Rosary Walk
The Rosary Walk at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe sits at the farthest point of the pilgrim’s journey, just past the Shrine Church and adjacent to the Stations of the Cross. Dedicated on December 8, 2007, by then-bishop Raymond Leo Burke, the Rosary Walk features four hand-built alcoves of indigenous stone, one for each set of mysteries. Each mystery is depicted in a beautiful ceramic-style image inlaid within the alcoves. On the flanks above each alcove are descriptions of the mysteries taken from Pope Saint John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, as well as the Hail Mary written in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Nahuatl (Aztec).
The archway and alcoves of the Rosary Walk were designed by Michael Swinghammer, of River Architects in La Crosse, who also played a principal role in the construction of the Shrine Church.
Artist Anthony Visco, of Atelier of the Sacred Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, created the twenty images of the mysteries, along with symbols in the corners of the tiles. The images are done in the “azulejos”, or blue and white ceramic style of Lisbon, Portugal, to reflect the Marian message.
Visco said of the images: “I wanted an immediacy to them, so that they can be recognized by people from far away. Each mystery had to have its own distinct character, its own distinct composition, and its own distinct light source, something that was almost supernatural. I wanted to show the variety of light in our lives as it comes through Christ.”
The Rosary Walk is a fitting way for pilgrims to draw closer to Christ and His mother through contemplation and prayer. As a prayer given to us by the Blessed Mother and one which at Fatima she asked the faithful to pray daily, the Rosary is an excellent way for pilgrims to seek Our Lady’s intercession while meditating on the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of Christ’s Incarnation and Redemption. As we pray the Rosary, we journey, in a certain sense, through the life of Our Lord with Our Lady. In this way, praying the Rosary is connected to pilgrimage–a devotional journey with the goal of drawing closer to Christ.
Pope Saint John Paul II, whose papal ministry was so strongly marked by devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, said in one of his Regina Caeli addresses, “Let us pray the Rosary, if possible every day, either by ourself or in community. The Rosary is a simple prayer, but profound and very effective, even to ask favors for families, communities, and the world.”
Cardinal Burke, founder of the Shrine, echoes the pope in greatly encouraging this prayer. “By praying the Rosary daily, we draw near to the Mother of Our Savior, who teaches us, as she taught the wine stewards at the Wedding Feast of Cana: ‘Do whatever He [Jesus] tells you’ (John 2:5). She, whom Our Savior gave to us as our Mother–the Mother of Divine Grace–helps us to stand faithfully, with her, beneath the Cross of Our Lord, one in heart with her Immaculate Heart in the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus (cf. John 19:25-27). With her, we share in the Triumph of the Cross.”