By Matt Russell
The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
St. Francis of Assisi Church in Rochester recently made a new addition to its sanctuary, a grotto that features a colorful mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a 16th-century apparition of the Virgin Mary in Mexico.
The roughly six-foot-tall mosaic, which is a full-sized representation of an image in Mexico City, was installed in November and a focal point for a Dec. 12 celebration of the feast Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Francis.
“It’s not just a pretty picture,” said Karen Davis, the parish’s director of administration. “The image has a lot to say to us on many different levels.”
The virgin’s gown is blue, the color of royalty, Davis said, but her head is bowed and her eyes are downcast, showing she has a higher authority above her. A dark ribbon on her body indicates she is expecting a baby, and a floral pattern on her robe, which is the same as on the image in Mexico City, signifies heaven, Davis said.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is also known as the Patroness of the Americas, appeared in 1531 to Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Roman Catholicism in Mexico. Catholics believe her image miraculously appeared on a garment Juan Diego was wearing. The image, which the mosaic at St. Francis is patterned after, is on display at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a hugely popular pilgrimage site in Mexico City.
St. Francis of Assisi Church in Rochester already had an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a large stained glass window at the rear of the church, so installing the grotto “goes with the history of our church,” Davis said.
People come to the grotto to pray, and sometimes they touch the mosaic for a blessing, said the Rev. Timothy Reker. They can light votive candles if they have prayers for specific intentions, and flowers can be offered to the honor of the Virgin Mary.
“I think people believe it’s a much more beautiful, prayerful spot”now that it’s been changed from a side altar to the grotto, Reker said. He said that one parishioner told him that finally in the church that Mary is being treated like a queen.
St. Francis’s Hispanic community raised $19,000 to pay for the mosaic, and the total project cost $50,000, with some materials and labor donated to reduce the cost, Reker said.
The grotto is just part of what St. Francis of Assisi is doing to honor the Virgin Mary. The church is also in the process of creating a “Marian Entrance”that will include stained glass representations of various apparitions of the virgin in different countries. The stained glass is expected to be installed by May, Reker said.
