User:Jessiedyan/St. Mary of the Fields

St. Mary of the Fields is a Catholic Church located two miles northwest of the village of Hooppole in northeastern Henry County, Illinois. The church is open daily, year round. It offers a holy mass the second Sunday of each month at 4 p.m., as well as a monthly holy hour in honor of the Virgin Mary on the first Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. from May through October.

History
The church was built in 1883 for $1,069.20 by pioneers of German decent. At that time the area was called “Dutch Bottoms” because the people who settled there were of predominantly German origin. The church persevered through the Great Depression and its parish grew to 80 families after WWII. Many families left the farming community in the 70s and 80s, causing the parish population to dwindle to about 30 families.

Construction
The vision for a holy shrine developed from plans to memorialize the original church bell. Construction of the shrine began in the fall of 1989 after a $10,000 donation and with a great amount of the labor donated by parishioners. Bishop John J. Meyers blessed the shrine on March 15, 1990 after celebrating a mass of confirmation.

Diocesan Shrine of Mary
One of the main features of St. Mary of the Fields is its Marian shrine. Since 2000, it has been recognized as a Diocesan Shrine of Mary in the Diocese of Peoria, which covers 26 counties across central Illinois. Diocesan recognition allows St. Mary of the Fields to be an official place of pilgrimage for Catholic Christians and others to pray. The shrine is also nationally recognized as a Shrine of Mary by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Inside Features
Most prominent in the shrine is a 6-foot tall statue of Mary offering her child Jesus to the world. The statue was made in Spain and purchased in Florida by a former pastor of St. Mary’s. It is placed so it appears that it is looking out over the country road that passes the church. Fourteen terra cotta baked clay Stations of the Cross statuettes from the former St. Joseph’s Church in Kewanee, Illinois are mounted on the walls of the shrine. A Gothic-style altar displays St. Anthony, Our Lady of Fatima, the Infant Jesus of Prague, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and other statuary.

Memorial for the Unborn
The Memorial for the Unborn is a tombstone outside the shrine commemorating what the Catholic Church believes to be the unborn victims of abortion. An inscription on the tombstone reads: “In memory of all the victims living and unborn—pray for them and return your gift of life to God each day.” The local Knights of Columbus donated the memorial.

Grotto of Our Lady of Fatima
The grotto is also located outside the shrine and represents the mystical events of 1917 in Fatima, Portugal. It features an elevated statue of Mary surrounded by statues of the three shepherd children she appeared to, kneeling to her in reverence. Surrounding the grotto is Mary’s Garden. Various plants and flowers named after the Blessed Virgin are planted here. The grotto was blessed on June 10, 2001 as a special tribute to the revelation of the third secret of Mary to Sr. Lucia.

Rolle Bolle Rosary
The Rolle Bolle Rosary was built in the summer of 1992 and blessed on August 16, 1992. It measures 106 feet by 65 feet and is shaped like a heart to symbolize the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Rolle bolles (used in rolle bolle, a Belgian sport) make up the “beads” of the rosary. Rolle bolles were chosen to make the rosary because they represent the rich Belgian heritage of the area.