Shrine in Laurie celebrates 40 years of Christmas lights

New administrator excited about new opportunities for outreach, growth

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There is a glow in the air at the National Shrine of Mary, Mother of the Church in Laurie.

It is not just radiating from the thousands of bulbs that now illuminate the 30-acre outdoor Shrine on the grounds of St. Patrick Church, but also from the warm smile of the shrine’s new administrator Lori Lee.

“I arrived here in late August and have fallen in love with the place,” said Ms. Lee, a native of St. Charles County in the St. Louis archdiocese. “Everyone is so joyful, helpful and active. For an older parish, everyone jumps in and lends a hand.”

She said her position is a new one for the Shrine. In the past, the day-to-day business of the Shrine was handled by a cadre of volunteers.

Now they have their first full-time paid administrator, and she is full of creativity.

“When I arrived, I came with plenty of ideas for the Shrine, and they’ve been welcomed,” she said with a big grin. “In fact they told me to keep the ideas coming, and I am on it!”

This year marks the 40th year of the Shrine’s Festival of Lights. This traditional lighting of the Shrine grounds, flag poles and of course, the rotating statue of the Blessed Mother which began Thanksgiving weekend will have a new twist this year thanks to Ms. Lee.

A special event will take place at the Shrine on Friday, Dec. 17.

“We are calling it the Festival of Lights Special Night,” she told The Catholic Missourian. “It will be a community event where we will have caroling, hot chocolate, a bonfire to roast s’mores, and our gift shop will open for those last-minute shoppers.”

She added that there will be cut-out, painted Nativity figures in which kids can poke their heads through and get a fun photo taken.

“We want to keep up the true meaning of Christmas in everything we do here,” noted Ms. Lee. “That was the vision of Father Fred Barnett when he began this Shrine decades ago. We have a big Nativity set as our focus, along with nature. We’ll reserve the big Santa celebration for the town.”

Work on installing the thousands of lights on the Shrine grounds began in early November.

The lights turn on around 5 p.m. each night and off at around 10 p.m., through the feast of the Baptism of our Lord on Sunday, Jan. 9.

The illumination includes a walkway of more than 100 lit flagpoles, reindeer and the 14-foot-tall, open-arms statue of Mary, Mother of the Church.

Ms. Lee added that she hopes the Dec. 17 event will be just the start of another 40 years of Christmas traditions at the Shrine.

“When people come here, they note how calm and peaceful it is,” she stated. “I think it is a hidden treasure that very few people know about. So, I want to get the word out and obviously bring more people here year round.”

 One of her ideas includes getting parishes from the diocese involved during this time of year by having groups come and set up their own light displays around the grounds as the Christmas season approaches.

“Also, I certainly would welcome and help coordinate pilgrimage groups from around the diocese,” she added. “Forty years is a big deal, and we are proud of that. Even more exciting is what we can accomplish in the next 40 years, as the possibilities are endless!”

thenationalshrineofmarymotherofthechurch.com

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