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$60 million Guadalupe basilica shelved as too expensive

It may not be the $60 million basilica they first envisioned, but leaders of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe are embarking on scaled-down plans to renovate an existing gymnasium and turn it into a special worship space on their Des Plaines campus.

Thousands of Hispanic Catholics already attend Mass weekly inside the Maryville Academy gym at Central and River roads. Thousands more come as pilgrims every December for the annual Our Lady of Guadalupe feast day celebration.

When complete, the gym-turned-church will have 1,800 seats and a new altar, steeple and skylight.

It's not unlike what you'd find in any other church. And Juan Gabriel Moreno, the project architect, says it isn't the first time he's repurposed an old building into a new use.

But what makes this project special, he says, is the lasting impact it will have on parishioners.

"If you look at the feast and what the celebration means to the Latino community, it's profound," Moreno said. "You don't encounter these projects every day. For me, it's so incredibly awe-inspiring."

An estimated 200,000 people came to this year's feast day celebration on Dec. 11-12. They attended Masses in the gym, and prayed and placed flowers at the outdoor shrine, which contains a 12-foot-tall replica statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe that came from Mexico City.

Only 10 people showed up for the first feast day Mass at the shrine in 1988, but the crowds have grown steadily over time.

In 2004, the church approved the shrine as the only place in the world outside of the Basilica in Mexico City where believers can satisfy their mandas, or promises, to the Virgin Mary in exchange for considering their wishes.

In 2013, leaders of the shrine announced plans to build a basilica at the northwest corner of River and Central roads to accompany the nearby outdoor shrine.

However, they said recently they were only able to raise $2 million of the estimated $60 million construction cost.

The basilica would have been only second in size to the one in Mexico City.

Instead, officials say they're now going to put that money toward the estimated $3 million needed to renovate the gym, where Masses have been given since 2008.

As many as 15,000 people attend five Spanish-language Masses there every Sunday, according to the Rev. Adan Sandoval, the shrine's new administrator and director of the archdiocesan Consejo Hispano.

"I think it's gone for now," Sandoval said of plans to build the basilica. "It was too much money. It's a beautiful project, but not realistic."

Sandoval has taken over administrative duties at the shrine from longtime rector the Rev. Marco Mercado, who was removed from his position in October for having an "inappropriate relationship with an adult man," archdiocese officials said at the time.

Sandoval said he expects to hear next month whether he or someone else will become permanent rector of the shrine.

Plans call for phase one of the gym renovations - updating bathrooms - to begin in the spring. The bulk of the renovations may not start until late next year, and could take a year to finish.

The new worship space is being created in the existing north gym of a multipurpose building shared by Maryville Academy, the longtime Catholic child care organization in Des Plaines. A nearly identical south gym will still be used by Maryville's residents and visitors, along with meeting rooms and a mini-golf area. A swimming pool isn't operable for the time being because of the costs to repair it, said Sister Catherine Ryan, Maryville's executive director.

Officials from Maryville and the shrine have had meetings to discuss the building plans, which are now under review by Chicago Archdiocese officials and still need to be approved by Archbishop Blase Cupich.

"We can make this work," Ryan said.

Conceptual renderings show a vestibule addition and steeple would be placed on the east side of the northern gym, clad with a chrome-like metallic material, providing a "mirror effect," Moreno said.

"It has to do with reflection - literally reflection - but also the idea you look at the steeple and the angle, such that it looks back on the sanctuary," he said.

One-time plans to build a mezzanine level are being shelved in order to stay within the $3 million project budget, Moreno said.

The current 13,000-square-foot gym is being expanded to 20,000 square feet.

Project architects and shrine leaders have met with Des Plaines officials, who say the renovated building may not require any zoning variations, though the project may require approvals to ensure there's enough parking.

Alderman Don Smith, whose 7th Ward includes the shrine, is supportive.

"Sometimes I don't think we in Des Plaines do a good enough job of reaching out to the Hispanic community," Smith said. "Our Lady of Guadalupe is something we should be embracing."

Officials are hopeful the new worship space will be ready in time for the feast day celebration in December 2017.

Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine leaders launch basilica plan

Thousands pray to Our Lady Of Guadalupe in Des Plaines

An architect's rendering shows the proposed $3 million worship space inside an existing gymnasium on the campus of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Maryville Academy in Des Plaines. Courtesy of JGMA
A site plan shows where a proposed worship space would fit within the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe campus in Des Plaines. Courtesy of JGMA
  Parishioners kneel on the gymnasium floor during the first Mass of this year's Our Lady of Guadalupe feast day celebration in Des Plaines. Plans call for a transformation of the gym into a worship space. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  A makeshift altar inside the gymnasium on the campus of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Maryville Academy would be replaced with a larger, permanent altar, according to the shrine's plans. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  A gymnasium on the campus of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Maryville Academy in Des Plaines will be renovated next year as part of a $3 million project, converting part of it to a worship space. Christopher Placek/cplacek@dailyherald.com
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