About National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal · Perryville, Missouri
The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is a Roman Catholic national shrine located within Saint Mary's of the Barrens Church on the historic Vincentian grounds in Perryville, Missouri, about 80 miles south of St. Louis. Run by the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentian Fathers) through the Association of the Miraculous Medal — established in 1918 — the Shrine serves as the spiritual and devotional center of an international lay Marian association dedicated to spreading devotion to Mary under the title of the Miraculous Medal revealed to Saint Catherine Labouré in Paris in 1830. Pilgrims are drawn year-round by daily Mass in the Shrine Chapel, the weekly Monday novena, a half-mile Rosary Walk, the historic Miraculous Medal Grotto, Bishop Rosati's preserved log cabin, and the adjacent Votive Light Sanctuary where thousands of candles burn with the prayer intentions of members.
- Established
- 1929
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
- Rector
- Rev. Clayton 'Clay' Kilburn, C.M. (Spiritual Director of the Association of the Miraculous Medal)
- Diocese
- National Shrine (ecclesiastical status as National Shrine under the Vincentian Western Province, located within the territory of what is today the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau)
Why belong here
The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is more than a historic church — it is the spiritual home of the international Association of the Miraculous Medal, a Vincentian-run lay Marian movement with deep roots in the 1830 Paris apparitions. Members and visitors join in daily Mass in the Shrine Chapel, the weekly Monday Miraculous Medal Novena, monthly novenas of Masses offered for all enrollees, Perpetual Membership enrollment (individual or family), and the rhythm of candles lit at the refurbished Grotto and Votive Light Sanctuary. Whether one comes as a pilgrim walking the half-mile Marian Rosary Walk and 'Miraculous Moments' stations, requests prayers for a personal intention, or seeks the quiet of a nearly 200-year-old church that welcomed seminarians before Missouri was a state, the Shrine offers a tangible connection to Mary's message of hope and to nearly two centuries of Vincentian missionary heritage in the heart of rural America.
Mass times at National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Mondays at 11:45 a.m. (before the Miraculous Medal Novena and 12:10 p.m. Mass); by appointment otherwise
Adoration times
- Votive Light Sanctuary adjacent to the Shrine Chapel is open during Shrine hours for perpetual votive candles and prayer intentions
History of the National Shrine and St. Mary's of the Barrens
The roots of the Shrine reach back to 1815, when Bishop Louis William Valentine DuBourg recruited Vincentian missionaries in Rome and two groups of priests and brothers led by Felix de Andreis and Joseph Rosati sailed for the United States. They settled at Perryville in October 1818 on 640 acres donated by Maryland Catholic immigrants and founded St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary — the first seminary west of the Mississippi, two years before Missouri itself became a state. After a temporary log church (1820) and the cornerstone of the present stone church (6 January 1827), the church was consecrated in October 1837 in a style inspired by the Vincentian Motherhouse chapel at Monte Citorio, Rome. Major 1913 renovations replaced the crumbling Tuscan Renaissance towers with a Romanesque facade that defines the building today, and in 1928–1929 the Vincentians added the dedicated Miraculous Medal Chapel to the south side of the nave, replacing an earlier Chapel of St. Vincent. The 1980 Angelus Bell Tower and the 2004 marble altar (rebuilt from the old novitiate altar) complete the present ensemble, and in 1995 the campus was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1818 — Vincentians founded St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary (first west of the Mississippi)
- 1820 — first log church blessed by Fr. Rosati
- c.1825 — Bishop Rosati's Log Cabin built (still preserved)
- 6 January 1827 — cornerstone laid for the present stone church
- October 1837 — present church consecrated
- 1913 — facade rebuilt in Romanesque style after towers removed
- 1917–1920 — Seminarians construct the Miraculous Medal Grotto on the original quarry site
- May 1918 — Association of the Miraculous Medal founded at Perryville
- 1928–1929 — National Shrine Chapel built; replaces Chapel of St. Vincent
- 1980 — Angelus Bell Tower erected
- 1995 — St. Mary's of the Barrens Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places
- July 2004 — current marble Shrine altar built from old novitiate altar
- 2017 — 'Promise. Preserve. Protect.' renovation campaign launched
What to See on a Pilgrimage
Whether you come for Mass, the Monday novena, the Grotto, or a quiet afternoon, the National Shrine offers a sequence of holy spaces built up over two centuries. Inside the Shrine Chapel, the altar and statuary render both sides of the Miraculous Medal in stone, and the Venerable Felix de Andreis is entombed beneath the floor. Just outside, doors open into the Votive Light Sanctuary, where thousands of candles burn for members' intentions. The Historic Grotto, built by seminarians from the same stone that built the church, has a small fieldstone chapel and an outdoor altar; the Marian 'Miraculous Moments' Stations and Rosary Walk circle the grounds past statues of various saints, 'Bishop Rosati's Log Cabin,' and the 'Mound' crowned by Our Lady of Victory.
