The Shrine was built in 2010 after more than 18 months of planning and was dedicated on October 9, 2010, by the Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson, Archbishop of St. Louis. Located near the center of the property overlooking a small lake, the Shrine promotes personal devotion to the Holy Family as a model of human virtue and love—human and divine—by providing a quiet place for families and people of all ages to pray and meditate on the life of the Holy Family.
About the Sculpture
The focal point of the Shrine is a freestanding sculpture of the Holy Family created by local artist, Cynthia Hitschler, under the direction of a Steering Committee formed in 2008. Cast in bronze and weighing more than 800 pounds, the sculpture is located in the center of the Shrine and can be viewed from every direction and easily touched by children. The life-size sculpture portrays Jesus, Mary and Joseph as they may have appeared in ordinary life: Jesus, a young boy of nine or ten; Mary, a young mother working in her home; and Joseph, a strong man in the prime of his life returning from a day's work.