The National Shrine of Our Lady of the SnowsState Officer’s Conference Belleville, IllinoisJuly 11-13, 2013

As a new state officer, I was awaiting the trip to Belleville, Illinois. It is located approximately 3 ½ hrs. south from where I left Illinois some 14 years ago. I had been told after I was elected to state office that “You are going to love it.” They were not wrong. It was a wonderful experience. As I continue on with my story in Belleville, I hope you will also have a wonderful experience reading about it.

The National SHRINE is owned and operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Catholic order of priests and brothers serving the poor in nearly 60 countries. Their mission is to provide an atmosphere where people of all faiths have the opportunity to deepen their relationship with God and one another. No better place to live this Mission statement than in the peaceful atmosphere on over 200 beautifully landscaped acres, with The Agony Garden, The Annunciation Garden, The Lourdes Grotto, with The Fathers Memorial Wall, The Way of the Cross has 14 stations and many more devotional sites.

All of your Arizona state officers attended the conference and we began our three

day adventure with registration on Thursday afternoon, social hour followed with dinner. An enjoyable evening agenda with the presentation of Awards for Education, Newsletter and Scholarships finished off the first day.

Friday was the best – a Pilgrimage to three churches in the area were: The Shrine of Saint Joseph, Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis IX, and Saint Vincent DePaul Catholic Church.

Bare with my while I take you into the past for a short interesting history lesson about these churches.

First stop was The Shrine of Saint Joseph. Interesting story to follow was: The first St. Joseph church on the site was built in 1844 on land donated by Ann Mullanphy Biddle, a wealthy widow, who stipulated that, if the property were ever to be used for non-religious purposes it would be returned to the family. The church was threatened with destruction. It was in this church that a miracle occurred, most likely in the area of the present dying St. Joseph.

This boosted the membership of the church by massive German immigration, and the church was saved and required expansion. The Alter of Answered Prayers and much of what we see today dates from the 1860’s.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis IX was our next stop. The construction of the Cathedral began in 1907.

The exterior is Romanesque, with granite walls, rose windows and 2 massive towers. Entering through the massive oak doors, you step back in time to a church built in the Byzantine tradition.

Soaring domes, soffits, and arches paved with brilliant mosaics. There are 83,000 square feet of mosaic art created by twenty artists and installed over a period of 75 years.

Last but not least, Saint Vincent DePaul Catholic Church. For more than 160 years, St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church has met the changing needs of the community with meal programs, food pantry, clothing window, and bingo and dinners for seniors.

St. Vincent founded three organizations, in 1617 “Confraternities of Charity” know as the Ladies of Charity. In 1625, “Congregation of the Mission” and in 1633 “Daughters of Charity”, the purpose of these organizations was to serve Christ by caring for the poor, sick, imprisoned, the young and others in need.

I hope you have enjoyed the journey. It was inspiring to see how Our Lord works in so many ways from so long ago to present day.

Back to the State officer’s conference, we were looking forward to lunch. Friday and Saturday were filled with various types of reflection, entertainment and training. These training sessions filled our heads with new ideas for membership recruitment, new website contest information, reviewing information for Regents, Vice Regents, Secretaries, and Treasurers. We covered topics such as: setting goals, communication, delegating, managing stress, also, reviewed information about the 1903 Society, Standing rules, budgets, financial review and ceremonials. Good information to take back to our local courts.

It was much appreciated it seemed by all, for all the hard work from the National CDA officers, office staff, and National Directors for a productive learning and training conference, and especially enjoyed the skit put on by the National officers, picture attached.

Much appreciated inspiration from National Chaplain Rev. Stephen D. Gosnell, KHS and attending Chaplains for spiritual guidance throughout the conference. Can’t forget the food crew; the meals were fantastic and well prepared and especially did a good job on the “Rita’s”.

Well, I guess that about wraps it up for my first experience to Belleville. All I can say, it was much more than I expected and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Hopefully you all did too as I took you through this journey.

Carolyn LarsonAz. State Treasurer