April 23, 2004

Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis will be back in La Crosse May 13 to preside over the groundbreaking for the main church at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Burke, who until January was bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, founded the local shrine project which was announced in July 1999. The estimated cost is $25 million to $30 million. A $5 million endowment is planned to ensure funding for operations and maintenance.

Construction of the first phase of the project began in June 2001, and the Votive Chapel of Our Lady of Good Counsel and the Pilgrim's Center opened in late 2002.

Burke, in a news release announcing the groundbreaking, said he was pleased that construction is beginning on the church, which will be located at the top of the bluff of the 80-acre site off Hwy. 14/61 between Hwy. MM and Justin Road.

"The heart of the shrine is the church," he said. "It is to the church that people will come on pilgrimage. So of all the groundbreakings, this is the most important one."

Sister Christa Marie Halligan, the shrine director, said the groundbreaking will be held at 9 a.m. on the blufftop and will be combined with the traditional May Crowning of Mary.

"People will start at the top of the bluff and proceed down the walking path," she said. The May crowning will be in the plaza in front of the Pilgrim's Center, where the bronze statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe is located.

The procession, which will be led by local Catholic school children singing and saying the rosary, will stop in the Votive Chapel before going onto the plaza, Halligan said.

She said the event should be an enjoyable and spiritual occasion.

"You have children's voices singing songs to the Blessed Mother," she said. "You can't get any better."

The construction process is expected to take about 2½ years, Halligan said.

Burke said contributions for the project, which is being funded entirely through donations from private groups and individuals, continue to come in and fundraising efforts are ongoing.

The land for the shrine was donated by the family of the late Robert Swing, and his widow, Lucille Swing.

The complex eventually is expected to include a center for doctrinal and spiritual renewal of catechism teachers, a residence for the shrine's director, convent for religious sisters and smaller chapels and grottos.

The groundbreaking and May crowning ceremony is open to the public.