I didn’t know what to make of the image that popped up on my computer monitor: a 14-foot, stainless steel sculpture of Mary, arms outstretched, standing atop a shoebox-shaped waterfall.

The rotating, modernistic statue seemed an odd centerpiece for a shrine, although the waterfall and surrounding fountains, terraced amphitheater and profusion of flowers were attractive. No matter. Our family was soon going to be visiting the Lake of the Ozarks, a popular Missouri vacation spot just 30 minutes from the shrine, so I decided we’d check it out in person.

Good call. The shrine is one of the more interesting, inspiring Catholic devotional sites I’ve seen. Besides the striking statue of a youthful Mary, the shrine consists of two expanses of polished black granite underneath her — into which are engraved the names of hundreds of mothers from throughout the world in a poignant tribute to motherhood.

The site, designated America’s 16th national shrine in 2003, was the brainchild of the retired Father Fred Barnett. Father Barnett is the former pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Laurie, Mo.; the shrine sits in St. Pat’s back yard.

About 25 years ago, Father Barnett was in charge of building a new St. Patrick’s Church. Since he’d always had a great devotion to Mary, he wanted to create a grotto behind the church devoted to her. The space would also come in handy to accommodate vacationers flooding his church on summer weekends.

Through the support of various individuals, his modest plans morphed into a spacious terraced area with an amphitheater, waterfall and fountains. It opened in 1988 as Mary, Mother of the Church Shrine. In 1992, the statue of Mary was added.

Maternal Memorial

Rose Vanderbeck, shrine marketing director, says the Mary statue’s non-traditional look (a young woman without a veil, arms outstretched to welcome all to come to her through her son, Jesus) was also the idea of Father Barnett, who wanted the Blessed Mother depicted as she looked when the archangel Gabriel came to her.

The statue is unusual but by no means unorthodox. And it rotates 360 degrees so that, no matter where you’ve stopped to pray or meditate, the Blessed Mother’s loving gaze will find you.

Not long after the statue was added, Father Barnett had another idea: Let the shrine counter the abortion culture by showcasing the dignity of motherhood and the incomparable impact it has on family life. How to pull this off? By adding a “Mothers’ Wall of Life” on the outside of the waterfall.

Made of polished black granite, the wall offers people a place to have the name of a mother, living or deceased, Catholic or not, inscribed for all the world to see — and honor.

The first few names on the wall were mainly mothers from the parish. But Father Barnett chatted up the shrine to a friend in Rome and, soon, Pope John Paul II added his mother’s name, Emilia Kaczorwska.

Today, the names of more than 2,500 mothers from more than 100 countries are engraved on the wall.

The shrine grounds also offer a lovely, traditional Stations of the Cross for the walking.

The day we visited, the temperature topped 100 degrees. Yet, standing at the base of the shrine next to the gleaming granite, I had a shiver run down my spine. Row after row of neatly printed, inch-tall letters proudly spelled out the names of beloved mothers.

Part of me felt as reverential and somber as I did when I visited the similar-looking Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. But I also felt great joy and pride in my own motherhood.

When Mother Speaks …

Inside St. Patrick’s are two enormous display cases mounted on the walls. Here lies a treasure trove of saints’ relics, collected by a former parishioner whose children donated them to the church after her death.

The woman’s brother was a cardinal, we learned, and every time she traveled to Rome to visit him she picked up some relics.

All of the 150 or so relics, which the parish had certified in Rome as authentic, are “first-class,” meaning they’re either the hair or bone of the saint. The cases contain relics from such saints as Joseph of Arimathea, Bridget of Sweden, Catherine of Siena, Elizabeth Seton, Thomas Aquinas, Mary Magdalene and John the Baptist. There’s even a sliver of the True Cross.

Back at the shrine, Vanderbeck told me she’s observed plenty of what she calls “indirect miracles” at the shrine, mainly the mending of family rifts.

Her favorite story, though, comes from a gentleman whose wife had cheated on him, taken all their money and bankrupted his business. Despondent, he was driving to a deserted spot to kill himself when he stopped at the shrine to say good-bye to God and explain his actions.

As he began his dialogue with God, the statue of Mary silently rotated. When she was turned toward him, he heard a female voice say, “This is not what my Son wants.” The man ignored it. But on her next rotation, he again heard: “This is not what my Son wants.” After the fourth or fifth time, the man shouted to the statue, “I’m not talking to you!” Then, deeply shaken, he went home.

Instead of ending his life, the man returned to the shrine regularly for nearly a month. He heard the same message again and again. So he began praying to Mary, and eventually found the strength to make a new beginning in life. Today, the man has a successful new business and is happily remarried.

“The shrine is a very healing place,” said Vanderbeck. Which might be why a miniature version of the statue that had been given to Pope John Paul II was found in his private quarters after he died.

Melanie Radzicki McManus writes from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

Planning Your Visit

St. Patrick’s has daily Mass at 9 a.m. and three Sunday Masses. The shrine grounds are always open to the public and there is no admission fee. If you wish to have a mother’s name engraved on the wall, call (573) 374-6279. There is a $325 tax-deductible donation assessment. For more information, go to mothersshrine.com.

Getting There

The shrine is on Route 5 in Laurie, Mo., near the popular Lake of the Ozarks vacation area. It’s a three-hour drive from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and an hour south of Jefferson City. For directions, go to mothersshrine.com.