Aug. 5, 2006

The Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe Church will be dedicated and open to the public July 31, 2008, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke said Friday.
Burke, archbishop of the St. Louis archdiocese, was here to speak during the annual conference of the Queen of the Americas Guild at the shrine he founded while serving as bishop of the La Crosse diocese.

The dedication will coincide with the sixth anniversary of the canonization of San Juan Diego, a Mexican saint known for his visions of the Virgin Mary. Pope John Paul II canonized him July 31, 2002.

Sister Christa Marie Halligan of the Franciscan Sisters of the Martyr St. George, executive director of the shrine, said construction on the shrine church continues.

The outside is almost complete with the exception of a small area on the front facade on which workers are placing stone.

Inside, workers are installing dry wall on the lower half of the first floor.

Halligan said the design aspect of the church is becoming visible, with workers plastering cathedral arches in nooks and crannies.

She said ecclesiastical painters will arrive in the fall, and a mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be created. A Mexican artist has completed a bronze sculpture of San Juan Diego, which is now in the United States.