Florida Trip: Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine

We began our first full day in Florida (see "The Journey to Orlando" below) the best way possible: Mass! As befitting a pilgrimage, we found a particularly incredible church for Holy Mass. Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine, completed only in 1993, stands as a testament to the faith of the laity and clergy of the Diocese of Orlando who since 1975 had brought Sunday Masses to Walt Disney World. That glorious faith expresses itself in the artwork and engulfing architecture; unfortunately we could only stay for a short time to soak it all in.

The outside of the building shows a certain simplicity that continues in the interior. The monotony of the length of the external wall is broken by stained glass windows and flying buttresses (an architectural support found on Notre Dame Cathedral), and the entrance has two beautiful brass doors depicting events from the life of Christ flanked by wooden doors. Above the entrance is a rose window of stained glass (Notre Dame has the best example).

The vast space and soaring ceiling inside reminded me of the cathedrals I had seen in Europe. An enormous sculpture of Christ crucified is suspended above the altar in front of a glass cross which according to the official website represents “the shadow of the Cross.” Behind the altar, the tabernacle is built into the very building, embedded in a complex, three dimensional, 4-paned glass boundary between the main sanctuary and a small chapel. I found out after Mass that a beautiful gold monstrance sits in the tabernacle on the side opposite the sanctuary for adoration in the little chapel. If you never thought of the tabernacle as being the focal point of your church, I invite you to find a church such as this that artistically emphasizes that point through its architecture.

I always remember churches by their outstanding art, and this church has three wonderful pieces. After Mass, I visited a nativity scene adjacent to the narthex, or lobby, in the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I found out the patroness of that space because of the intricate mosaic not only of Our Lady but also of the peasant, St Juan Diego, during the first apparition and the presentation of the roses and the miraculous image to his bishop. The next edifying piece I found was the larger-than-life Mary, Queen of the Universe made with marble from the same quarry as Michelangelo’s Pieta. You can see more pictures of this statue, representing not only a queen but also an intensely compassionate mother, in the link below.

Statue of Mary, Queen of the Universe

The work we enjoyed together as a group was the bronze sculpture of the adolescent Jesus with Joseph found to the left of the main altar. The piece is set in a carpenter’s workshop with Jesus sitting on the workbench telling a wonderful story while Joseph listens with a look of priceless joy on his face. Jesus’ left hand rests on two pieces of wood which form a pseudo-cross, and three wood nails are not far from where he is sitting. This sculpture brings to mind the beautiful father/son relationship between Joseph and Jesus that I had never really thought about before.

After a few more minutes in the sanctuary we made the obligatory gift-shop visit and continued on to Universal Studios. On the website you can find some of the things I’m talking about, but you really have to go there for Mass when you make your next Disney World trip.

Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine