Various forms of the shrines reveal the glory of God. In 1954, Frank Wachter offered an acre of his Indiana farm to build a Catholic shrine with an Italian marble Madonna that still exists as "The Great Lady" in front of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis.

Frank Schilling, a grandson of Frank Wachter, and his wife Shirley reacquired the land so as to build the Shrine of Christ's Passion with the Stations of the Cross. Now, this location is frequented by more than 200,000 pilgrims every year from 40 countries.

The nondenominational and nonprofit Shrine of Christ's Passion is a multimedia interactive prayer trail that depicts the Passion of Christ. The shrine connects 18 meditation grottos. Forty finely detailed, life-sized bronze statues, created by Texas sculptor Mickey Wells, depict Christ's journey to Calvary, along with the Last Supper and the Ascension.

Before this initiative, Frank Schilling took road trips to Santa Fe in New Mexico and to the Groom Cross in Texas. On these road trips, he met Mickey Wells, a sculptor creating biblical figures in life-size bronze.

In sculpting, molding and casting sculptures, Wells has skilled hands and an eye for detail.

After years of prayer, research and hard work, he depicted the first series of sculptures of the Stations of the Cross. It took him three to six months to design and cast each one, especially concentrating on the physical anguish and divine forgiveness in Christ's facial features.

Wells started sculpting at the age of 13 under the teaching of Mary Mitchell, an Amarillo artist and gallery owner. She allowed him to sit in on her art classes in exchange for his help around the gallery. His help was not necessary, but she asked him to do errands such as going to the local convenience store and sweeping the studio floors so as to provide him with the opportunity to be around art. In this way, she became a source of positive inspiration and endless encouragement.

Wells continued to study his art in all mediums: drawing, painting and especially sculpting. At 14, he found a market eager to purchase his portraits. As he grew older, his passion for art was intensified through coursework taken in anatomy and kinesiology.

In 1994, he learned that there was a project where an artist was needed to create life-size bronze statues depicting the stations of the cross. So, he presented two life-size clay busts of Jesus. This presentation allowed him to highlight his talent for achieving a wide range of emotions while working with clay as a medium.

He hopes that his sculptures will enlighten viewers about the pain, suffering and sacrifice of Christ. "To provide a prayerful environment where all people can open their hearts to the journey of Christ's Passion and draw closer to the Lord" is the mission of the Shrine of Christ's Passion.

The construction of the Shrine of Christ's Passion began in 2001, and it was opened in 2008 as a spiritual jewel of the diocese. At each prayer alcove, we can listen to a spiritual meditation read by Chicago broadcaster Bill Kurtis.

Meditation areas include "Our Lady of Guadalupe," "Moses and the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai," "The sanctity of life shrine in loving memory of the innocent victims of abortion" and "Our Lady of the New Millennium."

The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul. Please feel free to visit her blog "A piece of sunshine" at mtorchid88.blogspot.com.