Saint Anne Shell Chapel

History

In November 1843, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and Sister Mary Cecilia Bailly were returning from France with three French postulants after a fundraising trip.

The five were sailing on the Nashville when it crossed paths with a violent storm. The sisters prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to Saint Anne for safety.

After returning safely to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Saint Mother Theodore had a small log chapel built in honor of Saint Anne on a small knoll in the forest near the Motherhouse. The chapel was completed in 1844.

After many years, the log structure began to give way. General Superior Mother Mary Ephrem Glenn commissioned a stone chapel be built on the same site with the same dimensions. The new chapel was to be called the Shrine of Saint Anne, but is known as the Saint Anne Shell Chapel. It was consecrated on July 25, 1876.

As the chapel was being built, Sister Mary Joseph Le Fer de la Motte came up with the idea to line the inner walls with iridescent river shells from the Wabash River. Shells were collected from a sandbar at Durkee’s Ferry in the river and were settled in soft plaster on the walls.

Many mosaic designs, initially drawn by Saint Mother Theodore and preserved by Sister Mary Joseph, highlight the decorations on the inner walls. The designs include a depiction of the Nashville, a map of Indiana showing the mission established up to 1876, and an illustration of the all-seeing Eye of God. A built-in altar, also covered in shells, rests near the east inner wall and displays a statue of Saint Anne Mother Theodore brought from France.

There are also two stained glass windows on the north and south walls, including designs of shell and coral. The floor is tiled with sea green and coral-colored floral patterns and a painted nautilus border trims the top of the walls.

Since 1844, on July 25, the Sisters of Providence gather for a solemn procession, walking from the Motherhouse to the chapel in honor of Saint Anne.

Below you will be able to watch a virtual tour of the chapel.

Although the stone exterior had withstood elements well, after 149 years it was starting to show signs of wear. Some of the sandstone exterior had begun to crumble and a cracking had appeared in an interior corner. 

A Sacred Places Indiana Grant (administered by Indiana Landmarks and supported by funding from Lilly Endowment) allowed the sisters to hire an engineering firm to design and draft the work that needed to be done to restore the chapel.

Loving donors then came to the rescue to fund all the work needed to restore the chapel, both inside and out. Contractors replaced deteriorating stone in the walls and tuck-pointed what remained. They dug about 36 inches down around three sides of the building to install a pipe system that will remove ground water. They installed new guttering to provide sufficient drainage. They also reinforced the underground rock foundation. Broken slate roof tiles were replaced and all wooden exterior frames were scraped and painted.

With the exterior complete, we are ready to move onto phase II, the interior. Unfortunately this portion is currently on hold as we research sources to replace missing shells that have disappeared over the years. In 1991 it became illegal to hunt and possess mollusk shells from the Wabash River, so we cannot source these as the sisters did originally. We are exploring creating replicas of concrete, among other options.

Other work that will happen in phase II will include replacing the door and sandblasting and power coating the iron gate to match the hand rails. We will also clean and restore the interior molding and artwork. We will clean the steps and surrounding stone flooring as well as the exterior benches and concrete light posts.

Many thanks to all who have helped us preserve this beautiful historical treasure!