Who Is Our Lady of the Highways?
Photo: The News Wheel
As technology has developed over the past centuries, the average daily life has drastically changed. As our daily experiences evolve, our religious practices grow and adjust to adapt to our changing needs. Catholicism has many patron saints that it didn’t have before, one of them being Our Lady of the Highways. With the invention and proliferation of the automobile, believers desired divine protection while traversing America’s highways.
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The shrine of and prayer to Our Lady of the Highways
Off I-75 in Indian River, Michigan, near Cheboygan, is The Cross in the Woods. Home to a 31-foot-tall cross — the largest in the world — The Cross in the Woods has received millions of visitors, religious and not, since it was declared a national shrine in 2006.
Photo: The News Wheel
One of the sculptures on the grounds is Our Lady of the Highways, depicted as the Blessed Mother with her arms outstretched. Mr. and Mrs. Leo Kuhlman of Kentucky sculpted the figure out of Carrara marble as a pious devotion act to ask for protection for those traveling via automobile across highways. She is a patroness to pilgrims and travelers who use motorized transportation.
Different statues and stained-glass murals depicting Our Lady of the Highways can be found in parishes throughout the country in various forms, watching over cars and their passengers. There’s also another Our Lady of the Highways shrine located along Historic Route 66 in Illinois.
The prayer to Our Lady of the Highways, inscribed on the base of the statue, is
O Lady of the Highways, be with us on our journey, for all your ways are beautiful and all your paths are peace. O God, who with unspeakable providence does rule and govern the world, grant unto us, your servants, through the intercessions of our watchful mother, to be protected from all danger and brought safely to the end of our journey. Amen.
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Sources: The Cross in the Woods, IL-66 Association
Aaron is unashamed to be a native Clevelander and the proud driver of a Hyundai Veloster Turbo (which recently replaced his 1995 Saturn SC-2). He gleefully utilizes his background in theater, literature, and communication to dramatically recite his own articles to nearby youth. Mr. Widmar happily resides in Dayton, Ohio with his magnificent wife, Vicki, but is often on the road with her exploring new destinations. Aaron has high aspirations for his writing career but often gets distracted pondering the profound nature of the human condition and forgets what he was writing… See more articles by Aaron.