June 23, 2003

The $25 million Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe off Hwy. 14 on La Crosse's far south side is beginning to take shape.
The walls and roof are up on the Pilgrim's Center and on the nearby Our Lady of Good Counsel Votive Chapel. The parking lot is nearly ready for paving.

Workers in hard hats are putting up wall coverings, installing floor and wall tile and bringing in kitchen equipment. The archway through which visitors will enter the outdoor plaza leading to the Pilgrim's Center is awaiting a bell, the plaza needs paving, and the 8-foot bronze statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe that will welcome visitors is yet to be completed.

Christine Engstrom of the Shrine Administrative Office said the statue is being cast by an Arizona artist who was commissioned to do the piece.

Visitors will enter the Pilgrim's Center through a large central gallery with an information desk. The center's restrooms, food service and dining room, which seats about 80, are off to the right of the gallery.

The dining room will be available for private bookings for some outside events, Engstrom said. A group already has scheduled a luncheon for sometime next year.

The restaurant, to be called Culina, will be managed and operated by Barbara Leis, owner of Picasso's Cafe at 600 N. Third St. Leis, who is seeking a buyer for Picasso's, will run her catering business out of the Pilgrim's Center.

On the left of the gallery is the orientation room/chapel, where visitors can learn about Our Lady of Guadalupe and other apparitions believed to be of Mary, the mother of Jesus. A book and gift shop also is located on the left. The shop will be stocked with a variety of items, including books, artwork, music, statuary and gifts. The items have been ordered from about a dozen countries, Engstrom said, and will be unique to the La Crosse area.

The Our Lady of Good Counsel Votive Chapel will feature stained glass windows, three on each side. Our Lady of Good Counsel, patron saint of the La Crosse Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, will be in the center window, overlooking the Pilgrim's Center.

TCI Inc. of La Crosse is the general contractor. The architect is River Architects of La Crosse. Engstrom said local companies and products have been used as much as possible.

Although sponsored by Bishop Raymond L. Burke and the Diocese of La Crosse, the shrine is a separate corporation. The facility is being built with private donations and is located on an 80-acre donated site. Burke has said no diocesan funds will be used to pay for the shrine's construction or upkeep.

Besides the $25 million for construction, an additional $5 million is being raised to establish an endowment fund for operations and maintenance. As of July 2001, Burke said at least $21 million had been raised for the project. No current figures were available this week, but a new, major fundraising campaign is under way this month in the diocese and throughout the Midwest, Engstrom said.

Mike Swinghammer of River Architects said the project is on schedule, and the first phase should be completed by fall. The goal is to have everything finished by Dec. 12, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The next phase of the project is the Shrine Church, a 350-seat worship center to be built at the top of the bluff. The church will take about two years to complete, Swinghammer said.

Also planned is a Marian Catechetical Center where catechism teachers can go for training, a rectory and a convent to house the priests and nuns who will staff the shrine, an outdoor Mass area, Rosary Walk and Stations of the Cross.

The winding path up to the church will be sloped at a 5-percent grade and will be paved for easier walking. Electric carts will be available to transport pilgrims who are unable to walk because of age or disabilities.

Swinghammer said the shrine is the kind of project architects dream about doing in their careers.

"Once it's here, it's going to be a beautiful place," he said, "and people are going to enjoy coming here, any religion."