Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs - Auriesville, New York

(CNS photos/Nancy Wiechec)

Destination: The Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, N.Y., is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage places in the U.S. It marked its 125th anniversary as a shrine in 2010. Formerly known as the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs, it has more recently been known by its original name.
Masses are at 9 and 11 a.m., and 4 p.m. on Sundays;  11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturdays in the Shrine Coliseum; 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays in the Kateri Chapel.
In the photo a rosary hangs from a statue of Jesus at the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs.
Why to go:  In the 17th century, the spot now dedicated to the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs was a 17th century Mohawk village called Ossernenon. It was there that  three Jesuit missionaries — Father Isaac Jogues, René Goupil, a Jesuit brother, and John Lalande, a lay missioner — were martyred during the 1640s. They are the only canonized American martyrs. With five Jesuit priests killed in Canada,  they are known as the North American Martyrs.
The site is also believed to be near the birthplace of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.
The shrine is under the direction of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus, who have a hallowed tradition of ministry at the site, since Father Loyzance, S.J. came over from Troy, N.Y., to buy 10 acres of land in August 1884.
More than 400 acres of flowered landscapes and tree-studded slopes and lawns house five chapels, two museums, a candle shrine, Jesuit cemetery, outdoor Stations of the Cross and more.
Amenities: Museums and a library are open weekdays, noon- 4p.m., and weekends, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. There is also a gift shop on the grounds.
Access: Some parts of the shrine are accessible by car, others only by walking. The shrine has been closed for the winter, but is scheduled to reopen this spring.
Admission: The shrine depends on donations for its maintenance; offerings are welcome.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Special events at the shrine include confirmation retreats, so kids are normal visitors to the shrine.
Info: Address — Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs, 136 Shrine Road, Fultonville, NY 12016.  Phone — 518/853-3033. Web — www.martyrshrine.org

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

Shroud of Turin Traveling Exhibit - Rockford, Illinois

(CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Destination: A traveling exhibit of a replica of the Shroud of Turin arrived in Rockford this week for a month-long stay at two parishes. The actual shroud (above), revered for centuries as the burial shroud of Christ, was exhibited in 2010 at John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin.
When to go: The exhibit will be displayed through March 15 at St. Edward Parish, 3004 11th Street. Hours will be 9 a.m.-noon Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It will also be on display during the Knights of Columbus fish fry, 5:30-7:30 p.m., March 11.
It will then move to St. Bridget Parish, 600 Clifford Ave., where it will be on display March 16-30. Hours have yet to be determined.
Why to go:  Besides the replica of the Shroud of Turin, the exhibit includes a number of panels showing the history of the shroud, and a sculpture of Christ that shows all of the wounds he suffered, based on the evidence of the shroud. The body, also called a corpus, is mounted on a cross.  As Lent begins, the exhibit calls to mind the sufferings Christ endured for us.
Access: Both parish centers are accessible to the handicapped.
Admission: Free; donation accepted.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Some of the images are particularly graphic; young children might be frightened.

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

Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America - Dubuque, Iowa

(Photos provided/ www.womenandspirit.org)

Destination: The traveling history exhibit that chronicles the role of sisters in shaping America’s health care, education and social justice institutions will be open at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, from Feb. 18 through May 22.
Why to go:  Anyone who remembers sisters in their lives — in a school, hospital or other setting — may enjoy this look at their role in shaping American history.
The exhibit is sponsored by Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in Association with Cincinnati Museum Center, where it opened in 2009. It is touring museums across the nation, coming to Dubuque from Ellis Island. The next exhibit close to the Diocese of Rockford will be Sept. 2 to Dec. 31 at the Center for History in South Bend, Ind.
According to the exhibit Web site, features of the exhibit include artifacts from hundreds of sister communities including a letter from Thomas Jefferson assuring religious freedom following the Louisiana Purchase
Access: The museum is accessible to the handicapped.
Admission: You’ll need tickets to the museum to see the exhibit, but you’ll also be able to visit other exhibits. Cost for non-members is $13 for seniors 65 and older; $15 for other adults; $10 for children 3-17. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.
(Grand) Kid friendly: The museum and the exhibit are both child-friendly. You can even plan an educational outing using materials for students in first- through 12th-grade, on the exhibit Web site (below).
Info: About the museum: Address — National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, 350 E. Third St., Dubuque IA 52001.  Phone — 563/557-9545. Web — www.rivermuseum.com. About the exhibit: www.womenandspirit.org