- The Shrine Chapel altar, dome, tabernacle, Miraculous Medal imagery, and Venerable Felix de Andreis' burial place
- The Votive Light Sanctuary (renewed in the 2017+ renovations)
- The Historic Miraculous Medal Grotto and outdoor chapel (1917–1920)
- The 'Mound' of Our Lady of Victory and surrounding evergreens (c.1850)
- 'Miraculous Moments' / Rosary Walk stations on the grounds
- Bishop Rosati's Log Cabin (c.1825)
- Saint Mary's of the Barrens Church proper (the larger parish church in which the Shrine sits)
- Annual May Procession from the church to the Grotto (first Sunday of May)
Association of the Miraculous Medal
The Association of the Miraculous Medal (AMM), founded in May 1918 by the Vincentian priests and brothers of the Western Province of the United States, is headquartered at Perryville and makes the Shrine its international center of prayer. Its mission is to bring the message of Mary Immaculate to North America and the world through the Miraculous Medal, fostering holiness, supporting the Vincentian charitable works among the rural poor, and accompanying members with prayer, novenas, and Mass intentions. Members may enroll themselves or loved ones as Individual or Family Perpetual Members, share in roughly 57 Masses offered monthly, and submit prayer petitions to be placed near Our Lady's Altar.
- Founded May 1918 by the Vincentian Western Province
- Spiritual Director: Fr. Clayton 'Clay' Kilburn, C.M.
- Headquarters: 1805 W St Joseph St, Perryville, MO
- Individual Perpetual Membership
- Family Perpetual Membership ($50 offering, includes extended family)
- Monthly Novena of Masses for members
- International prayer-petition ministry
- Spanish-language outreach via ammespanol.org
Perpetual Membership and Prayer Intentions
Two principal forms of membership are offered. An Individual Perpetual Membership enrolls one person in all of the Shrine's monthly Masses and novena Masses; a Family Perpetual Membership (offering of $50) extends enrollment to the husband and wife, their children and grandchildren, and the parents, brothers and sisters of both spouses. In addition to Masses, members are remembered in all of the Masses and prayers of the Vincentian community throughout the Western United States. Petitions for the sick, the dying, the deceased, or personal intentions can be sent in at any time to be remembered at Our Lady's Altar.
- Individual Perpetual Membership
- Family Perpetual Membership ($50 offering) — includes children, grandchildren, parents, siblings
- Submission of prayer petitions by mail, email, or in person
- Votive Light offerings for personal intentions
Architecture and the Historic District
The Saint Mary's of the Barrens Historic District (NRHP #95001041, listed 25 August 1995) protects 11 contributing buildings across the 34-acre campus. The 1837 stone church is modeled on the Vincentian Motherhouse chapel at Monte Citorio, Rome, and was originally Tuscan Renaissance in style; its 1913 facade redesign in Romanesque — and the matching 1980 Angelus Bell Tower — define the present silhouette. The Shrine Chapel, with its dome, occupies the south side of the nave. Surviving campus buildings include Rosati Hall (1850–1851, Federal style), Thomas Smith Hall (1892, Late Gothic Revival, architect T. J. Furlong), and Oliva Hall (1898, Late Gothic Revival, by student architect Nicholas John Steines). Building materials are native limestone and brick, much of it quarried on site at what is now the Grotto.
- NRHP #95001041 — listed 25 August 1995
- Architects of record: Fr. Charles de la Croix, T. J. Furlong, Nicholas John Steines, Henry P. Hess et al.
- Architectural styles: Tuscan Renaissance (original), Romanesque (1913 facade), Federal, Late Gothic Revival
- Interior art: murals and paintings of the Assumption of Our Lady, Vincentian community devotions, and the Miraculous Medal imagery
Heritage and Ongoing Restoration
Under the motto 'Promise. Preserve. Protect.,' the Association of the Miraculous Medal launched a multi-year renovation program in 2017 to restore the Shrine Church, the Votive Light Sanctuary, and the historic Grotto, and to add the Miraculous Moments stations and the Rosary Walk on the grounds. The work is funded by members and friends of the Shrine and is part of a larger long-term plan that includes the construction of a future visitor and heritage center to accommodate pilgrims and house exhibits on Vincentian missionary history in the United States.
- 'Promise. Preserve. Protect.' campaign begun in 2017
- Renovation of the Shrine Church
- Renewal of the Votive Light Sanctuary
- Refurbishment of the historic Grotto
- Addition of the Rosary Walk and 'Miraculous Moments'
- Plans for a future visitor/heritage center
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Joseph Rosati, C.M. (Bishop)1818–1843
Co-leader of the founding Vincentian missionaries from Italy; built the log cabin (c.1825); became Bishop of St. Louis.
- Fr. Felix de Andreis, C.M. (Venerable)1818–1820
First superior of the Vincentians in America; buried beneath the floor of the National Shrine Chapel.
- Fr. Kevin McCracken, C.M.Seven years preceding 2018 assignment
Recently reassigned within the Congregation of the Mission by Fr. Pat McDevitt, Western Province Provincial.
- Fr. Clayton 'Clay' Kilburn, C.M.Appointed 2018
Current Spiritual Director of the Association of the Miraculous Medal; previously pastor of Saint Joseph Mission in Keams Canyon, Arizona among the Hopi.
