Shrine of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne - Mound City, Kansas

(Photos courtesy Father Shawn Tunink)

Destination: Kansas Catholics are rightly proud of their shrine to the only canonized saint to live in their state. St. Rose Philippine Duchesne’s shrine is at Sacred Heart Church, built in 1942 with stones from St. Mary’s Indian Mission, now a memorial park.
Masses at the church are at 6:30 p.m. Saturday  and 8:15 a.m. Wednesday. The small parish shares its priest with two others in the Archdiocese of Kansas City.
Why to go:  The shrine honors “St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (who) loved the people of Kansas enough to travel in a wagon at the age of 71 to live in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere to tell Indians who didn’t speak her language how much Jesus loved them,” writes Father Shawn Tunink, parochial vicar of Cure of Ars Church in Leawood, Kan., in a blog entry.
The park is also worth finding. “Unfortunately,” Father Tunink continues, “when the mission closed in 1849 they felt they had to burn all the buildings to prevent desecration. So, only some stone foundations are left.” The park, which is part of the Potawatomi Trail of Death, is a well maintained and curated site. There are plenty of signs to explain the ruins on the grounds and the history of the Church’s role at the mission.
Access: The church grounds are not a problem, but finding the park may be a challenge. Father Tunink says, “It’s well off the beaten path about 10 miles from Mound City and even today is in the middle of nowhere.” There are likely to be some directional signs, but you may have to ask for directions at the church. The Potawatomi locate the park three miles south of Centerville, Kan., at GPS N-3814398 W-9456539.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Kids will especially like the life-sized statues of St. Rose and the Indians she served at the shrine. They are more likely to enjoy time outside at the mission park.
Info: Address: Shrine of St. Philippine Duchesne, Sacred Heart Church, Mound City, KS 66056. Phone: 913/755-2652. Web: Sacred Heart Church — http://stphilipnerioz.org/Sacred_Heart.php; St. Philippine Duchesne Memorial Park — http://www.potawatomi-tda.org/kansas/stphilip.htm or http://home.catholicweb.com/diocspfdcape/index.cfm/NewsItem?ID=317092

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org