About Shrine of St. Francis Xavier & Our Lady of Guadalupe · Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Shrine of St. Francis Xavier & Our Lady of Guadalupe is a bilingual Roman Catholic parish in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, located at 250 Brown St SE on Grand Rapids' southeast side. Founded in 1914 and serving roughly 500 families, it is now linked in pastoral collaboration with St. Dominic Parish in Wyoming and, as of August 2025, with Our Lady of Sorrows Parish. The parish became a Shrine in 2002 when an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, sculpted in Mexico and blessed by St. John Paul II, was carried by parishioners on a three-week, 18-station pilgrimage to the church. It is one of three designated Jubilee Churches for the Diocese of Grand Rapids in the 2025 Holy Year, and it operates Hope Academy, its own parish school.
- Established
- 1914
- Patron
- St. Francis Xavier; Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Rector
- Rev. Edwin Carreño Carreño (Parish Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Grand Rapids
Why belong here
The Shrine of St. Francis Xavier & Our Lady of Guadalupe is the historic heart of Hispanic/Latino Catholic life in Grand Rapids' southeast side and a gathering place where English- and Spanish-speaking families worship as one parish family. It offers a rare bilingual Mass schedule (English Sunday morning, two Spanish Masses including a Charismatic one on Sunday evening), a monthly Spanish healing Mass, weekly adoration, and the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe centered on a statue blessed by St. John Paul II in 2002. With its parish school (Hope Academy), food pantry, prayer-request network, home blessings and sick visitation, plus pastoral collaboration with St. Dominic's and Our Lady of Sorrows, it is a welcoming, working-class, missionary parish — particularly meaningful to visit during the 2025 Jubilee Year, when it is one of three designated Jubilee Churches in the Diocese of Grand Rapids.
Mass times at Shrine of St. Francis Xavier & Our Lady of Guadalupe
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 6:00 – 6:50 p.m. (at St. Francis, before the 7 p.m. Spanish Mass)
- Saturday 4:00 – 4:25 p.m. (at St. Dominic Church, before the 4:30 p.m. Mass)
- Saturday 6:00 – 6:50 p.m. (at St. Francis, before the 7 p.m. Spanish Mass)
Adoration times
- Resplandor / Adoración al Santísimo — Every third Wednesday of the month (Tercer miércoles del mes), 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., at St. Francis
History of the Shrine
St. Francis Xavier Parish was founded in 1914 in southeast Grand Rapids as part of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Over the twentieth century it transitioned from a European-immigrant congregation into the principal bilingual Hispanic/Latino parish on the city's southeast side. In 2002, under pastor Rev. José Luis Quintana, a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe carved by Jose Antonio Silva Beltran of Tepoztlán, Mexico — and blessed by St. John Paul II in Mexico City — was brought to Grand Rapids by parishioners on a three-week, 18-station pilgrimage. With that pilgrimage the parish was formally elevated to the Shrine of St. Francis Xavier and Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Shrine later merged with St. Dominic Parish in Wyoming (2018) and, beginning August 2025, took on pastoral care of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish.
- Founded 1914 — Diocese of Grand Rapids
- 2002 — Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe blessed by St. John Paul II in Mexico City and pilgrimaged to Grand Rapids over three weeks; parish designated a Shrine
- 2011 — Co-founder of San Juan Diego Academy
- 2018 — Merged with St. Dominic Parish, Wyoming
- 2019 — Arch of Hope groundbreaking (September) and completion (November)
- 2025 — Designated a Jubilee Church for the Holy Year 2025
- August 2025 — Our Lady of Sorrows placed under Shrine's pastoral care
Parish Staff & Clergy
The Shrine is led by Pastor/Parish Administrator Rev. Edwin Carreño Carreño, assisted by Vicar Rev. Roberto Alvarado and three deacons. Faith formation and music ministry are coordinated by Colleen Paiz (Formation Director / Choir Director). The parish is supported by a pastoral assistant, an administrative assistant, parish secretaries and three religious sisters. Our Lady of Sorrows has its own secretary (Linda Mancuso) since coming under the Shrine's pastoral care in August 2025.
- Pastor — Rev. Edwin Carreño Carreño ([email protected]; ext. 12)
- Vicar — Rev. Roberto Alvarado
- Deacons — Fernando Gutierrez (ext. 11, [email protected]), Donato Perez, Carlos Gutierrez
- Pastoral Assistant — Steve Vanderlaan
- Formation Director / Choir Director — Colleen Paiz
- Administrative Assistant — Laura Brizio-Blas
- Secretary (SFX) — Jessica Rodriguez (ext. 10, [email protected])
- Secretary (Our Lady of Sorrows) — Linda Mancuso ([email protected]; 616-534-7237)
- Religious Sisters — Margaret Hansen, Liz Valdés, María Thuong Ka
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Faith formation for children and adults is coordinated by Formation Director Colleen Paiz, who also directs the parish choir. The Shrine is one of five founding parishes of San Juan Diego Academy, the bilingual cooperative Catholic school created in 2011, and it separately operates Hope Academy as its parish school on or near the parish campus.
