A little bit of heaven can be found at The National Shrine of Mary, Mother of the Church. Nestled within the Ozark hills of Missouri on 60 acres along Missouri Route 5 between Versailles and Camdenton, Missouri, the Mothers' Shrine honors Our Blessed Mother Mary and all mothers.
The mission of the Mothers' Shrine is to provide faith-filled and joyful Eucharistic celebrations, to provide family-oriented programs, pilgrimages and retreats for the spiritual enrichment of home life, and to provide greater recognition of mothers through the Mothers’ Wall of Life.
The Mothers' Shrine received the 16th designation as a National Shrine by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Its central feature is an awe-inspiring 14-foot stainless steel sculpture of Mary as the Mother of the Church, with her arms outstretched to welcome all to her embrace and positioned among our beautiful fountains. The platform holding the sculpture of Mary turns 360 degrees every four minutes to face all pilgrims as they enjoy our grounds.
The terraced amphitheater surrounding the sculpture seats 2,000 and includes a permanent altar, ambo (pulpit) and beautiful fountains. Behind the altar is a three-tiered lighted super structure of steel towers, which creates a spectacular effect. Each spring, thousands of flowers bloom throughout the grounds.
