Editor: We hereby republish sections of the Centennial Booklet, “La Salette—1846-1946: Ten Decades with Our Lady,” edited by Fr. Emile Ladouceur, M.S., describing the first hundred years of making Mary’s message known. This is the ninth of twelve articles.
Genuine devotion to Our Lady of La Salette in the land of Brazil has grown ever more popular with the years since the first missionaries from France and the United States brought the message of Mary's tears to her people beneath the Southern Cross.
A splendid Shrine to Our Lady under her Alpine title of La Salette now rises with towering grace in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. And the greatest pilgrimage center in the Southern Brazil was dedicated, the Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette at Marcellino Ramos.
Early La Salette Missionaries to Brazil (from left:) Fr. Clément Moussier (1860-1919), Founder of Brazil mission; Fr. Alphonse Bovier (1859-1919); Fr. Eugène Beaup (1866-1929)In December 1902, Fr. Clement Moussier, M.S., born in the village of La Salette in France, and for many years a missionary in exile, laboring in the United States, learned of the great need of priests in Brazil, and he volunteered to set forth to this vast land beneath the dazzling sun of Capricorn.
He arrived at Santos in the State of São Paulo and after spending a few years as chaplain in hospitals and even in leper colonies, he founded a residence on October 21, 1904 in São Paulo itself, the capital of the state of the same name. At the same time, the Bishop confided to his care the new parish of Santa Anna. The new missionaries who went to join him performed ministry in the various hospitals and colleges of the city.
A beautiful church was erected which was dedicated on July 26, 1908 by the Bishop of San Carlos. In 1912, a new house was opened in Rio de Janeiro and His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop gave the Fathers charge of an important parish in the thickly populated quarter of Catumby.
Fr. Moussier’s fondest hope was to erect in Rio de Janeiro a Shrine worthy of the Virgin of the Alps. Through his efforts the plans were drawn up and the work begun. By a unanimous vote, the city council of the national capital approved a motion exempting from tax the edifice of Gothic design belonging to the Association of Our Lady of La Salette of Catumby. Father Moussier was not destined to see the marvel of architecture that was to be consecrated as a National Shrine to Our Lady of La Salette in Rio.
He died at his work in 1919 when only the spacious crypt and a nave and two transepts had been opened for the use of the worshipers. The sanctuary, undoubtedly the most beautiful in the capital, was built like the Sacred Heart Shrine of Montmartre in Paris with the pennies of the people and it became a great center of religious fervor.
The completed Mother Church of Catumby was dedicated on November 13, 1927. The Papal Nuncio, Bishop Masella, special representative of Pope Pius XI, presider at the ceremony.
On July 2, 1928, a Junior Seminary for Brazilian candidates to the Missionary life in the La Salette Community was officially opened at Marcellino Ramos, on the banks of the Uraguay River. The Fathers also have charge of a large parish in that district, with twelve mission chapels under their care.
The Shrine at Marcellino Ramos attracts larger and more fervent pilgrimages each year. Special trains from all over the State of Rio Grande Do Sul and Santa Catharina bring thousands of pilgrims to the inspiring site. Besides the work at the Shrine in Brazil the Fathers publish a monthly magazine, Nostra Signora de La Salette, with a large circulation throughout Brazil.
Several North American Fathers in Brazil are engaged in mission work and in the direction of schools. They have contributed in their modest way toward a fair appreciation of the problems which the United States must face in bettering our with this great Republic of South America.
Former Ambassador, Jefferson Caffery, happy to participate in the Feast of Our Lady of La Salette in Rio de Janeiro, congratulated the Fathers for the really splendid and outstanding work they have done and are doing, making the Weeping Mother’s message known and loved by the people of Brazil.Shrine at Macellino Ramos (from left:) La Salette Cross; La Salette Feast, Sept. 19, at Shrine; 2010 Province Assembly