Shrine Dedicated in Taylors, South Carolina
On Sunday, October 20, 2019, Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Taylors, South Carolina, inaugurated a new Shrine to Blessed Karl. Located in the Diocese of Charleston, Prince of Peace marks the 13th shrine to Blessed Karl in North America and the first in South Carolina.
Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B., a monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and Delegate for the Emperor Karl League of Prayer U.S.A. and Canada, served as celebrant and homilist for the Mass, and solemnly blessed the shrine on behalf of the Gebetsliga.
Devotion by the parish’s faithful to Blessed Karl prompted the new shrine’s addition to the church. One parishioner at Prince of Peace, Angela Calabro, even went on pilgrimage to Muri Abbey, Switzerland, in 2018 where the hearts of Blessed Karl and Servant of God Zita are enshrined. "I am so excited and grateful that we are getting a shrine to Blessed Karl here at Prince of Peace," she said. "It's so important in our world today to have such a wonderful example of holy marriage that is Blessed Karl and Servant of God Zita." The pastor, Father Christopher Smith, also shares a devotion to Blessed Karl that begin over eight years ago during a visit to Austria. "As a military man, family man and secular leader, he had a deep sense of his vocation to work, his duty to country and family, as stemming from a life of personal holiness in the Church,” Father Smith said. "I was amazed by his heroic virtue and leadership during an incredibly difficult time that would break lesser men."
The Blessed Karl shrine is located next to the St. Josemaría Escrivá shrine in the Church and features an image of Blessed Karl with a 1st Class relic. Commissioned in Spain by parishioners Thierry and Tanya Weringer, the new reliquary was given to the glory of God in memory of Tanya’s mother who was Austrian and deeply devoted to Blessed Karl.
To learn more about the new shrine and Prince of Peace Catholic Church, visit their website.