December, 2024 - Our Lady Patroness of America Center

Annual Fundraising Appeal 2-for-1 Match!

December 8, 2024

Everything Changed in 2024, And We Should Be Hopeful

From the desk of Al Langsenkamp, Volunteer President – Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Foundation Board Establishes 2-for-1 Match through March 2025

2024 will be marked as the start of a historical change in America. This will be known as the year America started to wake up from its slumber (or perhaps stupor).

Why do I say this? For decades, many Americans have sensed that something in our culture is not right, as if the fabric of our culture was weakening. But in the last decade, the tears in the fabric have started to show. We see signs in the news and in our community daily. The situation’s urgency is apparent, and we all have a crucial role in restoring the fabric. Your involvement is not just significant; it’s urgent.

In 2024, it seems the reality of this breakdown became manifest to most, and people are awakening to ask, “What is it? How can it be overcome? What must I do?” Against the backdrop of these questions, Our Lord Jesus Christ comes among our nation and is processed as King and Savior in the Eucharist. From Sea to Sea and from North and South, he comes, covering us with the grace of His Divine Presence. And in Indianapolis, pilgrims worldwide joined in prayer, interceding for our nation. It recalls the scripture verse ‘God said: “I will live with them and move among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.”‘ ( 2 Corinthians 6:16)

Isn’t that precisely what happened with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage/Conference, a significant event that brought together tens of thousands of faithful from across the nation to celebrate the Eucharist and pray for the healing of our land?

There and then, everything changed, and America had a glimpse of God’s hope for Our Nation and how it could be fulfilled. The transformative power of the Eucharistic gives us hope that the antidote to the pagan culture is within our grasp.

The Eucharistic Congress was the first step, and its work must continue. But there is a second step. Returning to the above scripture quote, the phrase immediately proceeding is the hope of Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin Patroness of America (Our Lady of America), wherein Saint Paul writes, “For we are the temple of the living God.“

Did you catch that? WE ARE (sacramentally) THE TEMPLES OF THE LIVING GOD.

Just as the Eucharistic Lord was processed across our Nation, He wants us to take him into our homes, workplaces, and communities. The institutional Church cannot effectively do this. Only the lay faithful can reach all of society’s cracks, corners, and crevices. In this devotion, Our Lady teaches us how and asks us to bring Our Lord to all.

This is precisely the message of Our Lady of America, and it is precisely how we can best say yes to Our Lady’s request when she asks, “I need your help to bring peace into the world. Do not disappoint me.”

A soul in a state of sanctifying grace is the tabernacle of the Indwelling Most Holy Trinity, “The Temple of the Living God” (2 Cor 6:16). With sanctifying grace and “YES” to God’s will, such souls help Our Lady bring fulfillment to these writing of St. Paul and fulfill her request by helping her bring the peace of Christ into the world.

Any soul can participate through the grace of God and the Sacraments. This mission is open to all.

Now is our time to say yes. And Our Lady does not leave us to wonder how. She gives us a precise way to answer her plea. The answer lies exclusively in the Sacraments which her Son has prepared for us. There is no mystery to her request or ambiguity in her method.

The community surrounding the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center is called to lead in helping her children say “YES.” This role is not exclusive to us. It is a role in collaboration with the many prayer groups and organizations nationwide that are springing up in response to her requests. This is a team effort. 2024 has seen a multitude of groups organizing to spread this devotion. This collective action, this united front, will bring about the change Our Lady seeks. It warms my heart to no end to see us all working together!

The fact that you are reading this note means you are part of the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center community. You are asked to help Our Lady’s children say “YES” and help her lead the world to peace. Your role is crucial, and your contribution is invaluable.

We can respond by praying for Our Lady’s intentions and spreading this devotion among our families, friends, and communities. Pray that Our Lady’s hope for America comes to fruition.

