Largest SSPX Church... Worldwide
US District Superior, Fr. Jürgen Wegner (left), meets with the Immaculata team in April of 2019 during the planning phase.
A Letter from the District Superior
Dear Friend,
On September 8, 1989, our dear founder of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, dispatched a letter to the faithful of St. Marys, Kansas expressing his approval to build a new church dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, after the original had been destroyed in a fire more than a decade earlier. He believed that this new temple would be not solely for the honor of St. Marys, but for the good of the SSPX and the salvation of the United States.
Now, 30 years later, we are in the position to make the Archbishop’s hope a reality.
“Now, 30 years later, we are in the position to make the Archbishop’s hope a reality.”
As you may be aware, work is already underway to build a new church dedicated to the Immaculata. Once complete, it will be the largest Catholic church in Kansas. The majesty of the church will be evident to all, with two bell towers reaching 111 feet in the air, and a 12-sided cupola (representing the 12 stars that crown the Blessed Virgin Mary) on which will rise a statue of Our Lady to become the highest point in St. Marys.
A view from the south east towards the north west reveals the scope of such an impressive project.
Although an impressive $23.3 million dollars have already been raised for the Immaculata project, we still need $6 million more. This is why I need your help.
For the project to stay on its planned five-year completion target, I am asking you and all the Catholic faithful who attend SSPX chapels across the United States to prayerfully consider donating to this ambitious but crucial project. Your giving can come either in the form of a five-year pledge at varying levels of support or through one-time donations. Detailed information is available online at https://www.anewimmaculata.org/donate.
The new Immaculata will be far more than a local church established to meet the needs of St. Marys’ traditional Catholic community. Rather, it will be a beacon of Catholic Tradition in the United States, a sign to all the faithful that despite the ongoing crisis in the Church, the Faith will always prevail. This holy structure is also a gift to Our Lady, who has poured innumerable blessings upon the SSPX for half-a-century and assisted us at every step in our apostolate.
“This holy structure is also a gift to Our Lady, who has poured innumerable blessings upon the SSPX for half-a-century and assisted us at every step in our apostolate.”
Fr. Wegner talks about the vision for the Immaculata. Taken from the project’s promotional video.
In my recent letters I have spoken of the crisis in the Church. The problems, as you know, are many. But here we have something to be proud of, our answer to the crisis. Here, in tiny Saint Marys, Kansas, we are embarking on a project to build a new Church that will be a sign to all of the strength found in tradition. Saint Marys has grown to be the largest traditional parish in the world. What was once a tiny outpost has become a place of refuge and hope for all traditional Catholics.
Throughout the United States every Sunday, close to 30,000 people attend the traditional mass in our chapels. Of those, over half are under the age of 21. The number of marriages and baptisms every year is astounding. The growth is such that even those outside of the society are beginning to take notice. We continue to gain new converts to tradition all the time. The Church can rebuild and Catholicism can again thrive in the United States, so long as we rally to Tradition.
“Completing the Immaculata project is part of this process.”
Completing the Immaculata project is part of this process. Let us pray that it becomes, as the Archbishop wished, a basilica for Catholic Tradition. May it become a place of pilgrimage for all Catholics to come and give thanks to Our Lady for her protection. Without the Blessed Virgin’s assistance, I dare say that the SSPX’s work, both in the United States and around the world, would not have found the success it has had. Now, let us give something back to her, something that will last, something that will honor her while instilling hope that despite the great sea of darkness that surrounds us, the Light of Christ can never be extinguished.
Blessings in Christ,
Fr. Jürgen Wegner
Click to watch the video
See inside the plans for the immaculata, and hear from archbishop lefebvre himself.