- Faith Formation Director — Colleen Paiz
- Hope Academy — parish school
- San Juan Diego Academy — cooperative bilingual school (Shrine + Holy Name of Jesus + St. Joseph the Worker + Cathedral of St. Andrew + St. Mary + Our Lady of Sorrows)
- Sacramental preparation (baptism, first Communion, confirmation, marriage) via the parish office
Outreach: Food Pantry, Prayer Network & Visitation
The parish operates a food pantry and an active prayer-request ministry, and arranges blessings of homes and visitation of the sick on request. Contact for any of these ministries is routed through the parish office ([email protected] / 616-241-2485).
- Parish Food Pantry
- Prayer Request network
- Blessing of Homes
- Visitation of the Sick
- Hospitality and welcome ministry (linked to the symbolism of the Arch of Hope)
Music & Liturgy
Music at the Shrine is led by Colleen Paiz (Formation Director / Choir Director), with Deacon Fernando Gutierrez also active in parish music. The Sunday-evening 6 p.m. Mass is celebrated in the Spanish Charismatic (Carismática) style and is a major draw for the Spanish-speaking community.
- Parish Choir — Colleen Paiz
- Spanish Charismatic Mass — Sundays 6:00 p.m.
- Music at English and Saturday Spanish Masses
- Bilingual liturgical ministries
Arch of Hope
On Sunday, September 15, 2019, the parish broke ground on the 'Arch of Hope,' a striking entrance arch designed by Peter and Michelle Baldwin of AMDG Architects (Grand Rapids) as a deliberate counter-symbol to walls of separation. The roughly $200,000 project was funded by donations from Joel and Lee Anne Langlois (Deltaplex Arena), Amplify GR (partly funded by the DeVos Foundation), the Baldwins, Tom and Nancy Doyle (Distinctive Catering), and parish fundraisers and weekly collections. Construction was completed by the end of November 2019.
- Groundbreaking — September 15, 2019
- Completed — end of November 2019
- Architects — Peter and Michelle Baldwin, AMDG Architects
- Major donors — Langlois family, Amplify GR (DeVos Foundation), AMDG, Doyle family
- Symbolism — open door / welcome rather than separation
Jubilee 2025 & Pilgrimage
Bishop David Walkowiak has designated the Shrine of St. Francis Xavier & Our Lady of Guadalupe as one of three Jubilee Churches in the Diocese of Grand Rapids for the 2025 Holy Year (alongside the Cathedral of St. Andrew and the Basilica of St. Adalbert). On April 6, 2025, the Shrine hosted the Hispanic Community Pilgrimage, with a 1:00 p.m. procession from the Shrine to the Cathedral of St. Andrew and a 3:00 p.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop Walkowiak.
- One of three 2025 Jubilee Churches in the Diocese of Grand Rapids
- April 6, 2025 — Hispanic Community Pilgrimage launched from the Shrine
- Pilgrims processed to the Cathedral of St. Andrew for Mass with the Bishop
- Reception at Catholic Central High School after Mass
Visiting, Location & Accessibility
The Shrine is located at 250 Brown St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507, on the city's southeast side near Madison Avenue and Griggs Street SE. The business mailing address is 245 Griggs St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507. The church is fully handicapped accessible. The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the office is closed on weekends. Visitors during the 2025 Jubilee Year are especially encouraged to see the 2019 Arch of Hope and the 2002 Our Lady of Guadalupe pilgrim statue.
- Address — 250 Brown St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507
- Mailing address — 245 Griggs St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507
- Phone — (616) 241-2485
- Office hours — Mon–Fri 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Handicapped accessible
- Merged partner site — St. Dominic, 50 Bellevue St. SW, Wyoming, MI 49548
- Pastoral care (since Aug 2025) — Our Lady of Sorrows, 101 Hall St SE, Grand Rapids
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. José Luis Quintanalate 1990s – c. 2002
Pastor who commissioned the Our Lady of Guadalupe statue from sculptor Jose Antonio Silva Beltran of Tepoztlán, Mexico, and led its three-week, 18-station pilgrimage from Mexico to Grand Rapids in 2002. Under his leadership the parish was formally designated the Shrine of St. Francis Xavier and Our Lady of Guadalupe.
- Rev. José (Jose) Quintanac. 2019
Pastor at the time of the September 2019 groundbreaking of the 'Arch of Hope'; an immigrant from Mexico, he championed the arch as a counter-symbol to walls of separation and a sign of welcome uniting the English- and Spanish-speaking communities.
- Rev. Edwin Carreño Carreñocurrent
Current Parish Administrator; identifies himself on the parish website as 'Parish Administrator of the Sanctuary of Saint Francis Xavier and Our Lady of Guadalupe.'
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