Archbp. Burke describes why he built the Shrine to Our Lady – VIDEO

His Excellency Archbishop Raymond Burke, now Prefect of the Apostolic Segnatura, was once the Bishop of La Crosse.

During his time as bishop, he began the construction of a great shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The result is spectacular.   If you are ever in the area, you must visit.Twitter

Archbp. Burke returned to the Shrine this week for a Canon Law Conference.

During the course of the conference, His Excellency explained  why he build the Shrine.

UPDATE: I added a lower quality version, below.

BTW… Archbp. Burke speaks of the possibility that body of the late Fr. John Hardon, SJ might be eventually moved to the Shrine, if it is found to be opportune.   Fr Hardon’s Catechism (great for adults) was instrumental in my conversion to the Catholic Church.

Play

This little video, in which Archbp. Burke explains a project so close to his heart, really gives you a sense of the man’s intellect and piety.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in Brick by Brick, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, PODCAzT and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

18 Comments

  1. Archbishop Burke had “hell to pay” for this great gift to Our Lady, to the Diocese of La Crosse, to the Church universal.
    God bless him each and every day!
    His perseverance, vision and deep faith are such gifts to us; he was my spiritual director at one time and ordained me to the Holy Priesthood. I have benefitted from his wise counsel, encouragement and direction.
    This Shrine is a great gift for us in these times.
    I cannot say enough in praise of his example and kind, Christ-like personal presence.

  2. irishgirl says:

    nazareth priest-Archbishop Burke ordained you AND was your spiritual director? Wow-are you ever fortunate! I’m impressed! Cool!

    I would love to go out and see this Shrine-that is, if I had the money to travel that far! I live on the ‘right coast’!

  3. Rose in NE says:

    Our family visited the Shrine last summer and were fortunate enough to briefly meet Archbishop Burke there and receive a blessing from him. The Shrine is stunning. Be sure to take an official tour when you visit to learn about some of the hidden details of what you’re looking at. Would love to go back!

  4. This Shrine gives you the sense that it is still possible to build beautiful things for God.

  5. Athelstan says:

    Nazareth priest is right: Burke caught a lot of hell from Wisconsin progressives (Mostly outright misunderstandings – “it’s regressive! it’s cultish! the money could go to schools/the poor! the money is being taken away from parishes!”) for building the Shrine, which was paid for entirely out of private donations. Transfixed by its beauty now, it’s easy to forget that.

    Working with Duncan Stroik, Archbishop Burke has taken one more step to show us that it is still possible to build beautiful Catholic edifices.

  6. Serviam1 says:

    Check out Mr. Stroik’s portfolio:

    http://www.stroik.com/portfolio/

    I ran into a number of road blocks from the Archdiocese of Boston, to be considered an “Approved Vendor”. I was never given a straight answer how an outsider could be approved for work in the Archdiocese. Work both “Restoration”, Renovation and New appears monopolized by the same people, with the same tired and utilitarian ideas.

    Let’s say we have a full stable of architects that are proteges of Fr. Richard Vosko SJ. This is what we’re up against. It’s particularly tragic with older historic churches.

    http://www.rvosko.com/pages/projects.asp

  7. Please allow me to add a humble “amen” to Fr. Z and Nazareth Priest and all others here. I visited the Shrine in mid-January this year–and it’s all everyone here has said. It’s a beautiful setting both naturally and by design. In fact, I was struck by the restraint shown when it came to devotional art. Everything is rendered tastefully and truthfully. It’s also conscientiously a “pilgrimage” church; it’s not you can just drive right up and take a gander. It takes some time. When I told my hosts where I spent the afternoon, they all rolled their eyes…which says something about Archbishop Burke’s opposition.

  8. JosephMary says:

    I wish to let you all know that there is an upcoming MARIAN symposium at the Shrine on August 21st:

    http://www.mariansymposium.com/

    Archbishop Burke will be back! And also speaking will be Luis Cardinal Martinez, Msgr. Arthur Calkins, and Dr. Mark MIravalle.

    I began particularly aware of Archbishop Burke about a dozen years ago as I took some Marian Catechist courses that had been designed by the Servant of God, Fr. John Hardon. And I came to that through my involvement with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As you may know,Fr. Hardon–like Archbishop Sheen-was a tremendous promoter of the daily Holy Hour. Bishop Burke was chosen by Fr. Hardon as a spiritual guide for the Marian Catechist program, which he still is. It would be wonderful if Fr. Hardon’s body could be buried there!

  9. TJerome says:

    Athelstan, those leftwing loons overlooked the fact that the building of the Shrine provided JOBS for a lot of people. Funny how they overlook that part of the equation.

  10. Fr_Sotelo says:

    Growing up in a Mexican family, I was always under the impression that the devotion to the dark Virgin (la Morenita) and St. Juan Diego was limited to the Mexican and Hispanic community. It has been a pleasant surprise to see how she has been embraced north of the border in the last 30 years by a diverse sprinkling of bishops, priests, and faithful.

    From the Fraternity of St. Peter to Archbishop Burke to the pro-life giants, Christ’s Mother under the title of Guadalupe has truly been the great unifier for peoples and Burke now stands out as one of her greatest apostles. No doubt, She will see to it that Her Son always prospers the work of his ministry.

  11. Fr. Sotelo: I would say it is more than a sprinkling. At least in my native place and among priests who are real sons of the Church.

  12. Mike says:

    Interesting that Fr. Hardon played a role in your conversion. I finished my first yr teaching Freshman Religion in June, and used his online stuff a lot. REALLY great material.

  13. don Jeffry says:

    Nuestra Señora Santa Maria de Guadalupe Reina de Mexico y Emperatriz de America. She’s ours too!

  14. Andrew says:

    Cuix amo nican nica Nimonantzin?
    Cuix amo nocehuallotitlan
    necauhyotitlan in tica?
    Cuix amo nehuatl in nimopaccayeliz?
    Cuix amo nocuixanco
    nomamalhuazco in tica?
    Cuix oc itla motech monequi?
    (Nican mopohua, 119)

  15. Rob Cartusciello says:

    Just to be clear, Richard Vosko is a diocesan priest, not a Jesuit.

    That is at least one abomination the Societas Jesu is not responsible for.

  16. Agnes says:

    It is one of my favorite places to be, and convenient, as I have family in the area. While there a few months ago, I purchased a manual for Marian Catechists written by Fr. Hardon. I will be very interested to see how the plans for the catechetical institute come together. The people of La Crosse were concerned about the Shrine as being a waste of diocesan funds considering the needs in the area. However nothing is done on loan or with diocesan funds – it is all private donations and they are completely in the black (and doing the red – lol). I’m not sure what they do for outreach but the Juan Diego Guild is a great association for the parish youth.

  17. Elle says:

    They have a beautiful side altar St. Gianna Molla Baretta a patron saint for the preborn… her’s is a true life of sacrifice and only went to be with The Lord in the 60’s. Pope John Paul II canonized her with husband and children in attendance.

    Any priest worth his salt makes time for “An hour of power” as Fulton J. Sheen referred to it.
    Truly a happy hour:)

  18. rakesvines says:

    My good news is from St. John of the Cross. It is when things are roughest, bleakest and gloomiest that we get a chance to truly God love. It is easy to feel holy and praise God while enjoying the perfect weather at the beach. But one becomes truly holy and loving when one praises and serves God while sinking in a quick sand of excrement.

Comments are closed.