Indiana college’s outdoor sacred space dedicated to Mary is place for prayer, Mass, meditation

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (OSV News) — A Holy Cross College student’s vision for an outdoor sacred space became reality this semester with the new Our Lady of Holy Cross Shrine dedicated Sept. 4.

With students, faculty, staff, alumni, and donors in attendance, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend blessed the shrine, which features a sculpture of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross. The first Mass at the shrine will be celebrated Sept. 15, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

“We wanted to provide this space as a place for community prayer, to celebrate Mass, to gather as community, or for you even to sit quietly in personal prayer and meditation,” Marco Clark, president of Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, told those gathered at the dedication.

The shrine was built to fit into the surrounding landscape, with an altar made of stone, and iron sculptures of Our Lady and the cross made by an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame’s master of fine arts program, Miklós Simon. The shrine has a backdrop of forest, some of which was cleared during construction so the St. Joseph River could be seen below.

“It is important we recognize that we are on the banks of the St. Joseph River,” said Dianne Barlas, the college’s vice president for mission and ministry, as she emphasized the sense of place that those involved in the shrine construction wanted to honor.

The placement of the shrine on the campus is intentional as well. Situated in a peaceful corner of campus that used to be a simple driveway, the Our Lady of Holy Cross Shrine is at one end of the Spes Unica walk, a lighted pathway leading to the University of Notre Dame’s Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Along the walk are benches and favorite Scripture verses selected by donors involved in the project.

Senior Abbigayle Lemons first had the idea for an outdoor sacred space during her freshman year at Holy Cross College. Lemons, a political science major, made a pitch for the project to the college’s student senate. From there, the idea took off.

“Once the idea started getting more people involved, gathering more momentum, more people wanted it,” Lemons told Today’s Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

Before too long, the project had attracted the support of lead donors Charles and Elizabeth Kitz. Clark remembered the conversation he and Charles Kitz had had one rainy day while surveying the spot for the shrine. Clark recalled of Kitz, “And you just said, ‘Devote this to our Blessed Mother, but don’t build another grotto. We’ve got enough of those here in South Bend.'”

The final vision was a shrine honoring Our Lady of Sorrows, whom Monica Markovich, vice president for finance, described as “very close” to those in the Congregation of Holy Cross. Our Lady of Sorrows is the patroness of the congregation. Markovich began heading a team of theologians, artists, and others on Sept. 15, 2022, the Marian feast day.

At the shrine’s completion, Bishop Rhoades reflected on the seven sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He noted that focus should not just be on her sorrows but on how she responded to them.

“Throughout it all, she was a woman of faith, hope, and love,” Bishop Rhoades said. “She didn’t understand … but she believed, and she persevered in that belief, even to the foot of the cross.That great sorrow depicted in Mary’s face? That wasn’t a look of despair. She always hoped in God’s promise.”

Bishop Rhoades addressed the students, saying: “I hope you have a very joyful student life (in) your years here at Holy Cross College. But it may not always be joyful. You can come here, right to this sculpture, and entrust yourself to the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Sorrows, as she can relate to whatever sorrow we have.”

Both Bishop Rhoades and Clark shared personal experiences of feeling Mary’s comfort in times of trouble.

“I can’t tell you how thankful I am for my late mother that I was raised with a devotion to Our Lady,” Clark said. “It was 40 years ago that I went off to college, and when she said her final goodbyes, leaving me in my dorm room, she handed me a statuette of Our Lady and said, ‘Marco, bring your fears, bring your troubles, bring your loneliness to Mary. She will always be there for you.’ And indeed she has.”

Clark also took the opportunity at the shrine dedication to rededicate his presidency and Holy Cross College to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

As Clark said of Mary, “Her profound empathy for human suffering illuminates the path to healing, teaching us that even in our darkest moments we’re never truly alone.”

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