SEPTEMBER 2023

FEATURE
An Annual Pilgrimage
Our Lady of Consolation draws loyal followers
BY WEAM NAMOU
For nearly half a century, Chaldeans
have been visiting the
Basilica and National Shrine of
Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio.
It is the site of an annual pilgrimage of
Roman Catholics, primarily Iraqi Christians,
to mark the Feast of the Assumption
of Mary, celebrated August 14, on
the Eve of the Assumption.
On that day, several buses drop off
pilgrims near the information center.
Hundreds of families fill a five-acre
plot with tents, recreational vehicles,
Middle Eastern food, music, and dancing.
Some families camp in the area for
days, others spend the night at nearby
hotels, and many drive to the site for
only a day.
Approximately 5,000 visitors come
every year. This year, the streets were
a little quieter than usual due to the
ongoing rain. Families huddled inside
canopy tents or beneath canopied
buildings. Campgrounds were
filled with large mud puddles. Yet the
weather did not prevent campers from
barbecuing or gathering around campfires.
The townspeople were also out
and about. A mother and daughter sat
on their porch passing out free bottled
water and cookies.
Mass was held at various hours.
Chaldean Masses were held at 12:30pm
with Father Stephen Kallabat and
at 5pm with Father Sameem Balius.
At 9pm the Vigil Mass was celebrated
with a candlelight procession to
Shrine Park.
For over 150 years, the church has
been a place of special importance,
providing peace, warmth, and a consoling
presence for believers. Yet few
are aware of its history. Construction
for the church—the first church in
Carey—began in 1868. It was founded
by people of Luxembourger heritage
under the inspiration of an immigrant
priest from the homeland. Luxembourg
is one of the smallest countries
in Europe and its people had for centuries
fostered a deep devotion to the
Mother of God.
While Father Aloys Fish was the
first Conventual Franciscan to serve at
the shrine, Father Joseph Peter Golden
is considered the shrine’s “father.” He
refused any salary from the congregation
until the church building was
finished. He and the people of Carey
did all the work themselves, save plastering
the wall. Once the church was
completed, he encouraged the congregation
in Carey to direct their prayers
to Mary, the Mother of God, under the
title of Our Lady of Consolation.
Father Golden later arranged for
a statue to be made in Luxembourg,
requesting that it would be as close
a replica of the ancient image in the
Cathedral as possible. At the end of
March 1875, community member Nicholas
Warnament brought this statue
from Luxembourg to Carey; it was
made of oak and could be dressed.
Overjoyed, the parish asked Father
Golden if they could carry the statue
in procession from Frenchtown to the
church in Carey.
Father Golden hesitated for some
time. He feared a public expression
might offend and anger the rather large
Protestant population of Carey. He consulted
several priests in nearby parishes,
and they encouraged him to have
the procession. So, he went ahead.
On May 24, 1875, the statue was
carried in procession from the Church
of St. Nicholas to the church in Carey.
As the procession marched, a severe
storm raged in the entire area. The
story is that although people could see
the rain pouring down on all sides of
them for the entire seven-mile walk,
not a drop touched the statue of Our
Lady of Consolation, nor was anyone
in the procession rained on. This was
considered the first sign of an intercession
of the Blessed Virgin for all
who would come to pray in this little
church.
The procession later moved to the
Shrine Park altar where, in 1956, a 12-
foot, 2-ton bronze statue of Our Lady of
Consolation was placed on top of the
dome of the altar, some 45 feet above
the ground. The statue was made in
Milan, Italy.
What began as an act of faith of
an immigrant community connecting
with their homeland has grown into
a place where people of many ethnic
and cultural backgrounds have come
for pilgrimage. In Father Aloys Fish’s
time, shrine manuals and devotional
materials were printed in Hungarian,
Polish, Slovak, Slovenian, and Italian.
The Lebanese presence and the great
crowds of Chaldean pilgrims have added
their own traditions and cultural
richness to the devotional life of the
shrine over the years. So have Filipino,
Hispanic, Albanian, Vietnamese, and
African American pilgrims.
“This is my first year at the shrine
and the first time I’ve interacted with
Chaldeans,” said Friar Maximilian.
“The only thing I knew about them before
is that their liturgy is in Aramaic.
I’ve had a good experience interacting
with them. They are a kind and faithfilled
people.”
The shrine complex includes the
basilica, the original 1875 wooden parish
church, the parish school, a rectory
housing the pastor and other
Franciscan priests, a provincial house
which houses Franciscan friars, a convent
for resident and visiting nuns,
a retreat center providing lodgings
for lay and religious pilgrims, a gift
shop, and a cafeteria.
Friar Steven, who has served for
some 40 years, was first introduced
to Chaldeans when they started coming
on pilgrimages. He learned more
about them over the years, especially
by interacting with one Chaldean family
who became friends. They bought a
house around the corner of the church
where every year, the half-dozen siblings
come for two weeks.
Friar Steven often goes into the
camps and talks to people. “Sometimes
there’s a language barrier,” he
said, “but I honor their special relationship
to this place which I myself
have.”
28 CHALDEAN NEWS SEPTEMBER 2023