Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine

Guardian angel in the Memorial of the Unborn Plaza Memorial of the Unborn Plaza In front of the Joyous Mysteries The Memorial of the Unborn Plaza The Shrine (See how crowded?!) Our Lady of Fatima Mother of Good Counsel Votive Candle Chapel Iris and St. Kateri Tekakwitha Jack and St. Juan Diego

Mike and I visited the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in Lacrosse in, I believe, the fall of 2006, when we were newly married but only looking into the Catholic faith (and Jack came with us, too, but he was very wee, still in utero). Actually, we didn't even get to see the shrine because it was under construction (that part didn't open to the public until 2008). But The Mother of Good Counsel Votive Candle Chapel was lovely. I have been wanting to return for a while , now that we are Catholic- and the shrine is actually finished. So we decided to take a little trek to Mike's parents' for Mother's Day weekend and see the Shrine on Saturday while there- what an appropriate place to visit during the month of May, dedicated to Mary's honor, and on Mother's Day weekend, no less! The place was packed with a large tour group on pilgrimage. It was nice to have Mike's parents join us. We walked up to the Shrine, which was lovely inside, but I didn't want to take any pictures, as there were a lot of people in there praying. We stopped and at least prayed a decade and offered up some prayer intentions we had come with (Thanks to grandparents for watching the loud and little one!). Then we walked up to the Memorial of the Unborn and then up a little further to the Rosary Walk, with its beautiful tile depictions of all of the mysteries of the rosary. I am sure it is even prettier a little later in spring, when the flowers are blooming and the fountains are filled with water, but it was all still beautiful, and we had a lovely day for it.