For almost two years, the Locus Benedictus Retreat Area in west Greenwood has served as a quiet retreat from a hurried world.
At 6 p.m. on Sept. 7, the Most Rev. Joseph Kopacz, bishop of the Diocese of Jackson, will lead a Mass including a procession, blessing and dedication of an outside shrine near the retreat’s Chapel of Mercy.
The ecumenical program is open to the public. A meal will be provided afterward.
The statue is known as Mary Mother of the Delta.
“The vision of it, the hope of it, started about a year and a half ago,” said the Rev. Ted Dorcey, a Redemptorist priest from Colorado who is stationed in the Delta. “We wanted a quiet place for prayer and thought. ... We’re hoping that it will be a place for prayer and unity,” he said.
Dorcey said work on the shrine, which includes irrigated flower beds and 46 rose bushes, should be finished next week.
The centerpiece of the shrine is an 8-foot tall marble statue of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus.
The statue, made of Carrara marble, was made in 1953 by sculptor Armando Battelli and was originally from St. Mary’s Church in Jackson.
St. Mary’s was closed due to structural issues, Dorcey said. The statue of Mary was previously located above the front entranceway.
Dorcey estimated that 20 priests from such places as Greenville, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Indianola, Grenada and Batesville and 300 guests will be attending the dedication. A Mexican dance group and an African-American praise group are also expected to perform.
“Everyone is welcome,” he said.
•Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