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

Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help - Champion, Wisconsin

(Photo by Sam Lucero, The Compass, Official Newspaper
of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay)

Destination: On Dec. 8, Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay (Wis.) approved the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help the as first and only site in the United States where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared.
Masses are 8 a.m. Monday, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, 7 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. Saturday. There is an 8 a.m. First Friday Mass. There are no Masses on Sunday and Thursday. There is a 2 p.m. Holy Hour on Sunday.

In photo worshippers pray in the crypt, in the spot where the Blessed Mother appeared to Adele Brise in 1859. The crypt is located just below the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help chapel.
Why to go: In October 1859, Adele Brise, a Belgian immigrant, saw Mary, “The Queen of Heaven,” three times at the northern Wisconsin site. It was just a year after the Marian apparitions at Lourdes. Now known as Champion, the town was called Robinsonville in 1859. (For directions, look for the shrine about 15 miles north of Green Bay and 1 mile east of Champion on Kewaunee County Highway K near New Franken, Wisconsin.)
In her third visit, Mary asked Adele to work to bring the area’s Native Americans to Jesus by teaching them prayers and about the sacraments. She took the request very seriously and, called Sister Adele, devoted her life to teaching others about God.
Adele’s father built a crude chapel between the two trees where Mary appeared. Today, there is a small church on the spot.
Special events: Since 1861, there has been an outdoor Mass on Aug. 15, the Feast of the Assumption. It includes a rosary procession around the outer parameter of the shrine grounds, something the  first devotees did during the Peshtigo Fire. Remarkably, the site was spared when the fire took 2,500 lives in northern Wisconsin on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire, Oct. 8, 1871.
Access: The crypt over the original apparition site is on the lower level of the chapel.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Sister Adele founded a free school for children; she would welcome young visitors today.
Info: Address — Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, 4047 Chapel Dr., New Franken, WI 54229
Phone — 920/866- 2571 Web — www.shrineofourladyofgoodhelp.com

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org
Editor's note: updated May 22, 2015

Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette - Twin Lakes, Wisconsin

(Photo provided/www.lasaletteshrine.org)

Destination: Near Lake Geneva, Wis., in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Missionaries of La Salette have built a shrine. It recalls an apparition of the Blessed Virgin, an event which inspired the foundation of their order.
Mass in the shrine chapel is at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday.
Why to go:  In September 1846, Melanie  and Maximin, shepherds in the French Alps, saw a “beautiful lady,” cloaked in light. She was weeping, and she told them of her love and concern for all her children, who, she said, needed to come back to God.
She encouraged them to pray well — “at night and in the morning, even if you say only an Our Father and a Hail Mary when you can’t do better” — and to go to Mass.
When the Missionaries of La Salette came to Wisconsin, they built a replica of the shrine in the Alps that they had left behind.
With advance reservations, the shrine offers group pilgrimages. Families and individuals are welcome without notice.
Special events: Friday through Sunday, 5-9 p.m., beginning Dec. 5 and continuing through Jan. 1, the shrine will hold its annual Festival of Lights.
Amenities: There is a gift shop at the shrine, as well as nearby public lodging.
Access: The shrine is on rolling ground. Paths may be difficult, especially after a snowfall.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Children saw Our Lady at La Salette, and are more than welcome at the shrine. To introduce them to the story, check the video on the Web site. (It’s an old video, but it gets the story across.)
Info: Address — La Salette Missionaries and Shrine, 10330  336th Ave., P.O. Box 777, Twin Lakes, WI 53181.  Phone — 262/877-3373, ext. 151. Web — www.lasaletteshrine.org

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

Shrine of the ‘Snowshoe Priest’ - L’ Anse, Michigan

(Observer photo by Amanda Hudson)

