Tridentine Travelogue: Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, Illinois

Tridentine Community News (October 16, 2011):

The Mississippi River separates St. Louis, Missouri from Belleville and East St. Louis, Illinois, much like the Detroit River runs between Windsor and Detroit. Extraordinary Form Masses have been held for many years in both the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the Diocese of Belleville. In St. Louis, the premier site is St. Francis de Sales Oratory; in Belleville, it is the quaint Holy Family log church, both of which have been discussed in previous editions of this column.

On the outskirts of Belleville is a Catholic pilgrimage site that can be hard to describe to those who have not seen it. The Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is best known for its massive outdoor church; imagine a Catholic version of the Hollywood Bowl. The shrine grounds have many devotional areas, including a replica of the Lourdes Grotto. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (the O.M.I.’s), administer the Shrine and explain this title of our Blessed Mother as follows: “Devotion to Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Snows is one of the oldest devotions to Mary. It has direct ties to the legend about a marvelous snowfall in Rome in 352 A.D. Mary had indicated in a dream to a wealthy, childless Roman couple that she wanted a church built in her honor and the site for this church would be covered with snow. On a hot, sultry morning on August 5, Esquiline Hill was covered with snow. All Rome proclaimed the summer snows a miracle, and a church to honor Mary was built on the hill in 358 A.D. Restored and refurbished many times, this church, now the magnificent Basilica of St. Mary Major, still stands today as the seat of devotion to Our Lady of the Snows in the Catholic Church.”


Also on the grounds of the shrine are two indoor chapels and a church. The chapels have mosaic-filled designs reminiscent of Windsor’s St. Michael Church and Detroit’s Transfiguration Parish. In one of those chapels, the first Tridentine Masses at the Shrine since the reforms of Vatican II were recently held, and not only was St. Josaphat Blog editor Christopher Din present, he was actually invited to serve the Mass. Chris fills us in on the details:

“On the weekend of September 24-25, two special Low Masses took place at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL. (www.snows.org). The Masses took place as part of the It’s Time to Meet Saint Philomena Retreat which was held at the shrine. The Retreat was sponsored by the Universal Archconfraternity of St. Philomena (www.philomenafamily.com) and the Universal Living Rosary Association of St. Philomena (www.philomena.org).


“The celebrant for the Masses was the Reverend Fr. Chad Partain of the Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana and the altar servers were from St. Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis, MO and St. Josaphat Church in Detroit, MI. The Masses took place in the Christ the King Chapel.”

Windsor Anniversary Mass Next Sunday, October 23

A reminder that Fr. Jonathan Robinson, C.O., founder of the Toronto Oratory and St. Philip’s Seminary, will be the celebrant and guest speaker at the 20th Anniversary Solemn High Mass and Dinner, respectively, of the Windsor Tridentine Community at Assumption Church. Mass begins at 2:00 PM; the dinner will be held in the lower level Social Hall of nearby Holy Name of Mary Church (681 MacEwan Ave., one block south of Wyandotte St.) at 4:15 PM. Louis Vierne’s majestic Messe Solennelle, known for its forceful Kyrie, will be sung by the choir. Tickets for the dinner must be purchased no later than this Tuesday, October 18; please call (519) 734-1335 to reserve your spot. Fr. Robinson happens to have just published a new book, Jesus Christ: Revelation of the Unknown God. We are trying to arrange for some copies to be available for sale at the dinner.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Mon. 10/17 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin)

Tue. 10/18 7:00 PM: High Mass at both Assumption-Windsor and St. Josaphat (St. Luke, Apostle)

Sun. 10/23 2:00 PM: Solemn High Anniversary Mass & Dinner at Assumption-Windsor (Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost)

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat bulletin insert for October 16, 2011. Hat tip to A.B.]