Our Lady of the New Millennium - St. John, Indiana

(CNS photo/Michael McArdle, Northwest Indiana Catholic)

Destination: A 33-foot-tall, 8,000-pound stainless steel statue of Mary has found a permanent home in St. John, Ind.,  after being carted from parish to parish around the Chicago area for more than a decade. It made at least one stop in the Rockford Diocese, at St. Patrick Church in Rockford. The statue of Our Lady of the New Millennium is yet another reason to visit St. John, Ind., which is also the home of the Shrine of Christ’s Passion. (See December 2009 Seasoned Observer.)
Masses are at 5 p.m., Saturday; 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., Sunday in the church; 6:30 p.m., Tuesday.
Why to go:  The statue, Our Lady of the New Millennium, was commissioned by Chicago resident Carl Demma in 1995 and has visited nearly 300 parishes, mostly in the Chicago Archdiocese. It was blessed by Pope John Paul II in 1999 during his visit to St. Louis.
Father Sammie Maletta, pastor of St. John the Evangelist, told the crowd at a May 22 dedication — held inside as heavy storm clouds surrounded the statue — that Carl Demma said when he was 9 years old, he wanted to build a statue of Mary so big “that all of Chicago can see her.”
Demma died in 2000. His wife, Francine, who attended the ceremony, is pleased that the statue has a permanent home. She said the parish location for the statue was ideal for “visibility and evangelizing.”
“I knew it would inspire many people. I knew in my heart this was the appropriate place. They’ll take care of it for the next generation,” she told the Northwest Indiana Catholic, newspaper of the Gary Diocese.
Access: Parking is available near the statue, so most people will find it relatively easy to see it.
(Grand) Kid friendly: The parish is home to a school, although it is at another location, so children are welcome to visit the statue.
Info: Address: St. John the Evangelist Church, 10701 Olcott Ave., St. John, IN 46373. Phone: 219/365-5678. Web: www.stjohnparish.org
Editor's note: Before you head to St. John, Indiana, check the Dec. 5, 2009, Destination for other places to visit in the area.

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