From the brochure:
The Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest: Frederic Baraga.
Missionary Priest and First Bishop of Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Frederic Baraga, born June 29, 1797, in Slovenia, an Austrian province now in Yugoslavia, came form a wealthy family. He had the benefit of a good education, including music, painting, languages, law, and various other subjects.
He entered a seminary in 1821 and received the Holy Order of Ordination on September 21, 1823.
Because of his dedication as an assistant pastor, Father Baraga's future was relatively secure in his native land. However, in 1828 he became interested in the missionary work being done in America.
He departed for an unknown future in the new world on December 1, 1830, and arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, reporting to Bishop Fenwick on January 18, 1831.
By August of that same year, he was firmly active in missionary work among the Indians of lower Michigan. Ancient Arbre Croche, present day Harbor Springs, became a focal point from which his missionary work reached most points of lower Michigan.
he had to speak through an interpreter in the beginning, but soon Father Baraga mastered the language of the Ottawa and later, of the Chippewa Indian nations. In 1832, his first Indian Prayer Book was printed in Detroit.
The ease with which he worked among the Indians was a reflection of his sincere understanding and love for them. His followers helped spread his message among their fellows. When Father Baraga arrived in their villages, large numbers were converted; he baptized multitudes of Indians in the Grand Rapids and other areas.
By 1832, Father Baraga was also devoting his time to missionary work in Upper Michigan.
Between 1835 and 1836 his efforts took him into Wisconsin and Minnesota. A mission church was started at LaPointe, Wisconsin, the Bad River area, in 1836.
In 1840 an early L'Anse, Michigan settler named Pierre Crebassa wrote to Father Baraga at LaPointe, Wisconsin, inviting him to come to the L'Anse area. Mr. Crebassa explained that a number of Chippewa Indians came to him for readings from his old French Bible. Baraga responded, saying that he could not leave his large congregation.
Crebassa repeated his invitation every year until, in early 1843, Father Baraga agreed to visit. When he left the area in June, he wrote to Mr. Crebassa, encouraging him to carry on the work of the church. This new L'Anse mission became one more stop in Father Baraga's travels.
In a letter to the Leopoldine Society in his native Europe, thanking them for their continued support of his missions, Father Baraga had these comments about his work among the L'Anse Chippewa: "I have few comforts here, often times barely the necessities of life. But what consolation, what grand reward, what unspeakable joy will be for me on the day of judgment, some or hopefully all of these my good children may surround me and give me testimony before our final Judge."
This place of hardship turned to triumph for Father Baraga. In September 1845, the Holy Name of Jesus Church was dedicated at L'Anse, the present day site known as Assinins. A rectory was built later, his home during frequent stops on his far-ranging travels to missions in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
In 1853 he was elevated to Bishop, becoming the first bishop in Upper Michigan. He continued his long treks to visit churches in his jurisdiction.
Snowshoes permitted him to travel despite heavy snowfall. Bishop Baraga was known to travel over 700 miles in one winter, thus the name "Snowshoe Priest" is a most appropriate title for this dedicated priest and bishop.
Rising six stories above the Red Rocks Bluff near L'Anse, this historic non-denominational shrine commands a breathtaking view of Michigan's Keweenaw Bay. Holding a cross seven feet high and snowshoes 26 feet long, this hand-wrought brass sculpture of Bishop Baraga is 35 feet tall and weighs four tons. It floats on a cloud of stainless steel supported by five laminated wood beams which represent Bishop Baraga's five major missions.
From the top of the hill you could look out and see where our camper was parked at the Baraga State Park campground. See the white pickup? Just on the other side of that is a white camper that you can just make out the top of behind the trees - that's our camper.
After visiting the shrine (the last on our Shrine Leg of the Journey) we stopped in to the gift shop just next door. It is owned and operated by the Missionaries of the Liturgy. We have met the lovely woman in charge of that, Maria, and she remembered us from all those years back. She treated the kids to free ice cream cones and gave Brech and twins each a birthday present. She also gave Blase a CD that she put together for young women discerning the religious life and asked him to review it and help her come up with ideas for a CD for young men. She is a treasure, a gem on this earth. Please keep her and the Missionaries of the Liturgy in your prayers.
While we were there we met someone completely unexpected and random.
His name is Silvano Salvador. He is a cancer survivor of 12 years or more. When he meets someone new, like our family, he carves for them a special memento. While he was craving he kept talking to the kids and asking them questions. They were quite curious about what he was carving, especially Stephen who never took his eyes off of Silvano. Now Silvano looks like a normal everyday guy - and he is. He is also a very, very talented woodcarver. He immigrated to the United States with his family from his birth country of Italy in the 1930's. He has been commissioned and made canes for famous people such as Tony Bennett and Elizabeth Taylor. What a random and awesome unexpected meeting!
So that is ONE piece of wood that's he's carving by hand.
And the final creation - a hummingbird!
It is called the Bird of Prayer.
We were told to hang it somewhere where we will see it often. Every time we see it we are suppose to say a prayer. Our first prayer was suppose to be for Silvano, and it was. Our second prayer was for Maria and the Missionaries of the Liturgy.
It hangs in the only safe place in the camper - the kitchen. The purple flower attached is a lovely touch to the hummingbird's look.
It was a birthday Brech will never forget.
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