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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 15th. 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 16th, 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.
To Him be all the glory!