2024 saw a significant increase in pilgrims. Most had one thing in common: they came because someone they know personally recommended a visit to Rome City. Spread the word—it works! We had over 20 organized groups of 15 or more pilgrims this year—former visitors led them all! And now these
groups are out in their circles spreading the word. The wave is building.

Bishop Kevin Rhoades, when he decreed the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center as an official place of pilgrimage, gave Our Lady a place where her children can visit her, learn of her hope, and provide us with grace and blessing. In short, he gave us a place to say “Yes” to Our Lady!

As the foundation that owns and operates the birthplace of the devotion, we have a duty and the standing to spread the devotion in ways beyond individual outreach.

In addition to maintaining and enhancing our campus, we have added a focus on outreach over the last year. We have been exhibiting at conferences, speaking to groups outside our Diocese, and developing our social media campaign. In 2025, we are preparing to do more outreach to bring Our Lady’s hope for America to thousands of her children. (For a sneak peek at our social media advertisement, click here.)

Regarding collaboration, we are working to develop working relationships with many well known and respected Catholic leaders. This work is starting to bear fruit! This devotion is so deeply rooted in the Sacraments and the Scriptures and relevant today that these leaders are naturally attracted to Our Lady’s message.

The level at which we can accomplish this work mainly depends on our financial resources. In support of this mission, our Board of Directors has again offered to match all donations 2-for-1 through March 2025 (up to a $300,000 match.) There is no better time of the year to donate to Our Lady’s work.

Please consider donating while this match is in place to aid in this work of Our Lady.

Please donate now

Let’s get to work together and make a difference by bringing the Peace of Christ into our world.

Thirty Second Social Media Clip

December 8, 2024

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30-Second Social Midea Outreach Clip

In support of spreading news of Our Lady’s hope for America, please see our soon-to-be-deployed 30-second clip designed introduce people to Heaven’s plan. Feel free to post on your page. Spread the Devotion!

The Fruits of 2024 and a Glance Into 2025

December 1, 2024

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The Fruits of 2024 and a Glance Into 2025

As we begin wrapping up this year and heading into the holiday season, we are again in wonder at all God has done here at the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center. We wanted to share a highlight reel with all of you who have done so much to help us live and spread this devotion further than we could ever hope to or accomplish on our own.

Perhaps the greatest gift and grace of the year happened in August at the request and guidance of Bishop Rhoades: having Jesus back full-time in the Blessed Sacrament. Since the consecration of the Oratory and the altar, Bishop Rhoades has desired that the Oratory have the permanent reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. With the constant building upgrades and tours, we weren’t quite ready with the proper space for Him. This year, we transformed the former vesting room into a Eucharistic chapel. The Eucharistic hasn’t been reserved in the Oratory since about 1975. Our chaplain, Father Louis Fowoyo, celebrated the First Saturday Mass, and it closed with a brief time of prayer and song after he placed Jesus in the Tabernacle.

The Eucharist is now reserved in the side chapel

After Mass, we celebrated with a meal, fellowship, and, of course, cake. You can find more visuals from the day here. It has been such a grace for our staff and pilgrims to have Jesus present here 24/7.

Also, at Bishop Rhoades’s suggestion, we added First Friday Masses to our schedule. These begin in March and stretch through October. It was great to have the additional Mass times and to have more pilgrims spend a Friday night with us. If your pastor has not been to the center, we would love for him to visit and help us fill out our Mass calendar!

We launched our spring season and First Friday Masses for the year with a visit from Father Kevin Barrett. In March, Father Kevin celebrated the First Friday and First Saturday Masses. After Mass, he gave two presentations on imitating the Holy Family and family consecration. To listen to his homilies and presentations, click here.

May Crowning

In May, we invited young people from around the diocese to participate in our first-ever May Crowning Mass. Students led the Rosary, sang in the choir, read the readings, presented the crown, and crowned the statue of Our Lady of America. Paula Vering made a unique crown to fit the statue. It was a beautiful way to honor Our Lady and begin the month dedicated to her.

