Christmas pilgrimage includes visits to Our Lady of the Snows, St. Louis

Archdiocesan pilgrims will travel to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Ill., and view the Way of Lights, an impressive outdoor display of more than 1 million lights celebrating the birth of Christ. (Photo courtesy of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows)

By Mary Ann Wyand

On a sweltering late summer day in Indianapolis, Carolyn Noone looked at beautiful winter photographs taken at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Ill.

The associate director of special events for the archdiocese had just completed the travel plans for a Christmas pilgrimage on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 to experience the “Way of Lights” at the scenic Marian shrine and visit a historic church in St. Louis.

“Absolutely breathtaking displays of millions of twinkling lights at the shrine illuminate scenes depicting the birth of Christ, the one true light of the world,” Noone said. “Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, the vicar general, thought the pilgrims would enjoy this panorama of lights during Advent as a unique spiritual preparation for the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord.

“It is wonderful to drive the one-and-a-half miles at the shrine, and see the grotto portraying Mary and Joseph with the newborn Jesus and the lighted city of Bethlehem,” she said. “It is magical. There is a special, peaceful feeling when you visit our Lady of the Snows, and you know it is truly a holy place.”

The shrine takes its name from the miraculous story of Our Lady of the Snows, which happened on Aug. 5, 352, in Rome.

According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to Pope Liberius and to a holy Roman couple that night then asked them to build a church on Esquiline Hill.

As a sign of her will, Mary told them during the apparition they would find the hill covered with snow even in the midst of the summer heat. True to her word, a snowfall that night marked the site of the future church. The next morning, Romans thronged to the hill to see the miracle.

Msgr. Schaedel, who also is the pastor of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis, will lead the archdiocesan pilgrimage to Belleville and St. Louis.

The two-day pilgrimage begins with Mass at 9 a.m. on Nov. 30 in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis then the pilgrims will board the bus at the Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center.

En route to Illinois and Missouri, the pilgrims will visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Providence and the National Shrine of St. Theodora Guérin at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, where they will have an opportunity to venerate the relics of the foundress of the Sisters of Providence.

At Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the pilgrims will tour the Providence Center museum and have lunch at O’Shaughnessy Hall.

Activities at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows include a bus tour of the outdoor “Way of Lights” after dark as well as time to see dozens of ornately decorated Christmas trees inside the shrine and an opportunity to visit the gift shop.

On Dec. 1, the pilgrims will tour the historic Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis, where they will have an opportunity to celebrate Mass and venerate a relic of St. Peter Claver.

“At the Shrine of St. Joseph, the pilgrims will have time to pray at the Altar of Answered Prayers,” Noone said. “The restored church is magnificent. It is the site where the first miracle attributed to St. Peter Claver was [confirmed] by the Vatican.”

A few decades ago, the badly deteriorated church was in danger of being demolished until a devoted priest convinced a group of loyal Catholics to raise a large amount of money to restore it to its present grandeur.

While in St. Louis, the pilgrims will enjoy lunch at Zia’s on the Hill then visit a popular bakery in the city’s historic Italian neighborhood.

They will return to Indianapolis on Dec. 1.

“The first Sunday of Advent is on Nov. 28 this year,” Noone said. “The pilgrimage is a wonderful opportunity to get away from the busyness of daily life with other people who also want to spiritually prepare themselves for Christmas.”

(The Christmas pilgrimage includes Mass each day, deluxe motor coach transportation, hotel accommodations, two breakfasts and two lunches. The reservation fee is $215 per person for a single occupancy room, $165 per person for a double occupancy room and $150 per person for a triple occupancy room. For reservations or more information, call Carolyn Noone at 317-236-1428 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1428, or contact her by e-mail at cnoone@archindy.org or register online at www.archindy.org/pilgrimage.) †