"Two hundred acres of prayer where a flying priest's Arctic devotion took root in the Midwest"
National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville
Belleville, Illinois, United States
Each year, over a million people walk the grounds of America's largest outdoor Marian shrine, tracing paths between a Lourdes grotto replica and the Stations of the Cross. Father Paul Schulte brought devotion to Our Lady of the Snows from the Arctic, where he flew missions to isolated communities. The summer miracle of snow in ancient Rome and the winter devotion of a bush pilot converge here in Illinois, where seekers find quiet among two hundred landscaped acres.
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Quick Facts
Location
Belleville, Illinois, United States
Coordinates
38.5108, -89.9956
Last Updated
Jan 14, 2026
Learn More
Devotion to Our Lady of the Snows traces to a miraculous summer snowfall in Rome in 352 AD. Father Paul Schulte brought this devotion to Illinois in 1941 after years of Arctic missionary work. The perpetual novena began in 1943, and formal shrine development started with land purchase in 1958. The shrine is operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
Origin Story
The story begins in Rome in 352 AD. A wealthy couple, childless and wishing to dedicate their fortune to Mary, both received the same dream. Mary appeared to them, asking that a church be built in her honor. She promised to mark the location with snow. Pope Liberius received the same dream.
On August 5, the height of the Roman summer, Esquiline Hill was covered with snow. The Pope traced the outline of a church in the miraculous white. The Basilica of St. Mary Major, built on that spot, remains one of Rome's four major basilicas. The Feast of Our Lady of the Snows is celebrated each August 5.
The Illinois story begins with Father Paul Schulte. Ordained as an Oblate missionary, he served in northern Canada and the Arctic, flying his own plane to reach communities inaccessible by other means. In the snow and ice, he developed deep personal devotion to Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Snows. The Arctic conditions that most would find hostile became for him the setting of encounter with Mary's care.
When Schulte came to St. Henry's Seminary in Belleville in 1941, he brought his devotion with him. The perpetual novena he established in 1943 has continued unbroken. Land was purchased in 1958, and the shrine began to take its present form.
Key Figures
Father Paul Schulte, OMI
founder
Known as the flying priest of the Arctic, Schulte developed devotion to Our Lady of the Snows while serving as a missionary pilot in northern Canada. He brought this devotion to Illinois in 1941 and initiated the perpetual novena that seeded the shrine.
Mary
deity
The mother of Jesus, honored under the title Our Lady of the Snows in commemoration of the miraculous Roman snowfall. Catholic tradition holds that Mary intercedes with her son on behalf of those who seek her help.
Spiritual Lineage
The shrine is operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the same order to which Father Schulte belonged. The Oblate charism of bringing God's love to the poor and most abandoned informs the shrine's welcoming approach. The community maintains Schulte's vision while developing new ways to serve contemporary pilgrims. The shrine connects to the broader Marian devotion tradition within Catholicism. The replica of the Lourdes Grotto links this Illinois site to the French apparition site. The title Our Lady of the Snows itself connects to the Roman basilica and to every place where Mary has been honored under this name.
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