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After years of planning and many months of ordering necessities, overseeing construction and tending to seemingly millions of details, the first day of Dedication Week arrived under a warm and blue sky. Liturgical vestments were carefully ironed and waiting, the bieres to carry holy relics were ready, name tags, tickets and enormous amounts of printed material were stacked and waiting for the many pilgrims expected for this wonderful week of events. Meanwhile, in the Shrine restaurant, Culina Mariana, the first of 5,000 dessert bars were being prepared and choice cuts of meat were slowly roasting. The gift shop, Flores Mariae, had been ordering special items for weeks and a volunteer staff was being briefed. On the lower levels of the Pilgrim Center, there was still more activity. Last minute changes were being addressed, calls from TV, radio and print media were being directed and snacks were being laid out for our wonderful volunteers. Outside the Pilgrim Center the parking lot was being cleared while other volunteers checked newly mowed fields intended for overflow parking. And, of course, we were all looking forward to greeting our most special visitor, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, Founder of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. His plane was due in at 10 a.m. and a crowd was already waiting at the Pilgrim Center with colorful banners to welcome him and to wish him well. This week would be one of the most memorable in his life and we were doing everything we could to make it perfect. Just before 11 a.m., the Archbishop’s car arrived and he was greeted with enthusiasm. Despite the busy day ahead, the Archbishop spent time with the media, explaining the role of this new Shrine Church and the Shrine in general. Following a 2 p.m. opening Mass in the Pilgrim Center chapel, the Archbishop led a procession to the Shrine Church plaza, where a large bronze casting called “the Tilma” was unveiled and blessed. The statue is a replica of the bronze work found at the Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, the site of Our Lady’s apparition to St. Juan Diego in 1531. The statue depicts the moment when Juan Diego unfolds his tilma and the image of Our Lady is revealed. As most people had not previously seen the statue, it was a wonderful moment. Later that evening both the mood and location changed as many pilgrims joined the Archbishop for an “Evening on the Mississippi.” While enjoying cool breezes onboard The La Crosse Queen paddle wheeler, Archbishop Burke led the faithful in Evening Prayer on the outbound cruise and in the Litany of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the inbound.
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