Now that the weekend road trips have slowed, I thought I would tell you about some of my favorite places from the summer. Let’s start with a few of the religious sites I visited, not churches but other places with religious significance. I’ll tell you about my favorite churches in another blog.

Sinsinawa Mound (Wisconsin). I mentioned this place in a previous blog. I get warm fuzzies thinking about it again. The next time I need a retreat, I am going there. I guess that would also be the first time, technically, but who’s counting?

St. Rose Convent (Wisconsin). The Motherhouse for the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, someone has been praying non-stop in this location since August 1, 1878. That’s right, for nearly 130 years, a nun or increasingly, a lay volunteer, has been saying prayers for peace, justice, and Aunt Mabel. I lived in La Crosse for six years and took at least a dozen pictures of this place – from the outside. I never went inside. A month ago, I finally got to see what I was missing. Wow! There are two amazingly beautiful chapels – Maria Angelorum Chapel and the Adoration Chapel. You don’t have to travel to Europe to see a beautiful place of worship.

Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey (Iowa). Atop a ridge overlooking the Mississippi River and just a stone’s throw south of Dubuque, the abbey houses Cistercian nuns who make sinfully good chocolates. (Sorry; couldn’t resist that one.) I really only picked this place for the blog because I was rebuked, mildly, but rebuked nonetheless, by a nun working the gift shop. I asked her if the public was allowed to attend vespers at noon. She corrected me, no, she shamed me and my ignorance with a disapproving shake of her head, telling me that vespers (from the Latin word “vesper” meaning “you obviously failed Sunday School”) were in the evening but that, yes, the public could attend.

Our Lady of the Rivers (Missouri). As floodwaters rose to unprecedented levels in 1951 and threatened the town of Portage des Sioux, parishioners of St. Mary’s Catholic Church followed the lead of Father Edward Schlattmann to pray to the Virgin Mary for protection. The town was indeed spared, at least in 1951. The town built a giant fiberglass statue of Mary in gratitude that was dedicated in 1957. Frankly, I think the statue is kinda creepy.

North Buena Vista Grotto (Iowa). Driving north on Clayton County Highway C9Y, I saw the sign for North Buena Vista with the invitation “Visit Our Grotto.” Naturally, I did. What I found was a simple shrine carved into the side of the bluff. Nothing wrong with simple. What I really liked about North Buena Vista, though, was the cemetery/overlook just above the grotto. Peaceful, isolated, great views. If you don’t mind sharing it with some dead folks.

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Wisconsin). I guess I kinda figured the Catholic Church was a bit too stressed financially to be building new shrines, but I was wrong. Founded in 1999 by then Bishop of La Crosse Raymond Burke (now Archbishop of St. Louis), the shrine is a work in progress. The main sanctuary will be dedicated next summer. I am a little perplexed about why someone decided a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, a cherished religious and cultural icon in Mexico, was a good idea in Wisconsin. You can’t get much further from a Mexico-type deal than Wisconsin, ya know.

All that and I didn’t even make it to see the Mormon sites in Nauvoo, Illinois. Next year’s gonna be fun.

© Dean Klinkenberg, 2007