Can the Chapel of Our Lady of La Salette Church in Marseille, France be Restored?

The neighborhood of Accates and the Miracle

Old postcard of Our Lady of La Salette Chapel in the village of Accates, near Marceille, FranceIn 1800, the quaint village of Accates was in the 11th district of Marseille, France. Its lands were covered with vineyards that produced a very good wine. There were also very diverse cultures that required a large workforce. The village of Accates had about 200 inhabitants. From 1850, Gaspard Nicolas (1807-1878), owner of a large part of the land with thirteen farms, did heavy work in the neighborhood. He hired about fifteen men for this work for more than twenty years. He was given awards for that.

Gaspard Nicolas was a practicing Christian. In 1860, he was treated for years for skin cancer and it was considered incurable. However in 1869, he was miraculously cured of skin cancer. This miraculous healing occurred during a pilgrimage to Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Isère. In gratitude, he decided to build a church "ex-voto" with his own money, whose facade was a replica, somewhat smaller that the Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette.

A monumental ex-voto

He built this first chapel in 1865, called the "Old Wood". Due to the incredible number of the pilgrims in the first year, he decided to enlarge it. He created a side aisle and raised the ceiling, dominated by a dome, on which he placed a golden metal statue of Our Lady of La Salette. This statue inspired the future statue of Our Lady of the Guard in Marseille. The administration of the basilica came to see what Mr. Nicolas had done, before making his decision. The group found the statue very impressive and decided to do a similar one in their new Church.

The statue of the "Beautiful Lady" is currently under the protection of the Sisters Our Lady of La Salette (NSDS). The expansion work on his second church was completed in 1872. On September 19, 1872, the Anniversary of the Apparition, the crowds were enormous. Gaspard Nicolas therefore set up a transport service for the visitors which left Marseille at 5am in the morning and returned around 10am. In 1874, Gaspard Nicolas purchased a statue of the Weeping Mother of La Salette. This was the occasion of a grand ceremony.

Can this Chapel be restored?

Original interior of the La Salette Chapel with its main altarAlthough a private monument, this chapel’s facade looks like that of the Basilica on the Holy Mountain of La Salette. But it needed expensive maintenance which was impossible for its owners. During the decades, it suffered the assaults of the temperature and weather and degraded it to the point of becoming a ruin, with its rusty hardware. It remains a family patrimony which many people would love to see restored but no efforts to do this have succeeded.

Our Lady of La Salette Chapel—now a Parish

This place has never been a parish but is a place of pilgrimage and, later, became a meeting place for young people who came for a retreat before their First Communion or Confirmation. Although it has been unfortunately abandoned and partially destroyed, the inhabitants of these neighborhoods remain attached to this church and it is in her homage that they chose to name their new parish.

In August of 2015, the pastoral team grouped together neighboring districts of the churches of St. Christopher in Accates, St. Agatha in Camoins, ur Lady of Eoures, St. Dominic’s in La Treille. On September 1, 2018, this parish grouping became the Parish of Our Lady of La Salette, later to be joined by Saint-Menet’s as well.

A new song dedicated to the Beautiful Lady of La Salette:

"Mary, We are Here Together"
(to the tune of the “Psalm of Creation”)

La Salette Statues in safekeeping in the nearby chapel of the La Salette Sisters1- On the high mountain, Mary, you appeared to two young shepherds, your face washed with tears. Beautiful Lady, your message came down from heaven. It's no longer a secret, and so we sing to you ...


2- From our beautiful hills, and from the areas of Valentine to Eoures and La Treille; also the Accates from Camoins and Saint-Menet. All people of Marseille sing to you ...

Metal statue of Notre-Dame de La Guard in Marseille, France, modelled after La Salette statue in Les Accates; photo: Remi Jouan