High above the marble floor of the new Shrine Church, painted stars glisten against the turquoise interior of a soaring dome. Richly symbolic, they tell the story at the heart of a 103-acre site that is expected to draw cardinals, clergy, religious and crowds of everyday Catholics to the wooded bluffs of western Wisconsin this week.
The stars are said to be patterned after the night sky near Mexico City in 1531, when the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have shown herself to Juan Diego as an apparition now known as Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The turquoise is the same as that of Mary's star-adorned mantle in the image that is believed to have miraculously appeared on the Aztec Indian's cloak as a sign to the Spanish bishop that she had, indeed, told Juan Diego that a church should be built where she had spoken to him.
Those are subtle features within a more complex church that will be dedicated Thursday - the sixth anniversary of Juan Diego's canonization - as the principal structure at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the southern edge of La Crosse.
Described by shrine project architect Michael Swinghamer as having a 17th-century Italianate Renaissance design, it includes a tower with a 25-bell carillon and a plaza with a duplicate of the bronze statue of Juan Diego at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico.
The church interior, which seats 450, has artwork, a 54-rank organ, Italian marble and a vibrant mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe behind a towering, marble-columned canopy over the main altar.
It radiates traditional devotion.
Project began in 1999
St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, who started the movement to build the shrine when he was bishop of the La Crosse Diocese, will return for the church dedication and some related activities during seven days of celebration, which begin Monday.
Pope Benedict XVI recently named Burke to head the Vatican's equivalent of a supreme court.
Burke sparked discussion in the diocese when he announced plans in December 1999 to create a multimillion-dollar shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, a manifestation of the Virgin Mary that many Hispanics revere.
Although La Crosse has no large concentration of Hispanics, Burke noted that Pope John Paul II had declared her the Mother of the Americas.
"Because of the loss of hope in our time and the immensity of the moral difficulties which we face, there is a great desire for a place of pilgrimage in which faith and hope can be renewed," Burke said at the time.
Some people supported his vision. Some questioned the need for another shrine in the Midwest or said that the fund raising for the shrine could be put to better uses, such as helping the poor.
But donations flowed, and development started several years ago.
The shrine is tranquil and evocative on a bright summer's day, with planted flowers near buildings, wildflowers and prairie plants growing on the slopes along the start of the pilgrims' path, and shaded, wooded walks among the outdoor artworks higher up.
"It's really amazing to have something like that in our own part of the country," said visitor Carol Ewan, 64, of Medford, who did not realize last week that portions of the shrine were closed until the dedication activities.
"I wish the whole thing was open so we could see more, but we'll have to come back. In this world of everything being so hustley-bustley, this is just a peaceful place."
Linda Miller, 58, of McGregor, Iowa, had a similar reaction.
"What we could see, I was in awe," she said. "It's very inspirational."
Earthly impact for La Crosse
Sister Christa Marie, the shrine's executive director, has not released the cost of creating that environment.
However, the shrine's federal Form 990, which tax-exempt organizations must file annually, reported buildings, equipment and land worth about $25.5 million at the end of 2006, which was about $7.6 million more than at the start of the year.
Shrine officials previously said that 80 acres of the site were donated by the family of a local diocesan priest.
It also is expected to have a more earthly impact on the La Crosse area.
Dave Clements, executive director of the La Crosse Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, thinks the shrine had more than 50,000 visitors last year, should get 75,000 to 100,000 visitors this year and could top 200,000 visitors in 2010.
"I think by the end of 2010, we'll be seeing $6 (million) to $8 million in annual economic impact, but it could skyrocket and top $8 (million) to $10 million," said Clements, projecting the dollars spent by pilgrims at restaurants, hotels, Mississippi River cruise boats and other businesses.
In the Town of Erin in Washington County, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, draws more than 250,000 visitors a year, said Father Cyril Guise, a Holy Hill spokesman.
"I think the new shrine out there in La Crosse and our shrine will complement one another, especially for tours," Guise said.
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