In July, Indianapolis saw more than 50,000 Catholics attend the National Eucharistic Congress. With so many people visiting the area, we added additional hours and opened our doors to pilgrims passing through on their way to and from Indianapolis. It was a busy and exciting week for us, and a great joy to hear so many tremendous testimonies from the Congress.

In August, we were getting ready to welcome Jesus in the Eucharist. The night before, Shema Culture from Fort Wayne led us in praise and worship after Mass, filling the Oratory with worship and preparing us to be open and ready to receive His presence.

Anniversary Pilgrim Walk

The joy and fellowship continued in September. What’s becoming one of our most popular and anticipated events of the year returned for the third year: Our Annual Walking Pilgrimage, which took place on September 15^th. Pilgrims walked along the Fishing Line Trail from Kendallville to Rome City, following the processional statue of Our Lady. Pilgrims sang, prayed, and had time for quiet reflection throughout the walk. Around 160 pilgrims joined us for the day. It was a beautiful public witness to our faith. Just listen to their prayer and song!

For the second year, on November 16^th, we joined with the Rome City Lakeside Holidays festivities to host our own open house. New this year, we even had a special visitor, Santa! He passed out candy canes, took pictures, and listened to Christmas lists. There were Rome City neighbors and other pilgrims who stopped by. This event is fantastic because it draws in many from outside the Catholic community, and we get to hear many stories about what the people in town remember about the Center’s history. Plus, many of them hear the story of the devotion for the first time, get to see all the renovations, and are in awe of the gem in their own backyard.

Alongside the devotion and Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, what makes this place so special and sacred are the many pilgrims who visit and support us from near and far. This year, we had more pilgrims than ever, and those numbers continue to grow.

Pilgrims from Ohio

This year, we welcomed a busload of pilgrims from Ohio, a few different school groups on field trips, large groups from local parishes, leadership organizations, small groups of retreatants, and some religious congregations were represented as well. Not only do our pilgrims come and support us, but they also support us by helping us spread the word to their local communities. Thanks to your generosity, the message continues to spread and grow! We’re doing our part, but through your sharing, we can move to places far beyond what we could ever reach without your help.

Our Lady draws a crowd on Staten Island

While we are starting to see more pilgrims at the Center, we’ve also been venturing out to bring the Center to more pilgrims. Our Lady of America took a memorable trip to Staten Island this year. In February, we also had a booth at the diocesan men’s conference, Rekindle the Fire, in Fort Wayne. It was a blessing to talk to many men leading faithful families and ministries.

This year, we accomplished a lot of behind-the-scenes work. We put a lot of time and effort into updating our website, adding the online gift shop, and shipping orders to pilgrims who can’t make it to the Center. We also worked with Anchor Films out of Fort Wayne to create a 30-second short. It was enjoyable to collaborate creatively and hone the message. We hope these resources will help connect more pilgrims to the Center and make our resources and content more accessible.

Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter to hear about all the great things happening with the devotion!

While 2024 has seen tremendous growth in the number of pilgrims, accessibility to the devotion, and continued outreach efforts, more must be done to do our part in bringing Our Lady’s hope to the world. Our Lady is just getting started! In 2025, we hope to spread the devotion even further and in ways that give more pilgrims access to heaven’s plan. We’re looking to provide more digital and media content, make the tours accessible to more people in person and virtually, and create more opportunities to partner with other ministries and engage in more speaking and conference opportunities, to name a few! We also continue to make renovations to our aging campus, as well as the expenses of general maintenance and upkeep that old buildings require. Additionally, we plan to enhance our Oratory and other spaces on campus to create a beautiful atmosphere of prayer and healing.

The great work that’s been done is not without cost. We need your help to keep up with our ever-growing mission and the constant upkeep of this old campus. If you could prayerfully consider helping us, the link to our annual appeal can be found here. Indeed, Our Lord is never outdone in generosity.