Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine, Our Lady of La Leche Shrine

During our time in Florida, we stopped in St. Augustine's to attend Sunday Mass at the Cathedral Basilica and to visit Our Lady of the Leche Shrine with some of the UF Parousians. The Cathedral Basilica in St. Augustine's is the oldest Catholic Church in the United States and it is one of the most beautiful I have seen. The Church was erected by the Spanish settlers in 1797 and dedicated on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the feast of the patroness of our nation. When you first walk into the Church, the first things to strike your eyes are three beautiful gold statues and a lovely pipe organ in the apse.

Photo of Cathedral Basilica

As you walk into the nave of the Cathedral, along the walls are murals depicting the Church's history. Curiously, there is also a side chapel to St. Patrick in the Cathedral. Though I am not certain as to the history of this side chapel, it seems as though one man who helped to restore the Cathedral in the early 1800's had helped to build St. Patrick's in New York City. (This is the only connection I could make). Above the tabernacle, there is a magnificent mosaic depicting the Last Supper. Be sure to check out Mary-Grace's photos to see these pieces of art.

The Mass at the Cathedral was full and lively. The Gospel for that Sunday was the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana. The Deacon gave a beautiful homily stressing the sacramental nature of marriage. After the Mass, we were able to pull Father Galeone and Deacon Richards aside for a picture.

After we left the Cathedral-Basilica, we made our way to Our Lady of La Leche Shrine. This Shrine was built upon the spot where the Spanish celebrated their first Mass in the United States. The full name of this shrine is "Our Lady of the Milk and Good Birth." According the website: "Our Lady of La Leche is the first shrine dedicated to Our Blessed Mother in the United States. The history of the devotion to the Mother of Jesus as Our Lady of La Leche may have roots in a 4th Century grotto in Bethlehem. To this day the Franciscan community maintains a shrine there called the Milk Grotto. Its centerpiece is the Blessed Virgin nursing the infant Jesus. Many believe that the crusaders brought the devotion to Mary as a nursing mother to Spain in the Middle Ages."
Our Lady of La Leche

What is so striking about this shrine is the immediate sense of awe and sacredness of the grounds. This first shrine to Our Lady is so fitting for our nation: it depicts Mary nursing the infant Christ. The shrine is a sign of God's Providence and God's grace in the world: what our nation needs most is to retrieve the sense of the sacredness of all human life, especially life in the womb. The artwork of the shrine is simple, and yet it is so evocative of the necessity for humility and of the vulnerability of each human life. The Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche is a place of silence, awe, and gravity. The words that remain in my mind as I recall it are none other than Mary's words at the Incarnation: "My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever."