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Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America

First Annual Patroness of America Anniversary Pilgrimage Walk

September 20, 2022
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…to the Oratory Of The Holy Family honoring Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America on the Sixty-Sixth Anniversary.

Sunday, September 25, 2022

 

UPDATE:  

The weather forecast is for a glorious fall day this Sunday for the Anniversary Pilgrimage Walk honoring Our Lady of America.   Please be sure to RSVP.   Over 150 have already signed up, but we have heard that there are groups of 20 and 50 people who have not yet signed up. 

If you are staying for the cookout, bring lawn chairs for your comfort.

HELP US BE READY BY LETTING US KNOW YOU ARE JOINING THE PILGRIMAGE.  SIGN-UP HERE

Click Here for Details

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Healing Spring Water Easily In Reach

August 29, 2022
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New Fount Supplies Water To Three Spigots

Filling bottles and jugs from the reportedly healing water at Rome City, just got immensely easier.  Larry Young, property manager at the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center had always worried that someone would be injured as they filled their water containers on the side of the hill.  There had to be a better way.

The spring water was used in the Kneipp Water Cure practiced at the Sanitarium for over 80 years.  Over the years there have been a number of cures associated with this water.  Some, easily explained, others seem to be of a more miraculous nature.   While many pilgrims tell us of cure and improvement to sickness and disease, it seems that a pattern of God’s grace is continuing which uses this water as an instrument of His Divine Providence and Mercy.

The actual source of the water is from an artesian flowing spring which has been running for at least 125 years.  It flows about 60 gallons a minute and was the sole source of water when the Kneipp Springs Sanitarium opened in 1895.  This type of spring is an unusual geological phenomenon.

 

When the sanitarium was first built the water came right from the ground without pump or mechanical assistance, as it still does today. But during the expansion of the facility the Precious Blood Sisters decided to build a parking lot on the south side of the building, right on top of the spring! To preserve the spring, they had a tunnel constructed from the basement to the spring. This tunnel protects and preserves this great natural gift. The tunnel is emptied by a 4-inch steel pipe which goes to the side of the hill where the waterfall originates. That is where pilgrims previously collected their water.

Tunnel for original source of spring water
Tunnel for original source of spring water

Earlier this month an above ground fount was constructed which is horizontally about 10 feet from the spring and about 10 feet above its source. While the water continues to flow naturally, we did install a small electric pump to lift the water to the spigots. The excess water then drains from the fount back to the tunnel and over the side of the hill. The fount will fill 3 one-gallon bottles in about 30 seconds. 

If you intend to drink water from the spring, we recommend that you only take water from the fount. The 4-inch steel pipe is more than 100 years old and not in good shape and since the excess water from the fount drains back into the tunnel we cannot assure the quality of the water over the side of the hill. Besides, its so much safer and easier to get it from the fount. 

The water is FREE.  We do ask that you say a little prayer for the pilgrims and our apostolate.

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Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades’s Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Event – Recap

August 28, 2022
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His Excellency, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on August 6th, the Feast of the Transfiguration with 750 of the lay faithful 12 Priests and a Deacon at the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center in Rome City, Indiana. Sixty-Five participated remotely. 

Priests came from as far as New York City and pilgrims came from California, Texas, and New York and many states in between. The day was a celebration of Our Lady’s work and the pastoral care of Bishop Rhoades in allowing devotion to Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin Patroness of America to grow and flourish at Center. 

He blessed the chapel formerly known as the Our Lady, Mother of Mercy Chapel restoring its sacred nature. He renamed it as the Oratory of the Holy Family, recognizing Our Lady’s call to imitate the Holy Family as a sure path to purity of life that she wants for us, her children.

Bishop Rhoades had this to say about the Oratory in his homily (Read Full Homily here):

Now today we can again call this oratory a sacred place since I have blessed it, or I should say – God has blessed it.  It has been blessed with the holy water, a sign of the cleansing waters of salvation in which we have been washed in Christ and made temples of the Holy Spirit.  From this day forward, this Oratory is again a place for divine worship.   It now has a new title – the title of the Holy Family.  Here, I pray, many families will come to be strengthened in faith and love, inspired by the Holy Family to imitate the virtues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and aided by their intercession.

This Oratory of the Holy Family is the most important part of this Center named in honor of Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America because here Jesus, her divine Son, who assumed our humanity in her pure womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, will dwell in the tabernacle.  His Sacrifice for our redemption will become present here at every celebration of the Eucharist.  And His Body and Blood will be given in Holy Communion, nourishing the souls of all who receive this sacrament of His love.  Pope Saint John Paul II called Mary the “Woman of the Eucharist.”  No Marian Center would be complete without the Holy Eucharist.  Mary always guides us to this most holy sacrament.  She offered her own flesh and blood to Jesus and became the living tabernacle of the Lord.  She opened herself completely to the presence of Christ.  She teaches us to open ourselves to Jesus’ presence, to receive His Body and Blood with faith, and to live what we receive.  Mary allowed herself to be penetrated by God’s love and she lived the self-giving Eucharistic love of her Son.  She helps us to do the same. 

It came as a joyful surprise to us that Bishop Rhoades has granted to our Pilgrims the privilege of coming to pray in the presence of the Holy Eucharist; the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.  We are working with our Pastor, Fr. Louis Fowoyo to put in place the appropriate protocols and protection needed to protect and respect this Greatest of Gifts. 

See News Coverage in Today's Catholic

He went on to unfold the mystery of the Transfiguration on its feast day pointing to its most important part.  He said:

And Mary helps us to receive this light. We already know that this has happened through the years here at this center and here in this chapel which today has again become sacred. Of course, this will only happen if we obey the words of the Father at the Transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.” This is a place where I hope many people will come to pray, which is fundamentally, listening to Jesus. In Hebrew idiom, to listen to someone’s voice means not only to hear, but also to obey. So, this means that we listen in our minds and hearts to what Jesus teaches us in the Gospels and that we strive to put them into practice. Mary teaches us basically the same thing the Father commands us in her words to the waiters at the wedding feast of Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.”

Concluding his homily, Bishop calls upon Our Lady to guide, intercede and bring the Light of Christ upon her Pilgrims:

Here in this Holy Family Oratory and in this Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America Center, I hope that many will “climb with Jesus the mountain of prayer and, contemplating His face full of love and truth, allow themselves to be filled with His light” (Pope Benedict).  Our Blessed Mother, who was filled with the light of her Son, lives now in the light of His glory in heaven.  She waits for us and she prays for us. The Church invokes her as “Maris Stella,” the “Star of the Sea” because on the voyage of our life, she is a star who shines with the light of Christ to guide us along our way.  She is a star of hope for us.  May she shine upon all who visit and pray in this sacred oratory! 

After the Mass the Pilgrims were treated to a free lunch of grilled hamburgers and sausages cooked by the Rome City Volunteer Fire Department. They did a great job and excellent music was provided for the remainder of the afternoon as pilgrims gathered, renewed friendships, and made new ones.
Bishop Rhoades remained after Mass for about two hours to greet, converse and bless the pilgrims and devotional items.

But not everything turned out the way we hoped. We were planning to consecrate the new altar which had been commissioned and was in place without the marble top for the week prior to the celebration. The Mensa (altar top) was delayed in delivery and when it was placed on the day before the Mass it was dropped and shattered. We were in shock as our hopes were dashed and the plan of the Mass was upended. Bishop Rhoades in his generosity continued with the Mass plans, although the order of the Liturgy changed from the consecration of the Altar back to the Feast of the Transfiguration. Through the great teamwork and last-minute sprint of Masters of Ceremonies Fr. Daniel Koehle, Fr. Nathan Maskal, liturgist Mr. Brian MacMichael and our staff everything was re-arranged just in the nick of time.

The good news is that Bishop Rhoades said he would be back when the altar is ready. We will then be doubly blessed!

