National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

BEGINNINGS

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe was established on October 5, 1974 at the historic Immaculate Conception Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania which was founded by Saint John Neumann in 1857. The steeple is 185 feet high and can be seen from miles away. There are sixteen painted and stained glass windows depicting the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and one of The Sacred Heart of Jesus. A Life size replica of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s tilma image is installed in the church sanctuary. The Allentown site was selected by an episcopal committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, whose chairman was the late Bishop Sydney Metzger of El Paso, Texas.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Shrine is to make known Our Lady of Guadalupe to those who do not know of her. Though she is well known in some parts of the country, Allentown lies in an area which has millions of people along the Atlantic seaboard who have yet to know her well. It is hoped that the theological and human content from the entire message of Our Lady of Guadalupe be profoundly studied and made known to all the people in the United States from this center.

DEDICATION

During the official dedication ceremony for the National Shrine, Archbishop Gregorio Aguilar said, “The Honorable Commission, presided over by the Most Reverend Sidney Matthew Metzger, Bishop of El Paso, in consultation with the Bishops of the United States, is dedicating today (October 5, 1974) in this city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe of the United Statues...I am sure that from now on, in Allentown as at Tepeyac, roses shall flourish whose perfume will invite to holiness of life, to prayer, to peace and prosperity, this eminent and powerful brotherly nation, the United States of America...”

501 Ridge Avenue
Allentown, PA 18102
(610) 433-4404

Rev. Harold F. Dagle
National Directory
Samuel J. McGovern

National Lay Director