Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Kansas City's westside, was consolidated at some point with Sacred Heart church. The building is now a shrine, featuring one weekday Mass and one scheduled Rosary every week. I've never been inside, and I'm uncertain whether the Blessed Sacrament remains reserved here.Without knowing more (such as whether this was an ethnic parish), I'd guess this is perhaps another case of overbuilding. The church (which is somewhat smaller than the other closed churches I've featured, appearing to maybe seat 500, from an outside look)
is only three or four blocks from Sacred Heart. Why were two churches built so close together? What's the deal? I couldn't find a cornerstone. When was this built? When was it officially suppressed?At some point, I'll do my homework and fill in details.
UPDATE FEBRUARY 17, 2006
OK, I'm doing my homework: in 1910, the year the Mexican Revolution began (the one that lasted, basically, until 1928 or so, and that featured evil Masonic persecutions of the Church), a colony of refugees began forming on Kansas City's West Side, around 23rd and Madison. Among 
the poor, hungry immigrants were a few refugee priests who managed to avoid the firing squads. The people of nearby Sacred Heart Parish found out about the priests and got them before the Bishop in order have them granted faculties. As the revolutions and persecutions continued in Mexico, new waves of immigrants arrived, and in 1914 a parish was formed for them and a chapel was erected in a vacant house. Shortly thereafter, the parish moved to a vacant storeroom, and they began to plan and pray (mostly pray, as they didn't have any money to plan with) for a church.
In 1919, the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Emanuel church building at 23rd and Madison was put up for sale (the Lutheran ministers intended to follow the Swedes, who were moving to the Westport area). The church building and minister's house, which had been built for $100,000 and was listed at $65,000, was eventually purchased for $18,000 through the efforts of Dr. Thomas Purcell, the Sacred Heart parishioner who originally found the priests among the refugees.
Thus, in converse to what we've seen at Holy Name, Blessed Sacrament, Holy Trinity, and St. Francis Seraph, a church built by heretics was eventually taken over for Catholic use. The only changes to the building that were necessary were the removal of Martin Luther's mug from one stained glass window and the addition of an altar (which was donated by the Redemptorists). Other furnishings, and ongoing support, was given surrounding parishes and Catholic organizations.
In 1990, the consolidation of Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Guadalupe was ordered, and while Sacred Heart (which may have been wrecknovated, I'm not sure) was designated to be the site of the consolidated parish. Our Lady of Guadalupe remains open as a shrine.
3 comments:
you really don't know or care what this shrine means to the westside hispanic community, nor do you have you're facts right i suggest you contack th president of the shrine association her name is Ramona Arroyo
Well, if my facts in the update are wrong, then Fr. Coleman is wrong, because I got it out of his book, This Far by Faith
As for what it means to the Westside Hispanics (perhaps we should simply say Mexicans, because as I understand it, it was Mexican refugees from the masonic revolution there, not folks from Venezuela or Chile), I don't suppose I do. But I didn't attempt to represent otherwise, now did I? I would guess it would mean a lot...it was a spiritual home and secondarily a point of fellowship by a lot of people who were brutally misplaced by the evil that overran Mexico in the early 20th century (undoubtedly caused in large part by protestant Yankee meddling south of the border in the mid-19th century).
I can't see why you're offended, unless of course you're one of that growing crowd of people who go out of their way to take offence at anything.
Relax. No one on this site has claimed to be a scholar on the subject. The author is simply stating what is believed to be fact. That does not necessarily make it fact. Instead of persecuting someone for the inaccuracy of a subject with your supreme wiseness you could share some knowledge (should you have any).
Post a Comment