It is incredible to think that it has been 37 years since a small group of Hispanic Catholics who were searching for a place where they can venerate Our Lady and celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The community was received by Fr. John Smyth and Maryville Academy, home for boys and girls. Since that faithful first encounter and warm welcome, the apostolate has grown in size and faithful Guadalupano devotion. In 2013, Cardinal Francis George O.M.I, then Archbishop of Chicago, formally and canonically established The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and declared that 60 acres of land of the original 120 acres of Maryville would be dedicated for the establishment and building of the Shine in the Archdiocese of Chicago with the support and blessing of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Since then, the community has been dedicated to making this dream come alive.
On January 1st, after the 1:00 p.m. Mass, we will be celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of our formal decree as the official Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the Archdiocese of Chicago. We would like to invite all to join us in a pilgrimage of prayer and intercession for our late Cardinal, beginning at the St. Joseph Chapel then waking to All Saints Cemetery, to the Cardinals final resting place were we will place a Reith of thanksgiving and remembrance.
This is an exercise in recalling the memory of the humble beginning of this apostolate that will give us strength to make this dream come true and remembering this great Apostle of Christ and dedicated servant of Mary.