About National Shrine & Church of Our Lady of the Snows · Belleville, Illinois
The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is a Catholic Marian shrine in Belleville, Illinois, nine miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Snows. Spanning over 200 landscaped acres on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River valley, it is the largest outdoor Marian shrine in the United States and welcomes more than one million visitors each year. Operated by the United States Province of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville, the Shrine combines an outdoor pilgrimage park, devotional sites, an amphitheatre, the Church of Our Lady of the Snows, the King's House Retreat Center, a hotel, a restaurant, gift shop, and senior apartments.
- Established
- 1958
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Snows (Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Father Mike Powell, O.M.I. (Shrine Director)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Belleville
Why belong here
The Shrine offers the rare combination of a working Catholic parish church and a 200-acre outdoor pilgrimage park, so visitors and parishioners can attend Mass, receive the sacraments, walk a replica of the Lourdes Grotto, pray at devotional sites, attend spiritual programs at the King's House Retreat Center, or simply take time for reflection amid landscaped gardens and the illuminated Millennium Spire. It is home to a perpetual novena to Our Lady of the Snows begun by the Oblates in 1943, daily Mass in English and a Sunday Mass in Spanish, retreat ministry, a pilgrimage office that hosts visiting groups, and the 'Arctic Wings and A Shrine' exhibit on Oblate missionary work. For anyone seeking a Marian devotion grounded in Oblate missionary history, with opportunities for confession, retreat, and quiet pilgrimage, it is a unique destination in the greater St. Louis region.
Mass times at National Shrine & Church of Our Lady of the Snows
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Weekdays: 7:00–7:25 am
- Weekdays: 11:00–11:25 am
- Saturday: 8:30–8:55 am
- Saturday: 3:00–4:00 pm
- Sunday: 9:30–9:50 am
- Sunday: 1:30–1:55 pm (Spanish)
Shrine History
The Shrine grew out of a devotion brought to Belleville in 1941 by Fr. Paul Schulte, O.M.I., the 'flying priest of the Arctic.' After years of Oblate missionary work in Canada's north, Schulte settled at St. Henry's Seminary in Belleville, where he and Fr. Edwin Guild, O.M.I., launched the Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate and began a perpetual novena to Our Lady of the Snows in April 1943. The first Solemn Outdoor Novena was held in 1951, ending on August 5, the feast day. After purchasing 80 acres (later adding 20 more) on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi valley in February 1958, the Oblates broke ground that summer. The reflecting pool and grounds took shape through the early 1960s, the Shrine opened as an outdoor park in 1962, the Church of Our Lady of the Snows was completed in 1991 to provide indoor liturgies, and the Millennium Spire was added in 1998. In 2023 the King's House Retreat Center relocated to the Shrine campus, consolidating Oblate retreat and pilgrimage ministry on the same grounds.
Sacred Spaces & Devotional Sites
Across more than 200 acres the Shrine combines indoor and outdoor spaces for prayer and reflection. The Church of Our Lady of the Snows hosts the regular Mass schedule; the surrounding grounds include a mosaic-filled amphitheatre, the Millennium Spire, devotional walkways depicting different images of Mary and Jesus, the reflecting pool lined with German-cast bells, and a replica of the Lourdes Grotto in France.
- Church of Our Lady of the Snows
- Millennium Spire (1998)
- Reflecting pool with salvaged German bells
- Amphitheatre and mosaic
- Replica of the Lourdes Grotto
- Devotional walkways and Stations
Visiting & Pilgrimages
The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows welcomes more than a million pilgrims and visitors a year and is listed among Religious Travel Planning Guide's '20 Pilgrimage Sites across the United States Worth Seeing.' Guided tours of the grounds — covering the mosaic, devotional sites, art, and history — can be arranged through the Pilgrimage Office. Pilgrimage Director Fr. Elvis Mwamba, O.M.I. (618-394-6293, [email protected]) and Amanda Shore (618-394-6463, [email protected]) coordinate group visits, and the campus hotel and restaurant make overnight pilgrimages possible.
- Grounds open daily 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
- Guided tours available by appointment
- Pilgrimage Office: 618-394-6293
- Pilgrimage Email: [email protected]
Oblate Community & Staff
The Shrine is staffed and directed by members of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Fr. Mike Powell, O.M.I., a priest who grew up in Payson, Illinois and has ministered in Oblate parishes in Texas, Missouri, Florida, Massachusetts, and Minnesota, has served as Shrine Director since 2023. Other Oblates include Fr. Mark Dean, O.M.I., Director of Spiritual Programs and retreat ministry; Fr. Victor Patricio, O.M.I., Director of Hispanic Ministry (ordained in San Antonio in 2018, born in Acapulco, Mexico); Fr. James (Jim) Fee, O.M.I., with a long background in Oblate formation; and Fr. Elvis Mwamba, O.M.I., Pilgrimage Director.
- Fr. Mike Powell, OMI – Shrine Director
- Fr. Mark Dean, OMI – Director of Spiritual Programs
- Fr. Victor Patricio, OMI – Director of Hispanic Ministry
- Fr. Jim Fee, OMI
- Fr. Elvis Mwamba, OMI – Pilgrimage Director
Spiritual Programs & King's House Retreats
The Shrine welcomes all people — Catholic and otherwise — to experience the faith through presentations, courses, scripture series, and retreats. King's House Retreat Center moved to the Shrine grounds in 2023, deepening the retreat ministry available on site. Programming is coordinated through Bette Meyer (618-394-6281, [email protected]) and Fr. Mark Dean, O.M.I. (618-394-6282, [email protected]). King's House events can be viewed online or by calling Gina Richards at 618-397-0584.
- Multi-part Scripture series (e.g., Mark Etling)
- Day-long and overnight retreats
- Programs on prayer, justice, and spiritual growth
- King's House Events calendar
Hispanic Ministry
Spanish-speaking pilgrims are served by a dedicated Hispanic ministry led by Fr. Victor Patricio, O.M.I. The Shrine celebrates a Sunday Mass in Spanish at 2:00 p.m. and offers Spanish-language confessions from 1:30–1:55 p.m. on Sundays. Fr. Victor, who professed his first Oblate vows at the Shrine in 2013 and was ordained in San Antonio in 2018, previously served as Vocation Director for the US Province and in parish ministry in San Fernando, CA and Chula Vista, CA.
- Spanish Sunday Mass – 2:00 pm
- Spanish Confessions – Sunday 1:30–1:55 pm
- Director: Fr. Victor Patricio, OMI
Gift Shop, Hotel & Campus Amenities
In addition to its devotional sites, the Shrine campus houses the Shrine Gift Shop (open 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., [email protected]), a hotel and restaurant, a visitors and conference center, an Oblate residence, and an apartment complex for retired people. Together with the church and retreat center, these amenities make the Shrine a self-contained pilgrimage destination.
- Shrine Gift Shop – 10 am to 5 pm
- Shrine Hotel and Restaurant
- Visitors & Conference Center
- Oblate Residence
- Senior apartments on grounds
The 'Arctic Wings and A Shrine' Exhibit
The Visitors Center hosts 'Arctic Wings and A Shrine,' a multi-room exhibit highlighting the missionary work of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, particularly in the Arctic regions of Canada, and the story of how the devotion to Our Lady of the Snows came to Belleville through Fr. Paul Schulte, O.M.I. The exhibit is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and includes the J. Watson Davis painting of Our Lady appearing in the Northern Lights over an Oblate missionary and his airplane.
- Open daily 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Located in the Visitors Center
- Features the J. Watson Davis painting
- Focuses on Oblate Arctic missionary work