SAINT ANNE'S SHRINE

By John Santosuosso

Should you be driving along Route 60, east of Lake Wales, but just before you get to the self-service honey shop at Hesperides, why not slow down and look for Saint Anne's Shrine Road? Turn right, and a short ride will bring you to a small lake surrounded by mostly modest winter homes. Continue slowly again to the right, to the far side of the lake, but please go with a sense of respect, for you are about to enter sacred ground.

The first thing you will encounter is the remnant of a small shrine on the shore of the lake. It once housed a statue of Saint Christopher. However, Saint Christopher has been gone for many years and his current presence is unknown. While the statue is gone, the story of why it was placed there in the first place lingers, and still gives hope to those coming here looking for a miracle. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of this, but according to the legend, supposedly a boy with cancer went swimming in the lake and was healed .

The lake is small, but its waters dark. The shoreline is overgrown with weeds. It is impossible to know what may be lurking just under its surface or near the water's edge. Today there is real danger if one enters this lake. I would strongly advise staying out of it and avoiding its shoreline.

Just a short distance further down the road there is a white cross on the opposite of the road. It is best to park your car at a safe spot near here and make a short walk through the grass or down the nearby dirt road. Within a minute or two this will bring you to a stone grotto, which continues to house the shrine of Saint Anne.

Saint Anne remains something of a mystery. She is never mentioned in the Bible. However, ancient legends about her and her husband Joachim can be found in the apocryphal gospel The Protevangelium of James. She is said to be the mother of Mary, and thus the grandmother of Jesus. There once was a church nearby, but it was closed around 1950. A Roman Catholic mass is still celebrated at the altar of the shrine every Easter. Episcopalians may celebrate the feast of Saint Anne and Joachim on July 26.

The grotto and the surrounding land are owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orlando, but local residents appear to be the ones that lovingly care for it. Anyone is welcome to visit and even worship here, but please remember this place is holy. Treat it with the respect it deserves. Near the grotto is a single grave and also what was once a fountain dedicated to the one known as the Little Flower, Saint Therese. A small stone baptistry is also here.

As you leave and continue driving around the lake you will see a monument commemorating the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but the statue that was on its peak is gone. The monument itself used to be located in front of the church, but when that building was demolished it was moved to its present location, near the shoreline of the lake. The small church had a beautiful interior, and postcard views of it can still be found. Today it is totally gone, not even ruins have survived. As you travel further down the road you will pass the former convent and rectory. These are now private residences and cannot be visited.

Saint Anne's shrine is a peaceful place, not known or visited by many, but cherished by those that do. If you have ever been here, or even if you have not, the question might come to mind, why is this place of peace here? Why would a shrine to the grandmother of our Lord be erected in Central Florida. To answer that question, we must journey to the North.

Approximately twenty miles northeast of Quebec City, lies the small French Canadian community of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. It was founded by sailors, and they wished to honor their patron saint, Anne, and also seek her protection from the dangers of their journeys. Eventually they decided to build a shrine to honor and protect a statue of their patron. The statue of Anne was said to have had miraculous healing powers. The first efforts for this project began in 1658, and one of the workers helping to build a small chapel here was reportedly healed. From these modest beginnings the fame and memorialization of this place grew so that by 1876 the first basilica on the site welcomed worshippers and those seeking healing. The present-day basilica dates from 1926, and receives over a half-million visitors every year. It is one of the great shrines of North America. Rome claims many healings have taken place here.

When I visited the basilica, Saint Anne's statue was in a very visible place. A number of visitors would approach it and make prayers for healing and other help. I do not know if those prayers were answered, but one does feel a certain sense of love and calmness here. Outside, not far from the basilica I came across a spring that had been walled up to make a well. I wondered if these waters were believed to be a source of healing.

In the 1920s French Canadian residents were spending their winters near that little lake east of Lake Wales. Informally led by Napoleon Pelletier, and inspired by the reported healings at Lourdes as well as those at Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre, they decided to build a shrine for Saint Anne des Lacs, Saint Anne of the Lakes. Thus the shrine in Central Florida was born. A church would be built here as well as the grotto. Before long this would be a popular pilgrimage spot. At least one healing at the grotto was reported in the 1920s. The grotto and the church would continue to thrive throughout the 1930s. Upon his death Pelletier would be honored by being buried here. However, when World War II came the visitations came to a halt. They never recovered even after the war. With a dwindling attendance, the Diocese of Orlando, over the protests of the local residents, finally decided it had no option but to close the church. By 1950 it was gone.

Still the grotto is here. The few that come know that it remains what it has always been, a place of restoration, hope, and healing. For me it reminds me of the words inscribed over the main entrance of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, New Jersey: "The body is often curable; the soul is always so."