Mother Cabrini Shrine Informations

Mother Cabrini Shrine is a shrine to Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, known as Mother Cabrini, located in Golden, Colorado, United States.

The shrine site includes the Stone House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Queen of Heaven Orphanage Summer Camp, a 22 feet (6.7 m) statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus designed by Maurice Loriaux, and a convent of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the order founded by Mother Cabrini.

Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini found the property, which had two barns and a springhouse but no reliable source of water, on the side of Lookout Mountain in 1902. She negotiated the purchase of the property in 1910 to use as a summer camp for Queen of Heaven Orphanage. A small farming operation was established and operated by Sisters of the Sacred Heart and during the summer, the camp saw groups of girls from the orphanage to enjoy the outdoors and perform farm chores.

Water was hauled up to the camp from the stream in Mount Vernon Canyon until 1912, when Mother Cabrini discovered a spring on the property. A replica of the grotto of Lourdes was built over the spring in 1929, then demolished and replaced by the current sandstone grotto in 1959. The Stone House, designed as a dormitory for the summer camp, began construction in 1912 and was completed in 1914.

The property became a pilgrimage site in 1938 following Mother Cabrini's beatification. The property was established as a shrine in 1946, the year she was canonized. In 1954, a 22 feet (6.7 m) statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, designed by Maurice Loriaux and mounted on an 11 feet (3.4 m) base was erected at the highest point of the site. A 373-step stairway was placed, following the path Mother Cabrini took to the top of the mountain, and is taken by pilgrims today.

The summer camp closed in 1967 and the Stone House was used as a convent until a permanent convent building was completed in 1970. Today, the convent contains a chapel, meeting rooms, a gift shop, housing for the resident Sisters, and overnight accommodations for visitors.

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