A major restoration and building campaign at St. Mary's of the Barrens in Perryville, Missouri, is underway, including several additions to the grounds and upgrades to existing structures.
The renovation is being handled by the Association of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville, a not-for-profit organization on site at St. Mary's.
The campus once housed a seminary and now includes a Catholic church and museum, a stone grotto and other structures.
The campaign plans include a new, life-size statue of Mary and adding a "rosary walk," a nearly mile-long course beginning with a crucifix plaza and with each rosary bead indicated as a circular concrete pad.
The walk will lead to the existing grotto.
According to a June 2 Facebook post, St. Mary's of The Barrens Church will be closed for outside construction work through July 22 and will reopen for Mass on July 23.
The grotto and grounds will be closed until May 2018, according to the post.
AMM volunteer coordinator Frank Ryan wrote in an email the church has not been a parish church since 1965, but a residence for retired Vincentian priests and brothers, called the Apostle of Charity Residence, is on the grounds.
More than 8,000 visitors come to the shrine and grounds annually, Ryan added, which was founded in 1827 by Vincentian priests.
The statue of Mary will be dedicated to the 95-year ministry of the Daughters of Charity, an order of nuns whose members served the Perryville community for 95 years, AMM volunteer coordinator Frank Ryan wrote in an email Tuesday.
"The bronze statue of Mary is a way to recognize the work and commitment that the Daughters of Charity had to the Perryville community," Ryan wrote.
They and the Vincentian priests founded the Association of the Miraculous Medal in 1918. More than 200 nuns served over the 95 years, according to a news release from the AMM.
A 100-year anniversary celebration is planned for 2018, Ryan wrote.
Plans for the celebration are ongoing and will be updated online at amm.org.
"The main phase of the campus renovations is the rosary walk, church plaza, welcome plaza and the bronze statue of Mary," Ryan wrote. "The rosary walk and church plaza renovations will help make the campus more accessible for all visitors to enjoy."
Other items shown online at ammcapitalcampaign.org are planned for the future as continued donations allow, Ryan wrote.
Two shrines depicting apparitions of Mary are planned along the rosary walk on the way to the grotto.
A meditation garden is planned as well, with a contemplative path to walk and statues encircling it.
In 1830, St. Catherine Laboure had a vision of Mary, and vowed to share the Miraculous Medal with the world, according to the brochure.
The medal depicts Mary and a crown of stars, and is worn as a Catholic devotional.
According to the AMM, the center receives an average of 150 phone calls a day, or over 40,000 annually. More than 600,000 letters and 34,000 emails are answered each year, as well.
Naming opportunities still are available for beads, benches and other items along the rosary walk.
More information is available online at ammcapitalcampaign.org or by calling (800) 264-6279, Ryan wrote.
mniederkorn@semissourian.com
(573) 388-3630
Pertinent address:
1811 W. St. Joseph St., Perryville, Mo.
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