Regional shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe welcomes all for prayer, healing

LAKEWOOD – A nearly five-year journey of love for Mary that began with a dream on an airplane has resulted in a new shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Frances Cabrini Parish. 

During a flight back from a mission trip to Mexico in 2017, Father Paul J. Brunet heard Our Lady of Guadalupe speak to him in a dream, asking him in Spanish to build a shrine in her honor “dedicated to the protection of the family and holy matrimony.” 

“She’s our advocate and protector,” said Father Brunet, pastor of St. Frances Cabrini. “Family life is hard. Sometimes we need her intervention.” 

In 2018, the Archdiocese of Seattle approved the project at the parish in Lakewood, southwest of Tacoma, as a regional shrine to Mary. Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo blessed the shrine on December 12, 2021, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (Read Father Brunet’s remarks for the blessing of the shrine, below.) 

Since then, there has been a steady stream of visitors to the shrine, which is open to the public 24 hours a day, according to parish administrator David Whitesell.  

“Literally people come to visit all day long,” Whitesell said. “I’ve been awestruck by the flow of people.”  

The shrine is “so beautiful,” Father Brunet said. “Beauty attracts the heart. People are seeing that and are amazed,” he added. 

‘A tribute to tenacity' 

Honoring Mary’s request took years of fundraising and overcoming obstacles to become a reality, Whitesell said. After the initial money was raised to start the project, the design went through several iterations to deal with engineering problems. It was like “trying to build a plane while flying,” he said. 

The shrine is a “tribute to tenacity,” said parishioner Andrew Miller, who served as project manager. “None of this would be done without the generous time, support and talent of so many,” he said. 

Los Angeles artist Lalo Garcia, a self-professed Guadalupano, or follower of Our Lady of Guadalupe, was commissioned to design the image for the shrine. 

“Marian art has no bigger image than Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Garcia said. “She’s a giant.”  

But Garcia also wanted to ensure that the image included St. Juan Diego kneeling in front of Our Lady.  

“I’m all about fighting for the little guy,” Garcia said. “Without him, we wouldn’t have this image.” 

Mary appeared to Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill (near present-day Mexico City) on December 9, 1531. She asked him to go to the local bishop and request that a shrine be built in her name; the bishop asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was true. When Juan Diego returned to the hill on December 12, Mary asked him to pick flowers he would find blooming there. He gathered the blooms and Mary arranged them in his tilma (cloak), telling him to take them to the bishop as proof. When Juan Diego opened his tilma, the flowers spilled out, leaving an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the fabric. The miraculous image is preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. 

“We all have moms who will do anything for us, but seldom do we get to offer something,” Garcia said. “By following his example, we learn to ask, ‘Mom, what do you need?’ We should all imitate Juan Diego to serve her and obey her,” he added. 

‘Wonders and miracles’ 

Parishioner Kevin Martin, a landscaper, donated time and materials to beautify the area around the shrine. Like many others, he visits the shrine often to sit and pray. 

“While I’m there, people will come up and sit and pray and kneel,” he said. “It’s so much easier to go to your mother in life when you need something. That’s what makes Our Lady so easy to approach.” 

The shrine has already played a role in the sacrament of reconciliation, Father Brunet said. When people confess to having family conflicts, he has been directing them to pray a rosary at the shrine with their spouse or children.  

“It is a place for physical, emotional and spiritual healing,” the pastor said. 

The project has also brought people back to the Church or gotten them more involved in the faith community, according to Miller. The parish’s Knights of Columbus council has gained several new members because of the desire to be involved in the shrine’s construction and dedication.  

“People want to be part of a community where the Spirit is visibly moving through it,” Miller said.  

The shrine has even had an impact on people without a devotion to Mary, Father Brunet said.   

One of those is Kofi Goseer of KG Concrete, who was brought in to fix some problems with the concrete installation. Goseer, a Protestant, said he had misperceptions about what Mary represents to Catholics. But after working on the project for several weeks, it became more than another job — it was a spiritual journey he didn’t see coming. 

“It became my everything,” Goseer said. “God spoke to me. I knew who I was doing this for.”  

During visits to the shrine, Goseer said seeing people kneeling and praying has helped him understand the significance of the space. 

“If you need to speak to Mary or God, that’s what this is for,” Goseer said.  

Father Brunet expressed his hope that the shrine will not only raise awareness of Mary’s protection but will also become a place where everyone feels welcome to pray and reflect.

People of all ages are going to come to the shrine, said Garcia, the artist. 

“It’s going to work wonders and miracles,” he said. “The love, joy and tears people will bring will make this a sacred space.” 

Pastor’s reflection for the shrine blessing  

Father Paul J. Brunet, pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Parish, wrote these remarks for the blessing of the shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe at his parish on December 12, 2021: 

With gratitude to God and Our Lady of Guadalupe and all who have supported the building of our shrine that will be blessed by Bishop Eusebio on Sunday. This shrine originated in a request from the Mother of God, while I was flying home from Mexico in 2017. Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke to me in Spanish about her love and support of my priesthood. To my great surprise she said, “I desire shrine to be built in my honor for holy matrimony and protection of the family.”  

This request is prophetic, as we live in a time when holy matrimony and the family are facing great stress and attacks from the evil one. This process of fundraising, construction and artwork has taken four years and 10 months. We are witnessing conversions, as many have donated work and materials for the shrine. The love of Our Lady of Guadalupe has resulted in a great multiplication of love and service in our parish and community. This is a blessing to St. Frances Cabrini Parish, the Archdiocese of Seattle, and all who face family and marriage problems.  

This is a sacred place where Our Lady of Guadalupe will listen to our weeping, sorrows and joys. This shrine is a beacon of hope and faith. We are receiving the same words which were spoken to St. Juan Diego: “Am I not here, I who am your mother?” She will take you into her heart, and obtain the cure of your suffering, illness and sorrow. Bring her your prayers for your marriage, the protection of your family or your desire for a husband, wife or child. I thank God, Our Lady of Guadalupe and all of you for the construction of this shrine.  

This story also appeared in the April/May issue of Northwest Catholic magazine.