Vermont’s Green Hills are Alive with Catholic faithful

Vermont is a slice of paradise in New England. At any time of year, there is a certain allure of the natural beauty of the state, from its green mountains to its sparkling lakes. Its Catholic history dates back to the founding of Quebec and the Jesuit missionary activity to the natives that inhabited the St. Lawrence River Valley, with many famous Catholic converts along the way from Fanny Allen – the daughter of Ethan Allen who converted following a mystical encounter with St. Joseph – and Orestes Brownson.

Stowe

Mount Stowe Resort (photo courtesy Visit Stowe; credit Sharon Harper)

To experience quintessential Vermont, look no further than the village of Stowe, framed by its white steeple church on the historic main street and the base for some of the best skiing in the eastern United States.

Downtown Stowe (photo courtesy of Visit Stowe; credit Sharon Harper)

Stowe is known as the “ski capital of the East,” with several world class and family friendly ski resorts, including Mount Stowe and nearby Smuggler’s Notch (30 miles away) and Bolton Valley (20 miles). While winter downhill skiing is the main draw, these resorts offer year-round activities including hiking, mountain biking, and the opportunity at Mount Stowe to ride the gondola to the highest peak in Vermont for spectacular views over the entire valley. In the Fall, the village and the mountainside come alive with the postcard-perfect foliage that New England is famous for.

Although not quite the Alps of Austria, Stowe and its forested green mountains was a good enough proxy for the Von Trapps (of Sound of Music fame) to settle in America. In 1942, the family settled here and still operates a vacation lodge – the Trapp Family Lodge complete with bierhall, wine cellar, Austrian style coffee house and European-style mountain lodging, and hosts the outdoor Music in the Meadow concert series.

A short twenty minute drive from Stowe is the historic village of Waterbury, home to one of Vermont’s tastiest attractions: the original Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory. In addition to sampling the delectable flavors, visitors can take a tour of the facility which produces over 350,000 pints per day of ice cream. Waterbury is also a renowned destination for mountain biking and culinary tourism, with its farm-to-table offerings.

A Stowe native on the path to sainthood

Blessed Sacrament Church, Stowe (photo courtesy of Blessed Sacrament Church)

After taking in the natural attractions of Stowe, leave time to visit Blessed Sacrament Church to reflect on the life of the Stowe native who worked alongside St. Damien and St. Marianne Cope ministering to the lepers of Hawaii: Brother Joseph Dutton.

The homestead where Joseph Dutton was born in 1843 was donated to the Catholic Church and is now the land on which Blessed Sacrament parish is located. The 12 exterior murals of the church tell the story of Joseph Dutton and the ministry to the lepers in Hawaii. He was a captain in the Civil War and following the war, he eventually converted to Catholicism and entered the Trappist Monastery in Gethsemane, Kentucky. He did not stay in the monastery long, once he became aware of the missionary activities of St. Damian of Molokai in Hawaii. In 1886, he left to join St. Damian in Hawaii and worked tirelessly to minister to the lepers of Molokai until his own death at the age of 87 in 1931. In 2021, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to advance his cause for canonization.

Burlington

From Stowe, it is about a 40 minute drive to Vermont’s largest city. It is a scenic and charming New England city set on the glistening shores of Lake Champlain.

Church Street Marketplace (photos courtesy Hello Burlington)

There are plenty of outdoor activities to fill the day from biking along the city’s scenic lakefront and island trails, renting a kayak or sailboat to go out on Lake Champlain, or ice skating, snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the winter. Burlington also boasts its share of renowned foodie destinations, from farm-to-table restaurants to well known boutiques like Lake Champlain Chocolates.

For Catholic visitors, there are three noteworthy sites in town: the city’s cathedral and the tomb of Servant of God Louis de Goesbriand (who famously secured permission from Pope St. Leo XIII to bring a link of the prison chains that bound St. Peter in Rome back to Burlington); St. Anne’s Shrine on Isle LaMotte where the first mass in Vermont was celebrated over 350 years ago; and the Ethan Allen homestead where you will discover that the eldest daughter of Vermont’s founding father, Fanny, converted to Catholicism and became the first woman in New England to become a nun.

While Burlington does not have any professional sports teams, it is still very much a sporting town centered around some fast paced collegiate ice hockey at the University of Vermont. Burlington is also home to the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum which has fascinating exhibits tracing the history of these sports in Vermont and the many veterans of the Army’s famed Twelfth Mountain Division who returned from the European battles of the Second World War to develop some of the state’s most famous ski resorts.

Gateway to Montreal

Going back to its foundations by the French in the seventeenth century, Burlington and its islands have always been a strategic gateway to French Canada; in fact, the very first settlers established a defensive fort on Isle LaMotte to protect approaches to Montreal. If you have a passport in hand, Montreal is less than a two hour drive from Burlington and makes for a memorable day trip.

Cathedral of Mary Queen of the World (left) and Place Jacques Cartier (photos courtesy of Tourisme Montreal)

Montreal is truly a step into Old World Europe, with splendid churches, cobblestone streets, and numerous pilgrimage opportunities to the shrines of French Canadian saints. Learn more in my travel guide to Catholic Montreal.