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Dedication of Guadalupe Hill at Belleville Shrine |
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Five years ago, Fr. Raúl Salas, OMI, received a new assignment from his superiors. He was asked to become part of the staff of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, IL, with the task of focusing his ministry primarily with Hispanics who come as pilgrims to the Shrine. A native of the warm Rio Grande Valley in Texas, he moved to Belleville to encounter not only the cold of Midwestern winters, but also the growing Hispanic population in the Greater St. Louis area.
In the Diocese of Belleville, for example, made up of 28 Southern Illinois counties, the Hispanic population grew from 8,000 in 1990 to 13,000 in the 2000 census.
On September 3, Fr. Raúl was part of a particularly exciting moment in this new ministry, the blessing and dedication of the newest devotional area at the Shrine: the Our Lady of Guadalupe Hill.
Prior to the dedication, the Shrine church was the site of a festive Mass, presided by Bishop Michael Pfeifer, OMI, of San Angelo, TX. The blessing of Guadalupe Hill was done by Fr. Rufino Nava, OMI, who succeeded Fr. Raúl last year in this ministry when the latter became Director of Youth Ministries for the United States Province.
Participants in brightly colored and stunningly embroidered clothing filled the church with their prayers and their hymns, sung to the music of a mariachi ensemble of guitars, drums, trumpets and maracas. The mariachi and choir came from San Juan de los Lagos Parish in San Antonio, TX.
On hand for the dedication was the Oblate provincial of the United States Province. Fr. Louis Lougen, OMI. He emphasized the significance of the event: “Today is historic. There are cultures coming together here today, and the shrine stands in a prophetic way where we remember we are all children of God. No matter the color of our skin, our celebration says to us that we are one people; not to separate or build walls or fuss at each other.”
From its beginning in the early 1960’s, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows has offered different areas where pilgrims might find place for their personal and favorite devotions. The first devotional area built was a replica of the famous grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Then came the outdoor amphitheatre for the novena in honor of Our Lady of the Snows. People are able to walk the Stations of the Cross (or even drive around them). In recent years, small devotional areas have been added: Our Lady of Knock (Ireland), Our Lady of Czestochowa (Poland), Our Lady of Peñafrancia (Philippines), and even a children’s playground where the centerpiece is a statue of Christ welcoming the little ones.
During the course of the year, there are festivals celebrating various cultural expressions of the Catholic faith (e.g. Hispanic, Polish, Irish, etc.)
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The
new outdoor devotional area attempts to recreate the stark beauty of Tepayac
Hill, the spot near Mexico City, where the Virgin of Guadalupe is reported
to have appeared several times to the peasant Juan Diego, on December 12,
1531. Life-sized statues of the Virgin and of St. Juan Diego were the work
of a company in Austin, TX.