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A Symbol of Reverence: The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe | La Crosse, Wisconsin

A Bishop's Vision

In November 1995, Raymond Leo Burke, then the eighth bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, conceived the idea of building a Marian shrine in Wisconsin. The vision was clear from the beginning: not a monument, not a cultural center, but a place of prayer, a church beautiful enough to honor the Lord and His Mother, and accessible enough to welcome all who came seeking them.

In his own words: "From the first inspiration of the building of a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the goal has been to build a beautiful church dedicated to Our Lord Jesus and His Mother and our Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe."

The land came as a gift of providence. The Robert Swing family donated seventy acres with a single wish: that it become a sanctuary drawing souls closer to God.

Building the Shrine

The construction of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse unfolded over more than a decade, each milestone marking the deepening commitment of a community to the Mother who appeared at Tepeyac.

In July 1999, it was announced that the shrine would be built. The groundbreaking ceremony for the shrine complex took place on June 17, 2001. On December 12, 2002, the Pilgrim Center and the Mother of Good Counsel Votive Candle Chapel were dedicated, giving pilgrims their first dedicated space for prayer on the grounds.

The Shrine Church itself broke ground on May 13, 2004. The outdoor Stations of the Cross were dedicated on December 9, 2004, offering pilgrims a path of prayer through the Wisconsin landscape. The cornerstone of the Shrine Church was laid on May 19, 2005, with a Saint Benedict medal placed in the crypt level of the structure on June 14 of the same year. In February 2005, the shrine expanded by acquiring an additional thirty acres adjacent to Tepeyac Road, the name itself an echo of the hill in Mexico City where Our Lady appeared in 1531.

On September 21, 2007, the shrine was dedicated to Saint Joseph the Worker. The Rosary Walk opened on December 8, 2007. A devotional area dedicated to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha was consecrated on July 30, 2008, honoring the first Native American saint and drawing a line of continuity between the indigenous peoples of North America and the Mother who first appeared to an indigenous man in Mexico.

On July 31, 2008, the Shrine Church was formally dedicated, completing what Bishop Burke had first envisioned thirteen years earlier. On December 12 of that same year, the Memorial to the Unborn was dedicated, giving physical expression to Our Lady's role as Patroness of the Unborn, a title Pope Saint John Paul II had given her in 1999.

Growth and Recognition

In November 2010, Raymond Leo Burke was elevated to the College of Cardinals, a recognition of his service to the Church that extended beyond the Diocese of La Crosse. His departure did not diminish the shrine he had built; it continued to grow under subsequent leadership.

In September 2011, the Marian Catechist Apostolate established its international headquarters at the shrine, deepening its role as a center of Catholic formation and outreach. Statues of Blessed John Duns Scotus and a Guardian Angel were dedicated on December 12, 2012, and 2014, respectively. On December 12, 2015, the Way of the Cross Archway was unveiled, adding another element to a campus that had become, by then, one of the most developed Marian pilgrimage sites in the United States.

What the Shrine Offers

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse is built around the sacraments. Pilgrims come to attend Holy Mass, to receive the Eucharist, and to go to Confession. They come to pray the Rosary along the Rosary Walk, to walk the Stations of the Cross, to sit in the silence of the Shrine Church, and place their needs before the Mother who promised to hear the weeping and sorrows of those who seek her.

The shrine also serves as a place of catechesis, formation, and encounter for Catholic adults deepening their faith. It is a place where gratitude finds expression, where the significant moments of life, baptisms, first communions, weddings, anniversaries of ordination, can be brought before Our Lady and offered to God in her company.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse is not the Basilica in Mexico City. But it participates in the same devotion, extends the same maternal presence, and receives the same kinds of pilgrims: people who need a mother, who know where to find her, and who make the journey.

For more information or to plan a visit: guadalupeshrine.org Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5250 Justin Rd, La Crosse, WI 54601

For parishes and communities that wish to bring her sacred image into their own spaces, we carry certified replicas produced by the artisan workshop that supplies the Basilica itself, bearing the official seals of the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe pressed directly into the work.

View Certified Basilica Art of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe: A Complete Devotional Guide

Shop Our Lady of Guadalupe devotional jewelry

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