The Our Lady, Patroness of America Center has so many to thank. Our volunteers and benefactors are at the top of the list. Nearly 100 volunteers had some role in preparing the grounds, coordinating, completing all the details and assisting pilgrims that day. And our benefactors have brought the Providence of God, so that we would afford to prepare for an overflow crowd of 400 pilgrims, live stream Mass and then feed everyone. Thank you!

A Sacred Space deserves Sacred Music. The choir loft was opened and outfitted in preparation of this event. Through the efforts of conductor Sara Balogh some of the finest musicians from throughout the Diocese were brought together. The Oratory was filled with the most beautiful sacred music. I don’t know the last time that the walls echoed such a heavenly sound, but certainly what was heard by these walls was heard in Heaven!

And thank you Bishop Rhoades for your support of this apostolate. You have given Our Lady a home which is now a sacred space. And through your prayers you have asked Heaven to bring an abundance of graces upon us and especially the pilgrims. Our Lady is surely pleased!

More Pictures

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St Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

August 1, 2022
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Bishop Rhoades Will Deposit Saint's Relic in Altar

Through the great generosity of a FSSP priest serving the Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend, the Oratory of the Holy Family has been graced with a relic of St. Agnes of Rome, Virgin and Martyr.  This early saint is mentioned in the Litany of Saints and has been recognized by the Church as an outstanding example of faith.

It is fitting that we will have as our intercessor a saint who pursued purity to perfection.  Not only in her pursuit of chastity, but as an even greater call to do only the will of God. It was her pursuit of chastity that kept her pure, it was her pursuit of God’s love that called her to martyrdom.  

The Oratory of the Holy Family is very graced to have her be a part of our Mission.  We pray for her to intercede for us, our pilgrims and all who seek Our Lady’s healing.

Vigil Service Friday August 5, 2022 At 7:00 PM

Please join with us in the Vigil Service, in the Oratory of the Holy Family!

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Important Updates: Details for Bishop Rhoades’s Mass August 6, 2022

July 15, 2022
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Events Add to Historic Past, Point to Future

Important Updates
August 4, 2022

Stream

We are so excited to be welcoming Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades to the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center this Saturday. And equally excited to be welcoming you, her pilgrims.

We are most thankful for the many volunteers that have helped us get ready for this day. It is also very exciting to know that over 600 pilgrims will be in attendance. It looks like Our Lady is taking care of the weather for us here in Northeast, Indiana. Saturday’s forecast is delightful and dry!

Here are just a few updates for your trip.

We have added a Vigil Service for 7:00 P.M. Friday (8/5) to venerate the sacred relic of St. Agnes of Rome, Virgin and Martyr. Details…

There is major road construction just outside our door. Please see Visit Rome City for details and a fast and easy way around.

We have parking for 600 cars and seats for 850 people. We may have more people than seats. So if you have a few extra lawn chairs then throw them in the car – to use or to share. The Mass will be live streamed to outside the Chapel.  

We will have golf carts running from parking to the Entrance for those with mobility limits.
After Mass, grilled lunch featuring Tim Didier Meats of Fort Wayne – Free!

 

Original Post:  We can’t wait to welcome you to the Holy Mass offered here on August 6th, 2020.

We are preparing for Bishop Rhoades’s visit to the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center to consecrate our new altar, bless our Chapel, and celebrate Holy Mass.  Afterwards we will have an afternoon to celebrate this great gift with a cookout and music.  Bring the family.

Just recently confirmed, Bishop Rhoades will do one more thing as part of these liturgical events.   He will rename the chapel to The Oratory of the Holy Family!  He determined this name is more fitting because of the chapel’s canonical status as an oratory.  But more so, it is recognition that imitation of the Holy Family is a sure path in obtaining the gift of purity which Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America wants for us.

The Holy Family is the perfect example of the life that Our Lady wants for us.  She calls us to imitate the familial life in their little home in Nazareth wherein Divinity and Humanity lived in perfect harmony, peace and purity. Renaming the chapel is yet another example of Bishop Rhoades’s clear understanding of this devotion and Our Lady’s hope for her children.  

