It was in 1902 that
the Passionists, the religious order dedicated to
Christ’s crucifixion, purchased 10 acres of high ground overlooking the
northeastern Pennsylvania city of Scranton.
Before laying the cornerstone,
the order chose St. Ann
patron of its projected monastery. The mother of the Blessed Mother, they
noted, “will take care of her own.”
There’s a thought worth prayer
and contemplation on Mother’s Day.
Early-20th-century Scranton was the center
of the coal-mining industry. Any time a new building went up, the locals
worried about the potential for foundational cave-in due to digging far
beneath. The site was checked and deemed sound, yet sure enough, in 1911, a
land slippage below the fairly new monastery forced a weeklong evacuation.
In 1913, two days after the July
26 feast of St. Ann,
a much more serious subsidence jolted the monastery, causing major structural
damage. The situation seemed hopeless. A report of the time quotes mine
professional James Regan: “The entire hill is sliding, and nothing on earth can
stop it. The monastery is doomed.”
In an outcome widely credited to
St. Ann’s
patronage, the monastery survived. In fact, although the foundation had
severely buckled, the ground underneath resettled in a manner that filled all
empty shafts, completely stabilizing the sacred site.
Almost a century later, it
remains solid.
Thanks to intense fund-raising
of local laity, the mine cave damage was repaired, enabling the monastery
community to return in 1916. This growing laity involvement prompted the Passionist Fathers to open public devotions in 1924.
As was the Passionist
custom, the community had begun a novena to St. Ann on July 17, 1906, within the monastic
enclosure. When the monastery was opened to the surrounding community, the
crowd quickly outgrew the small chapel and even scheduling additional services
did not suffice.
The Italian Renaissance
structure that now looms over West Scranton
was dedicated in 1929.
Through the years, the novena
has remained popular. St. Ann is honored in Scranton and its environs
as the patron saint of miners, and devotion to her spread from town to town and
from generation to generation in ever-widening circles long after the mining
industry itself faded from the area.
Currently, every Monday there
are six well-attended devotions and afternoon Eucharistic adoration.
Magnetic Attraction
Media has played an important
role at St. Ann’s.
First telecast in 1955, the daily Mass and weekly devotions are now transmitted
nationwide by satellite. As early as 1939, novena devotions were broadcast
locally on radio. I still recall the strains of “O Good St. Ann” floating
through our neighborhood every late Monday afternoon.
Nostalgia alone, however, cannot
explain why I, like so many others, respond to the spiritual magnetism of this
basilica where God manifests his presence in a special way.
Although my home parish is 16
miles away, I often drive up broad St.
Ann Street to the imposing shrine with its
old-world colonnade flanking the parking lot.
Near the vestibule entrance, I usually pause at the
statue of St. Ann
with her welcoming grandmother’s face. The vast interior of the shrine church
is magnificent, with broad expanses of marble and rich wood, vaulted ceilings,
a baldacchino towering over the altar to a chancel
arch encircling a gold-scripted prayer: “Through the intercession of St. Ann, may God bless
you in every way.”
Above the centrally located
tabernacle gleams a crucifix of majestic proportions.
Between services, I can pray at
the outdoor stations and grotto or explore the upper and lower basilicas, a
visual feast with generous adornments of sacred statuary and icons.
To the left of the sanctuary is
a side altar to St. Ann, and within the lower basilica a small chapel contains
a reliquary of Passionist founder St. Paul of the
Cross and follower St. Gemma Galgani,
both warmed by countless votive candles. The gift shop offers artifacts carved
from anthracite coal, a variety of Passionist books
and CDs, and not-to-be-missed oatmeal-molasses bread baked by nearby Passionist nuns.
Healings Happen
Central to the shrine’s story is
the solemn novena culminating on St.
Ann’s feast July 26. Held outdoors on the spacious grounds, the ceremonies attract
upwards of 10,000 national and international pilgrims. Observes Passionist Father Cassian Yuhaus, St. Ann’s
rector: “These summer devotions are unique. In other places, crowds may fill an
arena for one day, but where else do you find thousands for 10 days?”
A great blessing
of the novena are the many opportunities for the sacrament of reconciliation. After every
service, Passionists hear confessions in the many
confessionals that line the nave’s south perimeter. On St. Ann’s feast they offer the sacrament all
day long beginning at 4 a.m.
More striking than reports of
physical healing — so numerous Father Yuhaus is
chronicling them in a book — are accounts of penitents who return to the fold
during this grace-filled time.
In 1996, Pope John Paul II
declared St. Ann’s of Scranton a minor basilica. To the right and
left, respectively, of the stately main altar a large scarlet-and-red ombrellino and John Paul’s framed coat of arms boldly proclaim this special status.
But despite Rome’s recognition, the monastery is ever
true to its roots. Every “devoted client of St. Ann,”
favored term for novena faithful, loves to recount St. Ann’s
relationship to the 2002 mine disaster at Quecreek
Mine in western Pennsylvania.
At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25,
water estimated at 60 million gallons breached a retaining wall, trapping nine
miners in an icy cavern 240 feet underground. On the feast of St. Ann, “devoted clients” offered countless
fervent prayers for the miners — a brotherhood historically
close to their hearts.
After 76 hours, emergency crews
reached the miners, who were not only still alive but in surprisingly good
condition. As any regional resident knows, such endings to a protracted
three-day rescue effort are indeed rare.
Once more, it would seem, St. Ann indeed had taken
care of her own.
Happy Mother’s
Day, good mother of the Blessed Mother.
E.M. Farrell writes from
Carbondale, Pennsylvania.
Planning
Your Visit
For Mass and novena
schedules, and other helpful information, visit themass.org on the Internet or call (800) THE MASS.
Getting
There
From central Scranton, take Lackawanna Avenue to North Main Avenue. Follow North Main to St.
Ann Street and turn right. The basilica is two
blocks up the hill