Destination: West of Marquette, Mich., between the towns of  Baraga and L’ Anse along U.S. Hwy. 41 is one of several sites that chronicle the history of Bishop Frederic Baraga. Look for the shrine’s “teepees” on the south side of the highway.
Masses at nearby Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in L’Anse are at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.
Why to go: The Shrine of the “Snowshoe Priest” features a statue of the bishop holding a pair of 26-foot tall snowshoes. Rising six stories above Red Rocks Bluff, the shrine overlooks virgin hardwoods, scenic coastline and the oldest mountains, geologically, in the world.
Five 9-foot-6-inch concrete teepees, each representing an Indian mission started by Bishop Baraga, hold curved wood beams that meet at a stainless steel cloud 25 feet above the ground. Atop the cloud is the 35-foot tall Bishop Baraga statue, snowshoes in his left hand and a 7-foot cross in his right.
Father Frederic Baraga, also called the Apostle of the Great Lakes, left present-day Slovenia in 1830 to come to the Great Lakes area to teach the native people about God. He traveled throughout the Upper Peninsula by canoe and on foot — wearing snowshoes in winter — to find, teach and celebrate sacraments for the Ottawa and Chippewa people. He established chapels and schools. He learned the Ottawa and Chippewa languages and wrote a Chippewa grammar and dictionary still used today. He became the first bishop of the Upper Peninsula, serving also the immigrants who came to work the copper mines.
Healings have been attributed to Bishop Baraga’s intercession, and the Bishop Baraga Association continues to promote his cause for canonization.
Ammenities: The grounds are always open. A gift and snack shop and restrooms are open 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Saturday, May 15-Oct. 15; Wednesday-Saturday, April 1-May 14 and Oct. 16-Dec. 24). The gift shop is known for pasties, a “yooper” (U-P) treat, which are served Thursday-Saturday.
Access: A quiet, unpaved road takes you back into the woods over railroad tracks and past piles of logs.
(Grand) Kid friendly: The kids will be impressed with the size of this bishop.
Info: Address — Shrine of The Snowshoe Priest, U.S. Hwy. 41, L’ Anse, Mich. Phone — 906/482-5240. Web — www.bishopbaraga.org

- Compiled by Amanda Hudson
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org

Monte Cassino Shrine - St. Meinrad, Indiana

(Photo from Saint Meinrad Archabbey)

Destination: A day’s drive from nearly anywhere in the Rockford Diocese, the Monte Cassino Shrine at St. Meinrad, Ind., is a great stop on a fall colors drive. The shrine is one mile east of Saint Meinrad Archabbey along Indiana 62.
During May and October, Mass is held at 7 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Why to go:  “Surrounded by trees and panoramic views of the Anderson Valley,” the Web site reads, “the shrine, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a testament to the age-old tradition of seeking God.”
The shrine is also a testament to how a novena to Our Lady of Monte Cassino saved the people of St. Meinrad from an 1871 smallpox epidemic. To this day, seminarians hold an annual pilgrimage of thanksgiving at the shrine around Jan. 13.
The shrine, which began as a simple wayside niche that housed a lithographic print of Mary, is now built on native sandstone. Inside, above the altar, is a wooden statue of Mary and Jesus that was hand carved in Switzerland.
Special events: Each May and October, there are Marian pilgrimages at the Shrine.  Speakers and topics this month are: Oct. 3 — Father Sean Hoppe, OSB, “Mary, Queen of Peace”; Oct. 10 — Brother Maurus Zoeller, OSB, “Marian Shrines and Pilgrimages”; Oct. 17 — Father Prior Kurt Stasiak, OSB, “Mary, One Who Trusted the Lord”; Oct. 24 — Father Joseph Cox, OSB, “Mary, the Good Soil”; Oct. 31 — Father Pius Klein, OSB, “Mary, Mother of Faith.” The hour-long pilgrimages start at 2 p.m.
Ammenities: The Archabbey Guest House has rooms for visitors.
Access: The shrine chapel has a short step at the door and the abbey campus is on a picturesque, but hilly, 2,500 acres.
(Grand) Kid friendly: The Abbey is also home to a college and would be a great place for a “visit day” for high school students, especially young men considering the priesthood. Younger children, of course, are always welcome.
Info: Address — Monte Cassino Shrine, St. Meinrad Archabbey, 200 Hill Dr., St. Meinrad, IN 47577. Phone —800/581-6905. Web — www.saintmeinrad.edu

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