Help Make the Day Better for Everyone - RSVP

To make this day, the best it can be for you, we need to have an idea of how many are attending.   Please help us out by completing the RSVP form.   We know that we will have more pilgrims than the chapel can seat, so we will have overflow in the conference room and in a huge outdoor tent with live streaming of the Mass in all overflow locations.  Your RSVP does not get you a reserved seat but will help us be better prepares so that all will have a seat.  But how well we do is dependent on you letting us know.  However, if you forget to RSVP still feel free to attend.

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Caution! Detour

The intersection of State Road 9 and Northport Road where you would normally enter the grounds is closed for construction.  It is not passable at all.  A detour is provided that will get you to the center. 

The detour will add about 5 minutes to your trip time.

Check Current Detour for details.

 

Special Needs

If you have special needs during your visit, please let us know.  We will do our best to accommodate.  Call the office at 260-303-4990

Streaming

If you are unable to attend in person, but would like to participate remotely you may STREAM LIVE HERE

What to pack

If you  are staying for the afternoon be sure to pack:

  • Weather appropriate clothing
  • Favorite beverage (Coolers are welcome)
  • Snacks
  • Sunblock / Sun hats
  • Bug spray – the post Mass events will be outside
  • Lawn Chair

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New Updates Made to Summer Schedule

May 23, 2022
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Make Our Lady of America part of your summer!

Will your summer travel take you through Northeast Indiana?   We are just a short 20 minute detour from Interstate 80, 90 & 69.  See Visit Rome City

Bishop's Mass is Pinnacle Celebration of 2022

August 6, 2022: 

Bishop Kevin Rhoades will be offering Holy Mass, Blessing the Chapel and Consecrating a newly constructed Altar of Sacrifice.  

After Mass we will have food and entertainment!

See Bishop’s Mass

Memorial Day Weekend

May 28 & 30

Holy Mass Monday, May 30 at 11:00 in Thanksgiving and Remembrance for those who have served.

The Our Lady, Patroness of America Center will be open Saturday, May 28 and Monday, May 30 from 10:00-3:00.  Tours available.

See Event

Fr. Osman Ramos, F.M. - First Saturday Mass

June 4:

First Saturday Mass, Confession and Tours.

See Events

Fr. Kevin Haines, Pastor and Author - First Saturday Mass

July Fourth Weekend  – July 2 & 4

First Saturday Mass, Confessions and Tours.

Our Lady, Patroness of America Center will be open 10:00-3:00 on Monday July 4th.

See Event

 

Labor Day Weekend - First Saturday Mass

September 3 & 5

First Saturday Mass, Confessions and Tours.

Our Lady, Patroness of America Center will be open 10:00-2:00 on Monday September 5.

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Special Memorial Day Weekend Hours

May 2, 2022
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The Our Lady, Patroness of America Center will be open on Saturday May 28 – 10:00-3:00PM and on Monday May 30 – 10:00-3:00 PM.   This is an especially appropriate time to call on Our Lady, Patroness of America as intercessor for our nation.

Chapel will be open and tours will be available.

Check back as we are hoping to have a Mass on one of those days.

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Historic Water Tower Gets Demolished – Watch Timelapse

May 2, 2022
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The historic water tower that graced the panarama of the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center was demolished due to safety concerns.   While we are sad to see it taken down it was a danger to life and propery.  During demolition the tower was found to be at even greater risk than determined in the inspection.  Praise God that it stayed standing, life and property were spared. 

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UPDATE ON GOAL! Christmas Appeal with 2-for-1 Match

May 2, 2022
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Stretch Goal Exceeded!

Updated May2, 2022: Praise God!  After the First Saturday Mass in March our stretch goal was exceeded, completely using all the 2-1 Match offered by our Board of Directors.  

What a team we have.   Dedicated and prayerful pilgrims, a generous and committed Board, hardworking volunteers and staff combine to make this joyful and fun.  God’s Providence shines through in so many ways.

