ST. JOSEPH DE MONT-ROUGE SHRINE

After much reflection and advice from Padre Pio and Marthe Robin, Father René Granier agreed to wait before founding his work. But when he arrived in Puimisson, where he was appointed parish priest, and saw the hill of Mont-Rouge, he understood that it would be there that the sanctuary of Saint Joseph would be built. The priest, with the help of his parishioners, carried a statue of St. Joseph from the top of the local church to the top of the hill. From 1966 onwards, an estate was established and pilgrims flocked to the site. The chapel was built in 1970, the first house for pilgrims and retreatants in 1977, the pavilion of Our Lady in 1982, the large pilgrims' shelter in 1994, and in 2004 the Padre Pio project was completed: a house offering 20 additional rooms with all the comforts. The wooden statue of János Horváth was blessed by Pope Paul VI in 1972. St. Joseph of Monte Rosa is today a pilgrimage centre and a place of spiritual renewal for retreats, recollections, sessions and seminars. Because of its location, it offers the visitor a climate of silence, recollection and peace conducive to prayer, meditation and spiritual renewal. The shrine is run by a team of priests and lay people from the Saint Joseph Family. The pilgrim's shelter (1,200 m²) is a multi-purpose room with seating for 600 to 800 people: a conference and audiovisual room with seating for 140 people, a large shelter for picnics and youth meetings. The shrine also has several places of prayer: the shrine chapel, the Bethlehem oratory and two other oratories. The welcome house is open to anyone who wishes to spend a few days in prayer, rest, solitude or fraternal life as well as to groups who come with their chaplaincy or preacher for a retreat, a recollection or simply a pilgrimage. Services: Masses at 12 noon (except Wednesday at 5pm and Sunday at 11am). Other times: Saturday evening vigils at 8:15 pm (5:30 am on weekdays), adoration at 6:30 am (all day on weekdays), Lauds at 7:30 am (same time on weekdays), Eucharist at 11 am, Rosary at 5 pm (11:30 am in the church on Saturday and 12 pm in the church on Wednesday), Vespers at 5:30 pm (6 pm on weekdays). Accommodation: total capacity 120 persons with about sixty single or double rooms plus an independent hermitage in the forest for groups. 4 conference rooms. Large park of 6 hectares.