Holy Family Shrine dazzles but draws pilgrims more quietly, too

Holy Family Shrine – set along Interstate 80 near Gretna – features many unique and mysterious elements: a chapel with glass walls and woven wooden trusses; a 40-foot crucifix; a spiraling metal sculpture from which water flows with no apparent source from the visitor center, down a walkway, into the chapel and along the aisle to the altar.

Despite the many beautiful and unique designs at the shrine, something much more subtle stands out to Bridget Chatterson: the alluring peace and quiet visitors find at Holy Family, which has been designated a pilgrimage site during this Jubilee Year of the Church.

Outside at the shrine, one might hear the low hum of traffic along the nearby Interstate, birds chirping and tweeting, an insect buzzing or the wind rustling. Inside the buildings, trickling water or soft footsteps can be heard. But for many people, those quiet sounds don’t disrupt their worship.

While the other, more dazzling aspects of Holy Family Shrine might draw pilgrims in, the peace and quiet of the place keep them coming back, said Chatterson, the shrine’s office manager.

Holy Family is a quiet, reflective place to visit, she said. “People say they can feel calm and peace,” especially when they enter the chapel.

They can walk and pray along a half-mile Stations of the Cross trail on the grounds. Mass is offered on Saturdays at 10 a.m.

Chatterson said she often sees young people with backpacks stopping by, including students affiliated with Newman Centers in Omaha and Lincoln. Several parishes and Church groups bring staff members to the shrine for meetings and half-day or all-day retreats.

Carol and Warren Spence, of Lincoln, visited Holy Family on a recent July afternoon. They said they liked the water passageway and the gardens – and despite the nearness of the Interstate – the peace.

Ramon Fierros – a former member of St. Columbkille Parish in Papillion who now lives in Tucson, Arizona – said the shrine is a great place to pray.

He and his wife, Brenda, and their children Sebastian and Jacqueline had been visiting family and friends in the Omaha area and knew they had to stop at Holy Family Shrine with their other relatives.

“It’s such a beautiful church at the top of a little hill, with beautiful architecture and well decorated,” Fierros said. “It’s kind of a masterpiece.”

His family would visit the shrine frequently when he was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue. “Anytime we’d come out in this direction … we used to stop by and admire it and reconnect with Jesus here.”

Usually there are not a lot of people at Holy Family, he said. “It’s a nice place to quiet your heart.”

“The architectural design of this place is unique and beautiful,” Fierros said, “but what draws me is the spiritual connection. This place is very special. When you walk in here, it’s like wow, you feel it in your heart. You feel Jesus’ presence.”