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Editor: The tax case involving the La Salette National Shrine and the Tax Assessor of Attleboro, MA, has been heard by the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Now all are awaiting the final judicial decision. This press release is the most recent response from the La Salette Missionaries ministering in Attleboro, MA.

 

To All Who Visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette at Attleboro:

 

What does La Salette Shrine represent?

 

Untitled-1‘A shrine is a sign of active and saving presence of the Lord in history and a place of respite for the people of God’. ‘Shrine represents a call to conversion, an invitation to redouble the life of charity and the works of mercy and an exhortation to follow Christ. La Salette Shrine represents a memorial to an original extraordinary event of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary at La Salette on September 19, 1846.

Therefore, La Salette Shrine is a privileged place of divine assistance and of the intercession of Our Lady of La Salette. Care of the Shrine is the primary ministry of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette. The Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette established a Shrine in honor of Our Lady of La Salette on December 8, 1953 in Attleboro, MA to promote devotion to Our Lady of La Salette with the approval of the Bishop of Fall River Most Reverend James L. Connolly.

 

 

La Salette Shrine receives property tax bill? How does it impact the Shrine?

 

As many of you know, La Salette Shrine is currently involved in an important legal case pending before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The case concerns whether the Shrine is a house of religious worship and therefore exempt by law from property taxes.


For nearly 60 years, the Shrine was always regarded as a house of worship exempt from taxation. In 2013, however, the Attleboro Assessors began taxing a substantial portion of the Shrine on the theory that parts of the property are “appropriated for purposes other than religious worship or instruction.”

The Shrine has challenged that determination, and after several years of litigation the case is now before the state’s highest court. We want to take this opportunity to explain to you why this case is so important to the Shrine, and the impact that the City’s position could have on our ministries.

Untitled-2For more than 60 years, our Shrine has been holy ground for people from all walks of life and spiritual, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. All that we do is rooted in our devotion to Our Lady of La Salette and prayer. We provide the indoor and outdoor environment, the spiritual guidance and the gift of the Sacraments to help our visitors reconcile with God and each other and to go forth in the celebration of life.

Changes in the Church and religious practices, decreased religious vocations and the shifting needs of families and individuals have required a constant evolution in the ways we bring God’s mercy to His people. Events such as the tragic fire that destroyed “the castle” in 1999, have affected our lives and the total ministry of the Shrine.
Untitled-3However, through prayer, a fierce commitment to our mission and the generosity of our visitors to our many events, we have successfully carried out our ministries. La Salette is a spiritual home to hundreds of thousands of people and hopes to remain so.

The latest obstacle to carrying out our religious mission is the unprecedented taxing of our property by the City of Attleboro. In 2013, after 60 years of tax exemption as a religious organization, the Shrine was taxed $92,000.00. The details can get complex, but the issue is simple. Is all of our Shrine property used for religious worship? We believe it is and have made our case strongly.

Since 2014, we have also filed the appropriate documents to claim exemption as a non-profit charitable organization (Form 3ABC) but the City has continued to bill us a total of over $200,000 and, without explanation, refused our requests for abatements. (We were not required to file Form 3ABC in the past, as we were always exempted as a house of religious worship.) At the very least, this is disappointing. In dollars and cents, it means that about $300,000 dollars has been diverted from our religious and charitable works so far.

After nearly 40 years in “temporary” worship and meeting space, insurance money from the fire and generous donations allowed us to build our new Shrine Church, Chapel of Light and Welcome Center. The fact is that our annual income has not covered our expenses. Our Christmas Festival of Lights covers only about six months of the costs of Shrine operation.

To remain accessible to as many people as possible, our Retreat Center accepts donations that are just enough to cover operational costs of the retreats. The rest of our expenses must be met mainly from other donations and our religious articles store. An annual tax bill of nearly $90,000 greatly hinders our ability to minister to the nearly half million people who visit the Shrine each year.

 

Why are we telling you all this?

 

Untitled-4First, we object to the local government determining what is or isn’t religious use on our Shrine property. We believe that from the quiet walking paths, to the Religious Articles Store and Welcome Center, to the last parking space at Christmas, this is holy ground used for religious purposes.

Second, we are committed to maintaining and expanding our ministries for the sole purpose of reaching out and responding to the spiritual needs of our visitors. An estimated half million people from New England, Eastern Canada and beyond visit here each year – 300,000 in the Christmas season alone, plus an estimated 25,000 in 14 ethnic pilgrimages. Nearly 30,000 confessions are heard. Six thousand people take time to draw closer to God through retreats. A hundred people join us each Monday for a free hot meal at our soup kitchen.

Third, we agreed with the city to place 116 acres of our land behind the Shrine under a conservation restriction in 2009 and granted a conservation easement to the Massachusetts Audubon Society and to the City of Attleboro to improve walking trails used by retreatants and visitors for meditative walks.

The reason for placing this land in conservation was to promote eco-spirituality and reconciliation with creation, which is very important to the mission of La Salette. Because we started receiving tax bills for apparently not using this property for activities that the Assessors consider “religious worship” (which we strongly dispute), La Salette Shrine turned over the title of this land to the Audubon Society in January 2014.

Untitled-5Finally, you need to know because you are as much a part of this Shrine as those of us who take the daily responsibility of maintaining these holy grounds. We are all called to carry out the La Salette ministry of reconciliation in response to Our Lady of La Salette’s vision and the needs of the Church.

We ask for your prayers and continued moral support so that we may receive justice from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Please pray also for the work of the Shrine and be assured that you are in our prayers each day.

The Priests, Brothers and Sisters of the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette
For more information please email or call Fr. Cyriac Mattathilanickal, MS at 508 236 9020 or cyriacms@gmail.com