Through the centuries, Our Lady of Prompt Succor has continued her work, bringing quick help to those who seek her aid. Visitors from all over the world have come to the shrine, and it’s common to see the faithful kneeling or resting in the pews as they pour out their hearts to her.
Many impressions touched my heart when I visited the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta, Georgia on my Marian Pilgrimage. It will take me a while to sort through all the impressions that touched my heart. But the one that lingers with me now is the story of a brave Irish priest named Fr. Thomas O’ Reilly.
I’ve been to many, many Marian shrines in my work and personal life, and I’ve loved every single one of them. I have to say, however, that La Negrita in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels in Cartago, Costa Rica, is the most unusual one I’ve been to so far.
As we drove, I saw them – companies that before hand had been nothing more than a label on a device or an name in an advertisement. And in the middle of a web of expressways and a colony of commercial buildings was a place of peace and holiness that was impenetrable.
I’m headed to Santa Clara, California to visit Our Lady of Peace Shrine. It’s the only major Marian Shrine on the West Coast between Our Lady of Sorrows Shrine in Portland, Oregon, (over 700 miles to the north), and the famous Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, (over 2,300 miles to the south).
I’ve prayed before many reliquaries, but never have I prayed upon one.
Visitors have come from as far away as England, with ethnic pilgrimages coming from all over the continent. They come because the Saints of Auriesville Museum is unlike any other natural history museum.