that the chapel is almost as old as the La Salette mission in America, which began in 1892, when two La Salette priests left France and came to Montreal and Hartford. “La Salettes from around the world have worshipped here. We said welcome to new members in this place. We said goodbye to those who have left us. This place is hallowed by the lives of those who have come to speak to God here,” he said.

La Salette Father Joseph M. O’Neil, superior and treasurer of La Salette Missionaries in Hartford, said, “It’s a very big deal to be celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the La Salette chapel. A lot has flowed out from this building in the past 100 years.”

He said there are about 950 La Salette priests and religious worldwide and about 170 in the United States and Canada.

The occasion also marked the jubilees of several La Salette priests and brothers, including Father Emery DesRochers, Father James P. Hurley and Father Alan McGuirk, each celebrating 60 years; and Father Salvatore D. Altavista and Brother Peter Collins, 50 year jubilarians.

Brother Peter said, “I’ve spent a good part of my life here in this house. I’m proud to be part of it.”

 
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