Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament Celebrates the Child Jesus
HANCEVILLE – The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament celebrated the Divine Child Jesus by hosting a Divino Niño celebration this past Saturday. People came by bus loads to visit the beautiful home of Mother Angelica and take tours of the Shrine.
The Castle San Miguel Gift Shop was open with fully stocked shelves of religious items available for purchase while the friendly staff milled around, answering questions and assisting with purchases. While the gift shop was hopping with excitement, Shrine tours were given every 30 minutes, and an interesting presentation of the History of the Shrine was given to the eager crowd.
Many prayers were prayed together as a community once Confessions were held around 10:30 a.m. that morning. Holy Mass was held in the Main Church, followed by a delicious lunch held underneath a huge white tent on the green grass on the Shrine grounds.
A lively mariachi band entertained the crowd as they nibbled on cake and sipped on fruity punch. After the gift show closed at 6 p.m., there was a Rosary and candle-light procession through the Lourdes Grotto. The evening ended peacefully and the Spirit-filled crowd got into either a tour bus or a personal vehicle and went home.
Bill Kee and his family were volunteers for the event. The Kee family travel throughout the United States spreading the prolife message. They typically speak to both Catholic churches as well as Protestant churches.
“We promote personhood for the unborn, so basically we say a baby’s life begins at fertilization,” Kee smiled. “Every baby should be protected.”
It was fitting that this family in particular was able to help with the Divino Niño festivities. Like many people, the Kee family moved to Hanceville to be near the world famous Catholic Shrine.
“We travel around the country, so we needed a place to settle with our family,” Kee explained. “We picked this area because of its beautiful country, the Shrine offers Mass every morning and there is very good teachings coming out of the pulpit.”
“We were in Arkansas and a friend of ours told us about the Shrine,” Kee continued. “We wanted to come see it but had no real intention of moving to Alabama. But when we came here, we just fell in love with it. There are so many wonderful places here as well. With the two monasteries and Father Patrick at Sacred Heart, Cullman is like a Mecca for us as Catholics and so we wanted to stay and raise our children here.”
If you or someone you know would like to know more about the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, feel free to stop by and pay them a visit. They are located at 3222 County Road 548 Hanceville, AL 35077 or call them at 205-795-5717. You can also visit their website at www.olamshrine.org.
