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As a one-time unofficial parishioner of Christ the King, I didn’t mind covering the dedication of St. Peregrine Shrine at Christ the King last month.

I could’ve done without the unexpected roadblock along either University Drive or Broadway Road in Tempe and Mesa. There was some long race going on that morning — one which the city decided to not announce via traffic delay signs — forcing police officers to direct traffic between small, but frequent waves of runners crossing the street. Needless to say, eastbound traffic got the short end of the stick.

I got to Christ the King and established my bearings just in time for Mass.  I was amazed the dedication date came so quickly.

Catholics check out the new St. Peregrine Shrine at Christ the King Parish in Mesa Nov. 14.

It was just 364 days earlier when I found myself amongst hundreds of people at Christ the King for the groundbreaking (the date also marked the 13th anniversary of my Grandma dying of cancer). At the time some 300 luminaries, each with the name of a current or former cancer patient, lined the shrine’s perimeter.

Today, the names of at least 400 people affected by the disease are permanently remembered along the brick memorial pathway. I recognized some of them including Debbie Bond, a volunteer with the diocesan Healing Through the Body of Christ cancer ministry, who passed away in July.

Catholics reflect on the names and dates of those engraved on 400 memorial bricks leading up to the St. Peregrine Shrine.

As you may know, a local Catholic carried the final brick for the pathway to the parish by foot that day. A team of Catholics in greater numbers laid the remaining bricks and helped build the actual shrine. When the article said, “Some 800 Catholics, many of whom helped erect the shrine over the last year…” showed up for the dedication, that was an all-too-short way of saluting the following:

• Parishioners, who made the altar. Those with an eagle eye will notice it features the embedded stone blessed at last year’s groundbreaking. Someone else made the sanctuary lamp.
• Melissa Veselovsky, shrine director. She, along with her husband, made the four dedication crosses positioned near each stained glass window. Fr. Steve Kunkel made the candles. I’ll always wonder if he made them months ago when he gave some CRYS members — a local Catholic singles group — a hands-on lesson on candle construction before the teen Mass. I ran into some CRYS friends at Mass right after the lesson.
• Other laborers. Veselovsky said parishioners planted plants and installed the pews and baseboards. Still others reviewed drawings at the onset of construction dug trenches and served as project manager. “Together we literally saved thousands of dollars,” Veselovsky said.

Until you’re able to visit the shrine in person, take a virtual tour of it. A Christ the King alum created the rendering.If you have some time, check out the our archived stories on the shrine:

• Planning stages
• Groundbreaking announcement and coverage
• Benefit golf tournament
• Blogposts

For more information about perpetual adoration at the shrine, check out the shrine blog or call the parish office (480) 964-1719.

Fr. Kunkel and Bishop Olmsted

This is my first day back after Thanksgiving, so I haven’t yet remembered where I left my notes for this story, but I remember Bishop Olmsted appropriately highlighting life issues in his homily during the Peregrine Shrine dedication.

He talked about how the shrine is a place where Catholics can pray for healing, be comforted in their sufferings and pray for an end to abortion. He mentioned more than once a staggering statistic about the number of babies with Down Syndrome aborted in the last 10 years.

That made me think about one of my favorite Your Catholic Neighbor stories. It’s about an adult with Down Syndrome who would not be the gift that he is to so many if his mother had chosen abortion. Here’s a related blogpost.