Monday, July 28, 2008

New church at La Crosse’s Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

La Crosse - High above the marble floor of the new Shrine Church, painted stars glisten against the turquoise interior of a soaring dome.

Richly symbolic, they tell the story at the heart of a 103-acre site that is expected to draw cardinals, clergy, religious and crowds of everyday Catholics to the wooded bluffs of western Wisconsin this week....

St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, who started the movement to build the shrine when he was bishop of the La Crosse Diocese, will return for the church dedication and some related activities during seven days of celebration, which begin Monday....

Burke sparked discussion in the diocese when he announced plans in December 1999 to create a multimillion-dollar shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, a manifestation of the Virgin Mary that many Hispanics revere. Although La Crosse has no large concentration of Hispanics, Burke noted that Pope John Paul II had declared her the Mother of the Americas.

"Because of the loss of hope in our time and the immensity of the moral difficulties which we face, there is a great desire for a place of pilgrimage in which faith and hope can be renewed," Burke said at the time....
What a beautiful shrine! It's to be dedicated this week. Wish I could be there! Maybe a road trip/vacation can be arranged?

from JS-Online here
And a picture gallery can be viewed here.

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