Not so long ago, we were informed that the St. Padre Pio Shrine over in Landisville, which is a shrine erected on family property as an act of devotion by private citizens and not by the diocese, was turned over to the Diocese of Camden.


We do not have the details of the transaction, but have been aware for some time that Bishop Galante and Company have been after this property for awhile.


View Larger Map

As many of you are probably aware, lay Catholics have been erecting shrines, altars, and even chapels on their farms, in their homes, in their yards, on roadways, and elsewhere as long as the Catholic Church has existed. These private devotional areas have not typically been under the purview of the Church. This is nothing new. (link, link, link, link, great link)

Continuing in this ancient tradition, we could walk or drive down a residential street in just about any town in America and find statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Blessed Mother, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. Jude, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, heavenly angels, you name it.


In the case of my own neighbors, they have a shrine on a small hill in honor of St. Jude. This little shrine in their backyard was erected in thanksgiving. When the mother (and family matriarch) got sick with cancer, one of her daughters prayed for the intercession of St. Jude, saint of hopeless causes, in the hope of a cure. When the mother got well, seemingly miraculously, the daughter kept her promise to St. Jude that she would erect a shrine to his honor.


Here's another interesting little story about this family. The same daughter, whose first name is Rita, was thus named in thanksgiving to St. Rita. While fighting in World War II, her father was saved from gunshot by crouching behind a statue of St. Rita. He promised that if ever he had a daughter, she would have the honor of receiving this saint's blessed name.

When we thought of privately constructed shrines, strangely enough, what came to our minds was the "Chapel of Peace" located in Storybook Land in EHT. You may remember the 18 by 20 foot "Chapel of Peace" there and never gave it a second thought.
 

It was originally located in Vineland. It was built on private property (a farm) in 1885 by eighteen-year-old Andrew Cresci as a gift to his parents. It has a pipe organ inside, lovely stained glass windows, and mass was said there regularly.


According to the posted history, this chapel was never diocesan property. Eventually the chapel, along with a couple other small, historical buildings, was relocated to Storybook Land.
 

Undoubtedly many of you are familiar with other shrines and chapels whose stories are similar.

The point is, why is it that because a layperson or group of laypersons erects a shrine on private property, our current bishop feels that he has the right to it? Are all things Catholic now subject to "eminent domain?" Look out if your property is in a particularly desirable area. Worse still if he sees it as prime territory for one of his Quatholic McMegaChurches.

A question remains in our minds: If the elderly woman who helped build the Padre Pio Shrine had instead decided to open a pizza place, would Bishop Galante and Company have felt as easy approaching her for the "donation" of her property? Probably not.

Given the abundance of real estate wheelings and dealings and corporate ventures in which the Diocese of Camden has gotten itself involved, it seems that Galante and Company are now in the business of gobbling up not only churches but also private property to which they believe they have a right. This increasing corporatization of the Church leaves us with a very uneasy feeling. We are to be the Pilgrim Church on Earth, in the world and not of it. But perhaps those sentiments need only apply to the laity.