With this we have commissioned the creation of a new and permanent Altar of Sacrifice, that we hope will be in place by August 6, 2022, when Bishop Rhoades will be offering Holy Mass at the Chapel.

We just received plans to construct a water filling station where Pilgrims can easily and safely access water from the spring.  The project will start immediately.

Thank you to all who have made this possible.  God Bless you!

We have a problem! But it’s a good problem.

Just as we thought the number of pilgrims coming to Rome City would start to fall off as winter approaches, November came, and the number of pilgrims keeps climbing! Same in December. Our Lady is calling her Children and we her children are answering.

And then on December 8 we made public Bishop Rhoades Decree naming the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center a place of pilgrimage! See PressRelease.

Great! So where is the problem you ask? As the word spreads of Our Lady’s intercessory response to our pilgrim’s prayers we know that next year will see a continued increase and we need to be ready!

Over the last three years we have raised nearly $2 Million to recover the Chapel and make it welcoming to pilgrims. We tore down 4 dilapidated townhomes and replaced it with 200 new parking spaces. We brought electricity, water, gas, and sewers back into the building, much of which was removed by copper thieves over the last ten years or lost to deferred maintenance. The broken Chapel heat and A/C was replaced, and new modern bathrooms were added which can accommodate up to 1,000 pilgrims per day. All of this was necessary to just open the doors to pilgrims, which we did in March. All of this was done through the staunch support of our Board and a few very generous benefactors. As the year progressed, we saw a surprising rise in the level of pilgrims who have supported our work prayerfully and financially. It appears that Heaven is blessing this mission!

Now we are seeing the fruits of these investments. We frequently learn of healings – spiritual and physical. We hear of answered prayers. And we are most frequently told that this is a special place where God’s peace and Our Lady’s love is manifest.

As we look to 2022, we see the need to keep doing more to serve our pilgrims and to preserve the great treasure of this devotion along with the beautiful chapel and grounds. To keep the progress going…

…our board is personally committing up to $350,000 in a two-for-one match, for all donations postmarked or received through Epiphany January 6, 2022. (extended to March)

What this means is that if we receive $175,000 in donations the board will match it with $350,000. We will then have $525,000 to move into the next phase! Here’s what we will do with that success:

  • Spread the word – Invest in broader outreach in response to Our Lady’s call to “Bring me my children, all my children.”
  • Expand devotionals: Commission smaller replica statues, banners, pocket medals and many more items.
  • Recover the Convent Chapel where Sr. Mary Ephrem was inspired in prayer to describe the devotion to Our Lady of America.
  • Make the water from the spring more accessible to all including limited mobility pilgrims.
  • Repair roof in the Chapel and Sacristy.
  • Complete painting the interior of the Chapel.
  • Find appropriate altar, pews and restore the sanctuary walls.
  • Paint the exterior of the Chapel.
  • Inspect, clean, and repair all the stained glass.
  • Provide for overflow attendance at Masses in the welcome center and conference room via audio/video feed.
  • Re-establish the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto on Holy Family hill.

Ok, here’s the reality. It will take more than $500,000 to get all that done. But we can make a huge leap in making the Center capable of supporting the large number of pilgrims who come seeking Our Lady’s intercession.

But with the support of our major benefactors, we now have another problem. While they are continuing their support, it puts us at risk of losing our Public Charity Status. IRS regulations require that at least 1/3 of our support (averaged over a 5-year period) come from sources that do not individually exceed 2% of the total donations (Currently about $50,000). Due to the few large gifts that got us started and open, we are at risk of not meeting that threshold for 2021 and could lose our public charity status. We are about $50,000 short to make the math work. It only takes one gift of $50,000 or a multitude of smaller ones. If we do not make the threshold, we will find ourselves at the mercy of IRS to look at the facts and circumstances and determine if we can remain a public charity… not a good situation. So, any donation, of any amount will help. There is none too small!

We are very blessed to be able to do this work for Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America. We hope that your prayerful discernment will guide you in joining this mission in a greater way!

God bless,

Al Langsenkamp, President                                                                  Larry Young,  Manager

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