Our Lady of Guadalupe presence in Des Plaines grows

Thousands of pilgrims already travel every year to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the campus of Maryville Academy in Des Plaines.

Now, those who want to express eternal devotion to her can secure a permanent resting place next to a 30-foot sculpture of the Patroness of the Americas across the street at All Saints Cemetery.

The recently installed granite sculpture with mosaic images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Juan Diego will be dedicated at 9:30 a.m. today by the Most Rev. John R. Manz, auxiliary bishop of Chicago. The sculpture sits in the far northwest corner of the cemetery, near Central Road.

A smaller, 12-foot sculpture will be dedicated next month at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside.

Ted Ratajczyk, director of cemetery services for Catholic Cemeteries, said there's already a much smaller Our Lady of Guadalupe statue at Maryhill Cemetery in Niles, but people have been asking about the installation of one at All Saints for some time.

continue at Chicago Daily Herald