Rising from an elevation of 5,300 feet in the Huachuca Mountains, and visible from State Route 92, is a curiosity that beckons observant motorists: a 75-foot Celtic cross. A steep, winding road leads to the Our Lady of the Sierras shrine, privately owned but open to the public. The grounds feature not only the 30-ton cross, but also a chapel, a 31-foot statue of the Virgin Mary, a 19-foot “Angel of Revelation” and a small grotto, all surrounded by live oaks and 360-degree views that stretch from the San Pedro Valley to Mexico.
“Our Lady of the Sierras is always top of my list when I recommend places to see in the area,” says Judy Jones, Sierra Vista’s former marketing and communications manager. “Every time I visit, I’m enveloped by incredible peace. Just sitting on the benches and letting the endless views wash over me, my worries melt into perspective.”
The shrine’s story dates to 1987, when Illinois residents Gerald and Patricia Chouinard visited a local family member. While hiking, they stumbled across a “For Sale” sign in the weeds — a parcel of high desert land was available in Ash Canyon. The couple purchased 8 acres of land in 1988 and hired an architect to draw up plans for their hillside retirement home.
However, before beginning construction, the Chouinards read an article about a religious event happening in Medjugorje, Yugoslavia. In November 1990, they joined thousands of others on a pilgrimage there. Standing next to the large stone cross on Mount Krizevac, the Chouinards took in the impressive view of the valley below; although it was thousands of miles and an ocean away, it bore some similarities to the land they’d purchased in the Sonoran Desert.
In late 1991, as Gerald stood with a contractor and peered at the San Pedro Valley below, he remembered the Medjugorje cross and contemplated erecting one in Hereford. The couple found a company in Tucson capable of fabricating a large-scale cross of fiberglass, steel and concrete. Inspired, they proceeded. Patricia felt called to include a statue of the Virgin Mary on the site.
The couple submitted plans to Cochise County, but obstacles soon appeared. Regulations didn’t normally allow structures, religious or not, more than 30 feet high. Some neighbors voiced opposition, too. But the Chouinards prevailed, and construction began in 1993. The cross and the Virgin Mary were completed in 1997; the next year, craftspeople from both sides of the border came together to finish the modest chapel, which features river rocks sourced from a nearby wash and limestone from Mexico. Inside, hand-hewn beams were salvaged from a Michigan Dutch barn and used in a ceiling made of unpeeled Northern Arizona aspens. A dramatic mural of Jesus greets visitors; beneath it is an antique wooden Spanish crucifix.
In 2002, the stations of the cross were added, allowing visitors to make the 600-foot spiritual journey up the mountainside trail from the lower parking lot. The view is nothing short of divine. “You can see from Bisbee to Tombstone, from Douglas and Agua Prieta, toward Benson and Willcox,” says Monica Frisbie-Garcia, managing director of the Our Lady of the Sierras Foundation. “And you can see the border wall, since it’s just a few miles away.”
But this is a place of communion, not division. And there’s a strong connection to nature in this secluded place of meditation. “We have deer, roadrunners, squirrels and incredible species of birds in Ash Canyon,” Frisbie-Garcia says. “It’s a little piece of heaven.”
Sadly, in June 2011, the Monument Fire raged through the canyon. Many homes, including the Chouinards’, were lost, but miraculously, the exterior of the chapel, the cross and the Virgin Mary were spared. The chapel’s interior was rebuilt in 2012, and the surrounding terrain is slowly recovering. “This is truly a place for healing, for letting go and for regenerating,” Jones says. “New life is thriving in this desert environment.”
The shrine has become a venue for baptisms, weddings and funerals. During Easter week and the Christmas season, Frisbie-Garcia says, the site sees a “flood of visitors” and hosts Masses attended by as many as 500 people. The location also has La Purisima Retreat and Pilgrimage Center, which welcomes overnight visitors, and Mary’s Knoll, an additional prayer house.
Although the Chouinards have both died, their legacy continues to draw people from near and far. Last year’s visitor log reveals seekers from Alaska, Brazil, Canada, Germany, South Korea, Mexico, Poland and Nigeria. And on a quieter day, a local resident might have the privilege of being alone on the property — a luxury in a hectic world.
“It’s in our human nature to seek peacefulness,” Frisbie-Garcia says. “Whether or not you’re religious, this is a welcoming refuge.”
NEAR SIERRA VISTA Our Lady of the Sierras, 10235 S. Twin Oaks Road, 520-378-2950, ourladyofthesierras.org