JUST TOO COOL: Neighborhood sidewalk shrine to St. Camillus of Lellis against COVID-1984 – UPDATED with BOM!

UPDATE 27 Nov 2021:

A couple people asked for the plans for making a shrine.  I asked the fellow who made the one below to send a BOM (Bill of Materials).  It should have working links.

HERE


Originally posted on: Nov 25, 2021

I received this great email:

Dear Fr. Z–

Here are pictures of my new wayside Shrine Against Covid dedicated to St. Camillus.

The shrine, which is located in Omaha, was blessed today by Fr. ___, pastor of St. ___ parish. In a beautiful blessing, Father specifically dedicated the wayside shrine “against the Plague of Covid” and invoked the Saint’s intercession upon all who visit, especially healthcare workers.

Shrine before installation

Shrine installed

Fr. ___ after the blessing.

Some of the first visitors

The shrine is interactive and includes a little bell which can be rung to request the assistance of St. Camillus, inventor of the hospital patient call bell.

An Evangelical beat Father to the blessing!

The shrine is located right next to the public sidewalk. We had just completed the installation work when a nice teenage Evangelical came walking up. He was actually the shrine’s first visitor. I explained what we were doing and he asked if he could pray with us over the shrine.

Being a Protestant, he did not want to pray to the saint, but directly to the Lord. I replied, “St. Camillus won’t object because he’s with Jesus right now.”

The young man raised his right hand and, in his own heartfelt way, asked God to grant success to our project.

More on St. Camillus, the patron saint of doctors and healthcare workers.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-camillus-de-lellis

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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8 Comments

  1. Kathleen10 says:

    What an excellent thing to do! It is so touching to see, and it is truly beautiful. I especially love the call bell. I can see this being extremely popular with everyone, and children will love it. This is the kind of thing that can imprint on a child’s memory and be something they remember all their lives, and even bring their own children back to, so they can experience it. Children love as adults, what they remember as children. Total kudos to all involved.
    St. Camillus de Lellis, pray for us!

  2. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Obviously the Lord found your project pleasing, even before you could get it done!

    I did not know all that stuff about the saint. Thank you!

  3. Antonia D says:

    What a fantastic idea for evangelization, to make a small, beautiful shrine on your own property for the public passing by! I’ll pass it on.

    I especially love the bell… that will attract parents and their kids, and help to plant seeds of Christianity in their imaginations before the messages of the fallen world have gotten a foothold.

    Thanks again, and may God bless you & yours. And Happy Thanksgiving to you, to Fr. Z, and to all his readers.

  4. ddhue says:

    I was in Italy in June/July (to see my son receive the cassock and tonsure! Thanks be to God!) and saw a lovely shrine in a small alcove in a building. There was a kneeler there, some flowers, and it was beautiful. One of my favorite memories of walking around Rome. I have really enjoyed the pictures from Rome and recognizing places I also saw!

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  6. Nicholas says:

    “First blessing was by an Evangelical teen.”

    That’s my kind of ecumenism. Getting Protestants to pray at shrines of saints is good work.

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