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National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows

DESCRIPTION: National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, a spiritual oasis of healing for people of all faiths and denominations, is the largest outdoor shrine in North America. On the Shrine's 200-acre site are a church, a visitors' center, conference centers, motel, restaurant, chapel, an outdoor altar and amphitheatre, several gardens, a prayer walk, the Way of the Cross and a grotto. Nine devotional areas are located on the site as is an unusual Millennium Spire and candelarium sculpture. Also on the grounds are an apartment community, an assisted living center and a geriatric center.

SLOGAN: "Share the Healing and the Hope"

ADDRESS: 42 S. De Mazenod Drive, Belleville, IL 62223-1094

LOCATION: 15 minutes from downtown St. Louis in Belleville, IL

PHONE: 314-241-3400, 618-397-6700, 800-533-6279

WEB SITE: www.snows.org

GETTING THERE: From Downtown St. Louis, take I-64 east across the Mississippi River to I-255 south. Take I-255 to Illinois State Highway 15 east (Exit 17A). Proceed one mile to the Shrine which is at the top of the hill on the right.

HOURS: The grounds are open from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. year round. The visitors' center which houses a gift shop, a restaurant and meeting rooms, is open 8 a.m.-10 p.m. every day except Christmas Day.

From April through October, Mass is said three times a day and the Sacrament of Reconciliation given daily. From November through March, Mass is celebrated twice daily on weekdays. On weekends throughout the year, there are two Masses each Sunday as well as a Saturday evening Mass.

TOURS: Complimentary trolley tours are available to acquaint visitors with the various sites and activities at the Shrine. An introductory video is also shown in the visitors' center.

ADMISSION: Free

ANNUAL ATTENDANCE: Almost 1 million.

WHAT'S NEW: The Shrine's Millennium Spire and candelarium sculpture was built to commemorate the coming of the Third Millennium. The 85-foot tall stainless steel sculpture rises out of a candelarium designed to hold 6,000 candles. Designed by sculptor William Severson, the spire symbolizes the new ideas of the new millennium and the traditional ways of the old. Continually illuminated with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) representing prayer and petition requests received by the Oblate fathers via e-mail, the spire symbolizes the new and the candelarium under the spire represents the traditional way of making a request by lighting a candle. The Children's Memorial Playground (described below) is also a new feature.

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • The Main Shrine sits in a valley at the base of a natural outdoor amphitheatre. The amphitheatre seats 2,400 and is used for special liturgies and events. Christ the King Chapel, three Rosary Courts and Mary Chapel are also in the area.
  • The 14 stations of the Way of the Cross have detailed statues depicting Christ's journey to Calvary.
  • Resurrection Garden at the end of the Way of the Cross symbolizes Christ's victory over sin and death, and a continuous flame symbolizes the everlasting life Christ promised.
  • Lourdes Grotto, one of the most frequently visited spots at the Shrine, is a grotto scaled to two-thirds the size of the original grotto in France.
  • Annunciation Garden features larger-than-life statues of Gabriel the Archangel and the Blessed Virgin overlooking a reflecting pool with four large Byzantine bells that ring on the hour. Shrine founder Father Edwin J. Guild, O.M.I., is buried at the front of the sculpture.
  • Mothers everywhere and individual mothers are honored at the Mothers Prayer Wall located in a landscaped flower garden.
  • In a wooded setting winding down a hillside from Lourdes Grotto, bronze memorials honor Joseph, the Carpenter, and all fathers.
  • Guild Center is an exhibit area built by Fr. Edwin J. Guild, O.M.I., founder of the Shrine. The Center is currently closed.
  • Church of Our Lady of the Snows, a round building symbolizing the universality of the Church, has a 16-foot high cross in front of it. Five tapestries inside the church depict St. Joseph, father of Jesus; St. Therese of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun who was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XI; St. Eugene De Mazenod, O.M.I., founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate; Blessed Joseph Gerard, O.M.I., a pioneering missionary in southern Africa and Blessed Jozef Cebula, O.M.I., a native of Poland who ministered to prisoners in the Mauthausen concentration camp and was executed by the Nazis.
  • A large Carrara marble statue of Jesus kneeling depicts Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and is the central figure in the Agony Garden.
  • Visitors can reflect in a quiet, natural setting on the Shrine Nature Trail on the west side of the Amphitheatre. The mulch-covered path takes walkers through the woods and quiet planted areas.
  • The Dooley Conference Center is available for meetings.
  • The Shrine Motel offers comfortable accommodations at modest prices. Group rates and room rates for the disabled are available on request.
  • Also on the grounds is an apartment community for older adults, a geriatric center and an assisted-living complex.

ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS: The Shrine's one-of-a-kind Children's Memorial Playground is a two-acre play area that features a life-sized bronze sculpture of Jesus, a colorful mural depicting the seven day of creation and interesting playground equipment for children from toddlers to teens. A 14-foot tall "Hands of Creation" rock-climbing wall is especially appealing to adolescents. The Shrine's youth ministry is geared toward young people and there are many events planned throughout the year for children and young adults, including rallies, youth weekends and a youth ministry certificate program.

ANNUAL SPECIAL EVENTS: The Shrine holds several special events each year including a St. Patrick's Day celebration in March; an Easter egg display every spring; an Earth Day celebration in April; Youth Sing Praise, a week-long program for students with vocal talent, and a Family Faith Fest in June; Our Lady of the Snows Annual Healing Novena in the summer; World Youth Day, a Hispanic Mass and celebration and a marriage celebration in September; an Alls Souls Remembrance Day in November and the Way of Lights Christmas light display in December.

HISTORY: Devotion to Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Snows dates back to 352 A.D. when, according to legend, Mary appeared to a childless, wealthy Roman couple in a dream on a hot summer night. She told them she wanted a church to be built in her honor in Rome. She also told them the site would be covered with a blanket of snow. The same night, she appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream also telling him of her desire. The next morning, Rome awoke to snow on Esquiline Hill even though the weather was extremely warm. The summer snow was proclaimed a miracle and the couple took that as a sign to use their wealth to help build the church. The Basilica of St. Mary Major was built on the site and still stands today as the seat of devotion to Our Lady of the Snows.

The devotion to Our Lady of the Snows in the Midwest was originally developed by two Oblate priests-Father Paul Schulte, O.M.I., known as the "Flying Priest of the Arctic," and Father Edwin J. Guild, O.M.I., the founder and first director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.Father Schulte had developed a deep personal devotion to Our Lady of the Snows while serving in Oblate missions in the Arctic making mercy flights to Eskimos in isolated areas, and he commissioned artist J. Watson Davis to paint a picture of Our Lady of the Snows. Davis painted Father Schulte and his airplane on a sick call to an Eskimo mission with Our Lady appearing in the Arctic sky surrounded by rays of the Northern Lights. Father Schulte hung the painting in the chapel at St. Henry's Seminary in Belleville, Illinois where he began his work with Father Guild, who was director of the Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate.

On April 2, 1943, the Association started a perpetual novena to Our Lady of the Snows. Visitors to the Shrine began to increase and in 1951, the first Solemn Outdoor Novena was held in August to commemorate the feast of Our Lady of the Snows. The same year a new chapel was built at the seminary and used in the devotion to Our Lady of the Snows but as interest grew so did the need for a larger facility. In 1958, an 80-acre site on the Illinois bluffs was purchased for the proposed National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, and work began that summer on a large outdoor amphitheatre to house the Shrine's main altar.

Work was begun in 1959 on the Lourdes Grotto and two years later the 10th Annual Solemn Outdoor Novena was held at the Grotto, the first to be held at the new Shrine site. The Outdoor Altar and Amphitheatre complex which houses two chapels and three Rosary Courts was completed enough for the Oblates to hold the 11th annual Solemn Outdoor Novena there the next year. More than 45,000 persons attended the nine nightly devotions.

Between 1960 and 1963, the Oblates purchased more land adjacent to the site until it reached its present 200 acres. Through the years, the Visitors' Center, motel, Resurrection, Agony Garden, Mothers Prayer Walk, Dr. Tom Dooley Center, Edwin J. Guild Center and Fathers Memorial Wall were added. The shrine was completed in 1991.

WHAT'S COMING UP: Plans are underway for renovation of the Main Shrine and the Amphitheatre as well as for expansion and renovation of the Dooley Center.

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBILITY: The Shrine is handicapped accessible.

WHERE TO GET LUNCH: A restaurant in the visitors center of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows serves lunch and dinner every day of the year except Christmas Day.

GIFT SHOP: A gift shop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows features a wide assortment of books, postcards, tapes, statues and other religious items.

WHAT'S NEARBY: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Gateway International Raceway and Eckert's Country Store and Farm are nearby.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: Tom Mulhall, 618-394-6432, tmulhall@oblatesusa.org.

 

Readers should call 1-800-916-0040 to request a free copy of the Official St. Louis Visitor Guide or point, click and explore St. Louis at www.explorestlouis.com