St. Anne Shrine

St. Anne Shrine

St. Anne Shrine, located about six miles east of Lake Wales, is but a shadow of its former self. Its weathered stone grotto and tiled altar are among the few aging remnants of its revered past.

The story of St. Anne Shrine begins in 1920 when a group of Catholics from Canada ventured down to Florida to escape the harsh winters of their homeland. Recalling Canada’s devotion to St. Anne de Beaupre, they built a shrine to St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ.

Under the leadership and generosity of Canadian native and winter resident Napoleon Pelletier, the Shrine to St. Anne des Lacs, or St. Anne of the Lakes, began to take form. In Canada, Saint Anne is known as the patron saint of sailors. The shrine consisted of a small white chapel with a pedestal out front bearing a statue of Jesus Christ, a towering grotto mirroring the site where the Virgin Mary appeared at Lourdes in France, an elaborate set of statuaries that made up the stations of the cross and spread through the surrounding woods on a set of trails, and a monument to Saint Teresa of Ávila emerging near the southern shore of St. Anne Lake.

The 40-foot-high replica of the Grotto of Lourdes was constructed of native Florida stone and reached by a stone bridge crossing a moat surrounding the grotto. The structure was arranged so outdoor service could be held in front of the altar in a “palm-fringed setting quite in contrast to the original cave…“

Around 1926, a French artist, Francies Marsollier, traveled to the shrine with his young son, who was terminally ill and dying of tuberculosis. He promised to dedicate his life and talent to beautifying the shrine if his son could be saved. They swam and camped there, and the boy was miraculously cured, attributed to the healing waters. He painted dramatic murals throughout the chapel and chiseled elaborate sculptures for the church and grounds.

At its peak, the St. Anne Shrine included a replica of the miraculous statue of St. Anne de Beaupré, a monument dedicated to Christ of Limpias that housed a relic of a thorn from the Crown of Christ. It also featured a repository containing a relic of the True Cross, a reproduction of the Sacred Nail, a replica of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, and a biblical museum. In July 1930, a Catholic bishop traveled to Lake Wales to bless the ornate repository of the True Cross, which was designed by Marsollier.

International Support and Growth

The first pilgrimage from Canada occurred in 1928. People came by the thousands to celebrate the anniversary of the Virgin Mary’s apparition at Lourdes each February and St. Anne’s feast day each July.

Over time, international attention and support led to establishing a lakeside monument dedicated to St. Christopher and a fountain honoring St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as the “Little Flower,” at the growing shrine. As reports of healings associated with the lake’s waters spread, the number of pilgrims increased significantly.

Napoleon Pelletier maintained the shrine until his death in 1942. The stone marker at the edge of the grotto marks his grave, although his body was removed in 1970 and returned to his native Canada.

Decline and Desanctification

As World War II unfolded, the Canadian pilgrims remained in their snow-covered homes throughout the long winters, and interest in the shrine began to decline. Residents of the small St. Anne community also expressed concern that the shrine was becoming overly commercialized, leading to a further reduction in visitors.

By the early 1960s, the Catholic Diocese of Orlando considered the shrine obsolete, leading church leaders to desanctify the church and subsequently tear it down. Only the front steps remain, leading nowhere. Over time, the shrine began to fade from memory. The Diocese still owns the property and has largely lost interest in it.

According to officials, Some statues that once adorned the church have found a new home at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Lake Wales, while others have been lost. When a priest from Holy Spirit Church attempted to sell the site in the early 1980s to make way for a house, local neighbors opposed the plan and successfully halted the sale, preserving the remains of their cherished shrine. To this day, the shrine remains open daily from sunset to sundown.

Photo Gallery