PRESS KIT
The National Shrine of Mary, Mother of the Church, known as “The Mothers’ Shrine”
1) How did the Shrine get started?
Father Fred J. Barnett envisioned a little grotto to Mary, a place outdoors that could accommodate the overflow summer crowd at Mass. What started as a little grotto grew into a National Shrine. What started as an attempt to solve a “standing room only” problem grew to be a world-wide dedication to motherhood.
On August 15, 1986 Father Fred J. Barnett celebrated the first public Mass at the Shrine although it was far from completed. The sculpture of Mary was added in 1992.
As Mary turns you realize she is looking down at the Mothers’ Wall of Life which was formally dedicated on Mother’s Day, 1999.
2) How many people visit the Shrine each year?
Each year some 50,000 - 75,000 people visit the Shrine
3) What is the Mother’s Wall of Life and how did it get started?
Father Fred J. Barnett took a positive approach to life. He wanted to raise up mothers and motherhood and restore dignity to family life. The polished black granite surrounding the pools is engraved with names of mothers, given by their loved ones, as a special tribute to honor mothers everywhere, living or deceased, regardless of race, color or creed.
4) What is so special about putting a mother’s name on the Mothers’ Wall of Life?
Besides having the name engraved on the Mothers’ Wall here at the Shrine it is also on our web site, www.mothersshrine.org, simply type in the name and the Shrine will appear, then the Wall, then the block with the name highlighted. Enrollers receive a beautiful gold certificate showing the name, date and location on the Wall. It is a great gift or an honored memorial to pass down thru the generations. All the Masses and prayers said at the Shrine are said for those mothers and their families.
To witness a mother seeing her name on the Mothers’ Wall for the first time is a very moving sight. You will see tears, smiles, joy and radiance as she gazes upon her name.
5) How often do they engrave the Mothers’ Wall of Life?
Engraving is every six weeks from April to November. We cannot engrave in the winter as the granite is too cold and could crack.
6) Is the Pope’s Mother’s name on the Wall of Life?
Pope John Paul II was so inspired with this idea, that his mother’s name was the first name inscribed on the Mothers’ Wall. Pope Benedict’s mother’s name was engraved in 2007.
Bishop John R. Gaydos and members of the Shrine Board of Directors traveled to Rome in 2001 to present a 25 foot replica of the sculpture of Mary to the late Pope John Paul II. They also presented the Holy Father with the beautiful certificate showing his mother’s name and its location on the Mothers’ Wall of Life.
7) Are there any famous people on the Mother’s Wall?
Yes, Jane Wyman’s name, movie star and first wife of President Ronald Reagan, was engraved in 2006. The Vitae Society gave Michael Reagan the gift of his mother’s name on the Wall for speaking at a dinner here at the Lake of the Ozarks.
8) Do you have to be Catholic to put a name on the Mothers’ Wall?
No, the Mothers’ Wall of Life is non-denominational. It is open to everyone, regardless of race, color or creed. A lady Methodist minister’s name is engraved on the Wall. Her parishioners felt she was such a mother to them they wanted to honor her in this manner. The names of several Catholic Nuns are also on the Wall. Their students felt that had it not been for their mothering qualities they would not be as successful as they are today.
9) What will you do when you run out of walls?
We will never run out of walls. We have the side walls down to the altar and all the wing walls and there are plans for expansion and more walls, so the Mothers’ Wall of Life will be an ongoing project for years to come.
10) If the Shrine is non-denominational, can non-Catholics get married there?
Yes, they can. They must provide their own minister.
11) When are the outdoor Masses?
Masses at the Shrine are every Saturday evening 8:00 p.m. and Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. from Memorial weekend until Labor Day weekend.
12) When did it become a National Shrine?
It became a National Shrine March 18, 2003. In April of 2003, Archbishop Keleher of the Bishops’ Committee on Shrines and Bishop John R. Gaydos, Bishop of our Diocese, announced the designation as a National Shrine. With the new status of National Shrine, we have enjoyed many more buses, tours and visitors to the Shrine.
13) What does it take to become a “National Shrine”?
You have to meet many requirements as prescribed by the Bishops’ Committee on National Shrines, including:
a) Reason for the Shrine
b) Board of Directors made up from people across the United States
c) Number of Pilgrimages each year
d) Number and types of programs offered
e) Plans for promoting the Shrine
14) Once you gain “National status”, do you keep it forever?
No. You must reapply every ten years to retain “National Shrine” status. The Bishops’ Committee will look at the increase in pilgrimages, visitors, programs and growth of the Shrine to determine if “National” status can be retained.
15) Are there other National Shrine?
Yes, we are the 16 th nationally recognized Shrine in the United State and the only one in Missouri.
16) What else does the Shrine offer?
a . The Mothers’ Shrine Resource Center
A Resource Center is being established to provide comfort and offer help and assistance to mothers’ of all ages and walks of life. Ministries will be provided for mothers who have miscarried, lost a newborn, have a child die, have a son or daughter in the armed services, raising their grandchildren, caring for elderly parents, dealing with the death of a spouse, or in any stages of life where they need to talk to someone.
b. The MOMS Ministry is already in operation. A group of MOMS meet at the church the first and third Thursday of each month to support one another through the journey of motherhood.
Topics that are discerning to young mothers are presented by guest speakers at each meeting.
c. Computer Bank
There is a computer bank where individuals can write something about their mothers to immortalize her. There are currently 6,713 individual people in the computer bank plus over 100,000 children across the country that has enrolled their mothers. Enrolled in the computer bank is not the same as being engraved on the Mothers’ Wall of Life.
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