Thanks to donations and repairs, upper church at Fall River’s St. Anne Shrine gradually moving toward opening

Since becoming detached from the Fall River Diocese in November of 2018, volunteers and donors have been keeping St. Anne Shrine’s lower church open and working toward the opening of the upper church. An update issued Monday provides optimism on the latter.

Repairs to the structure on South Main Street have been taking place over the last 6 years including crucial roof work. According to Bryan Boyle from The St. Anne Shrine Preservation Society, they have signed contracts with Vandal Roofing to begin work on the repairs to the north roof of the Shrine building.

“This is the second phase of a multi-year effort to stabilize and repair the damage to this landmark structure due to years of neglect and decreased parish population which builds on a project which began 2 years ago to address issues on the south side of the building. The south side was successfully completed earlier this year.”

Having access to the roof, gutter system, and other areas in need of repair, work can now begin to eliminate the many water leaks, broken slate roof tiles, and deteriorated rain gutters and downspouts which will eliminate the water ingress to the upper church and further destruction of plaster walls and trim.

What Boyle stated next brings optimism that the upper church could be open in a couple of years.

“Once the water ingress issues have been addressed, according to our architect, at least a full year will have to pass to allow the upper structure interior to fully dry out. Once this happens, we can then proceed to fully clean the upstairs of the fallen plaster, stabilize the remaining wall surfaces, and prepare to work with the City and diocesan officials for permission to reopen the upper church.”

While this work is going on, the lower Shrine will remain open for visitors during normal business hours of Monday-Friday 10AM-4PM, Saturday/Sunday 12PM-4PM.

If you are interested in donating to the cause or learning more about the Shrine, click here.