Mother Cabrini Shrine - Colorado Golden, Colorado

(CNS photo)

Destination: Mother Cabrini Shrine Colorado is located at the site where, shortly after the turn of the 20th century, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini established an orphanage.
Masses are 7:30  a.m. Monday-Saturday and 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday.
Why to go: In the Rockford Diocese, most people probably associate Mother Cabrini with her work in Chicago. But in 1902, she traveled to Colorado to help a burgeoning community of Italian immigrants. She was, herself, an Italian immigrant.
While in Colorado, she found the property in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies that is now the shrine. It wasn’t until 1909-1910, though, that she was able to buy the land to use as a summer camp for the children housed at her Queen of Heaven Orphanage.
When she first found the property, she was apparently told there was no reliable source of water on the land.  For years, water was trucked to the camp. But in 1912, the sisters complained of the lack of fresh water. After hearing this, Mother Cabrini said, “Lift that rock over there and start to dig. You will find water fresh enough to drink and clean enough to wash,” according to the shrine’s Web site.
The spring they found still flows today and some people believe the water has healing qualities, but a shrine spokesperson notes, “It’s the people who have proclaimed it healing and miraculous, not the church.”
Newer features of the shrine are the Grotto Chapel and a 22-foot statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, carved by an Italian artist, mounted atop an 11-foot base. There are 373 steps leading to the statue.
Ammenities: A gift shop is open daily, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Shrine gates are open 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Access: This is a shrine on hilly ground and may be difficult for some visitors to maneuver.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Children are certainly welcome at the site which was, after all, a children’s summer camp.
Info: Address — Mother Cabrini Shrine Colorado, 20189 Cabrini Blvd., Golden, CO 80401. Phone — 303/526-0758. Web — www.mothercabrinishrine.org

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld; CNS contributed to this story
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org