Burns Island Rd, New Hope, TN 37380
(423) 837-7069 (Our Lady of Lourdes in So. Pittsburgh)
Open daily, sunrise to sunset.
Sunday services held at 2pm from May through October.
Tucked away on a long country road in a forest clearing just miles from the town of New Hope is a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary; a replica of a world-famous sacred site that is one of the most holy of places of the Catholic church. This lovely chapel, with its mosaics and statues, is a reproduction of the Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Poor shrine found in Belgium where miracles are said to occur to this very day. But why was this replica dedicated to a miraculous visitation constructed in a secluded place in Tennessee? The story begins with one of the darkest chapters in modern history.
A young priest had been sent to the Liege province of Belgium to “recuperate.” Depressed, anxious and in existential despair, Louis Jamin had been given the chaplaincy of Banneux in the forested area called ‘The Blue Ardennes,’ but his spirit and soul had a hard time giving his parishioners hope. 1933 was a bleak time for Europe, and working families were suffering from the financial crisis of the 1929 crash felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Poverty, hunger, and worry filled the hearts and minds of the people, and it seemed that things would only get worse. In fact, this was destined to be a terrible time for Europe, as we all know today.
In a nearby homestead, a young girl by the name of Mariette Beco looks out of her kitchen window and sees a smiling woman in a long white gown with a blue sash and a transparent white veil beckoning to her to come out, but Mariette’s mother is afraid and forbids it. Mariette, however, knows this is no ordinary woman. For three days the twelve-year-old prays in her garden, and on the third day she walks up the road past her house. The woman in white reappears and calls out to her, and floating backwards, points out a spring of water. She tells Mariette to push her hands into the water and says, “This spring is reserved for me.” The next day Mariette again meets the beautiful lady, who tells her she is “Our Lady of the Poor,” and that the spring is meant for all nations, for the sick. Eight times the lady appears to Mariette between January 15 and March 2, 1933. She asks that a chapel be built so that people could come and be relieved of their suffering, saying “Believe in me and I will believe in you,” and that people should pray constantly.
Mary’s words of comfort to all nations could not come at a better time. Fifteen days after Mariette’s first visit with Mother Mary, Hitler would become Chancellor of Germany, and hope for a better tomorrow was desperately needed. The Virgin Mary’s appearances and instructions for renewing one’s spiritual devotion restored the depressed young priest’s faith, and pilgrims desperate for consolation slowly started to come to the site after hearing about Mariette’s miraculous visions. Today, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come to see the chapel and plunge their hands in the spring, to draw comfort from the True Source: the life of Jesus Christ. Many reports of healings have occurred, and today the Sanctuaire de la Vierge des Pauvres (Virgin of the Poor shrine) in Banneux, Belgium is one of only ten fully approved sites by the Catholic Church where the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have visited. These supernatural Marian Apparitions are considered Mary’s ongoing love for the church and give attention to a specific Christian message.
O Virgin of the Poor,
May you ever be blessed!
And blessed be He who deigned to send you to us.
What you have been and are to us now,
you will always be to those who, like us, and better than us,
offer their faith and their prayer.
You will be all for us, as you revealed yourself at Banneux:
Mediatrix of all graces, the Mother of the Savior, Mother of God.
A compassionate and powerful Mother who loves the poor and all People,
who alleviates suffering, who saves individuals and all humanity,
Queen and Mother of all Nations,
who came to lead all those who allow themselves to be guided by you,
to Jesus the true and only Source of eternal life.
Amen
The modern world can also be a dark place, and for believers the Virgin Mary’s words and presence are no less needed. In 1982 a 600-acre farm in New Hope was willed to the Catholic church by the Duncan family. Father Mark Scholz, priest at our Lady of Lourdes in South Pittsburgh, spoke with me and explained that Friar Basil Mattingly, a Benedictine monk based out of the church, wanted to build a shrine in a clearing in the woods of the property, but there was no consensus as to who it would be dedicated to. Father Pascal Roland, a scholar in Marian theology, visited the site and said that the area was very similar to the blue Ardennes in Belgium, and that a replica of the Banneaux shrine would be very appropriate, and so the seed was planted. Mattingly, several of his fellow Benedictine brothers and some parishioners, built the shrine and created the mosaics themselves, as well as stations of the cross and the walk around rosary. There are several beautiful statues of the Virgin Mary throughout the site to enjoy. The statues at the columbarium and in the tower come from Banneaux itself, and the Mother Mary statue inside the shrine was given by a local parishioner. The mosaic on the outside of the shrine depicts the Virgin Mary appearing to Mariette.
In front of one of the statues of Mother Mary is a mosaic with the title “1531 Mother of the Americas 1540,” which seems to be a reference to other Marian apparitions, but I was only able to locate one of them, the famous Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531, which is one of the most popular religious devotions in the world, and an important national symbol for Mexico. (There was another apparition of the Virgin Mary in Mexico in 1541 in Tlaxcalan, so perhaps this is the other date they were referring to. This, too, involved a healing spring and the request by Mother Mary to build a shrine.)
"Hear me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish?" - The Virgin of Guadalupe
You don’t have to be Catholic to see this charming shrine and enjoy the beautiful chapel and mosaic artwork. In fact, all are welcome! During my visit in early June I was the only one there and found it incredibly peaceful. A hummingbird even came within a foot of my face at one point! (In the Bible, hummingbirds are messengers from the other side, with greetings and blessings. My thoughts were very much on my Mother while I was there who was a strong believer in the Virgin Mary, so I like to think it was her. 🥰) There seemed to be work to build a new pavilion and there were items stored inside the chapel, but it did not interfere with my enjoying the shrine, the columbarium and the surroundings. Father Mark says that one of the mosaics of Jesus speaking to St. John has fallen into disrepair and will be reinstalled in the future.
Our Lady the Virgin of the Poor Shrine in New Hope is so worth the 15-minute detour off of I24. Whether you come for the message, the beautiful artwork, or the tranquility of the setting, it is one of Tennessee’s most special sacred places!
The shrine is located around two hours from Nashville and a half hour from Chattanooga. From I-24 take the South Pittsburgh exit to SR 156 East 2.2 miles to Burns Island Road. Take a left, go one mile, then follow the signs to the shrine. The shrine is open seven days a week from sunrise to sundown, and services are held there on Sundays in May and October at 10:30am CT, followed by the rosary (around 12pm CT).
Please consider a donation to maintain the site and to support the work of Our Lady of Lourdes church. (Lourdes, of course, is the site of one of the most famous of the Marian apparitions! Makes sense that a church named after one apparition would build a shrine to another. 😊)
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