Progress at La Crosse

Church architect Duncan Stroik has been featured in the (virtual) pages of The New Liturgical Movement in the past, and of course needs no introduction. However, it is worth mentioning one of his more ambitious projects, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, is nearing completion, with a consecration date of July 31st, 2008. The Shrine, begun by Archbishop Burke in his days as the leader of the diocese of La Crosse, stands prominently on a hillside on the outskirts of town and will be blessed with a beautiful interior inspired by the churches of late sixteenth-century Rome. What is most striking about the design is that construction photos of the interior indicate the beginnings of a fairly extensive program of polychromy, a distinctly welcome development.