The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Highway, of which our parish is justifiably proud, owes its origin to Father Giles Lawlor, OFM. The incident which was responsible for the conception of the Shrine however, is a tragic one. On Sunday, June 28, 1936, Father John Joseph McLaughlin, a recently ordained priest from St. Francis Church in New York, assisted Father Giles with the morning Masses. That evening the two priests set out for St. Joseph's Seminary in Callicoon, New York, to begin their annual retreat. On the way their car was struck by another car. Father John Joseph was killed instantly; Father Giles, however, escaped serious injury. Father Giles was convinced that he owed his life to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.

Just two months previous to the accident he had begun the Miraculous Medal Novena in the parish.  In gratitude to Our Lady, Father Giles built a shrine in Mary's honor in the field across from the original church. It would seem that the original shrine was intended to be a Lourdes Grotto. However, the idea of a Shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Highway gradually evolved. Father Giles obtained permission from Bishop McLoughlin of Paterson to name the shrine in honor of Our Lady of the Highway. As devotion grew at the little shrine, many persons asked Father to have a special medal struck honoring Our Lady under this title. With the Bishop's permission a medal was prepared in September 1937, bearing an image of Our Lady and the inscription: "Our Lady of the Highway, be with us on our journey; for all thy ways are beautiful and all thy paths are peace."

 

The title "Our Lady of the Highway" was not new. Father Giles discovered that a feast entitled "Holy Mary of the Street" was observed on May 24th. This feast commemorated the finding of a picture of Our Lady and the Christ Child on a street in Rome. The picture was placed in a shrine at Rome. Many miracles have been wrought at the shrine through the intercession of Mary. The shrine was named "Sancta Maria della Strada," which would have as its English equivalent "Our Lady of the Highway."

 

On the Feast of Our Lady of the Highway, May 24, 1938, a new statue was installed in the shrine across from the church. Our Lady of the Highway was thus honored by the first American shrine to bear this title. The grounds surrounding the shrine were beautified and made suitable for the visits of passing motorists.

 

Permission was granted several times for Father Giles to celebrate Mass at the outdoor shrine. In 1954 the present church was built on the site of the original shrine and so a new shrine was erected at the base of the bell tower. The old and the new can be seen below.

 

Our Lady of the Highway Shrine prior to the construction of the new church in 1954.	The shrine as it stands today.