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April 17, 2002
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish to build grotto dedicated to namesake
Shrine to feature larger than life figure of Mary illuminated by 352 candles
By Alwen Bledsoe
Since Juan Diego's revolutionary vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe has lived on in the faiths of Catholics throughout the Americas.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Denver is one local haven for the beloved image of Mary. The scent of roses perfumes the church, the aroma of dozens of scented candles perpetually burning in her honor. Rich reds, blues and golds glow in stained glass windows detailing Juan Diego's awed encounter with the Virgin. Devotion to the Virgin permeates the church, and soon a shrine will provide a place of prayer and quiet for those who have long enshrined Our Lady of Guadalupe in their hearts.
"We want a special place to express our piety and love for the Virgin," said Father Franco Plascencia, C.R., pastor of the church.
"It's a place of prayer, a place to meet with the Mother. We want it to be some place for people everywhere to give thanks to the Virgin," he continued, later adding: "Hispanics want to go where God is, where the Virgin is. This is going to be a shrine, a place where people meet to express faith."
April 9 the church received permission from the city to build the shrine. It will begin construction as soon as plans are finalized with the general contractors, Father Plascencia said. The open air, public shrine will be built onto the outside of the church, attached to an outdoor arched corridor. And, of course, Our Lady of Guadalupe, will be its central figure. Suspended from one of the arches, a larger-than-life two-dimensional figure of the Virgin will blaze with hundreds of candle flames, the flickering symbols of impassioned prayers. Up to 352 devotional candles suspended on candle racks behind the figure will flicker in the empty spaces between the carved golden lines making up the steel figure.
"Candles are so important to us as a way we express our life, our love for God," Father Plascencia explained.
"(The candles) will give color and life to the Virgin," he later added. "All the intentions and petitions and thanks from the parishioners will give life to Virgin."
Beneath the towering branches of a pine tree, benches and rose beds of pink, red and white will complete the shrine.
Both the shrine and the rendition of the Virgin of Guadalupe were created by architectural designer Frederick García, a parishioner of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
"He did everything (as a) volunteer," Father Plascencia said gratefully. "He did it because of his love for the Virgin and the parish."
García said the figure of the Virgin wooed him back to the Catholic faith of his childhood a few years ago. The return to his faith also represented a return to his Mexican-American ethnicity, he added.
"Put the two together and it's almost symbolized by Guadalupe," García explained. "I wasn't raised with the figure, so I found out an awful lot about this version of the Mother Mary. The more I found out about it, the more I fell in love with it."
"Now this is my version, my apparition," he later added. "This is how I would express the Mother Mary now."
Designing the shrine was both a difficult and very personal task for García. "I wanted to make it look like it had always been there, like it was designed into the building," he said. "On a more esoteric level I wanted the building to receive the figure of the Virgin almost like when you drop a stone in the river and it ripples. I wanted the building to respond to the figure, wanted the building and the immediate landscape to respond to the presence of the figure."
Plans for the shrine come at a time when Juan Diego's case for canonization is quickly moving through the Vatican, and it seems that no time could be more appropriate.
"Juan Diego is our image of the Mexican," Father Plascencia said as he talked of his parishioners' excitement about Diego's imminent canonization. "He has a lot of significance for us. He's one of our own people. With the case, the Church recognizes the contribution of Indians in the propagation of the faith."
The parish has also shown a palpable excitement about the future shrine, donating generously to the project, Father Plascencia said. And though the parish is working out exactly how much it will cost and is still seeking donations, the priest estimates that the church is near to having enough to pay for it.
When the shrine finally emerges from the world of blueprints into concrete reality, Father Plascencia hopes it will inspire community, especially among Hispanic Catholics.
"We are building this place like a symbol of unity for the whole Church," the priest said. "It's for other Christians, but especially for the Hispanic community. This parish is very multicultural. This is going to be a sign of the unity of our church. We invite everyone to come and see it and to support us."
For information about donating or about the shrine, call Our Lady of Guadalupe at 303-477-8113.
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