Mother of Light Shrine History
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Where the Mother of Light Shrine began.
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March 1634One hundred and forty European settlers arrive on the Ark and the Dove in what is now the United States of America at St. Clement's Island near Colton's Point, MD. After celebrating the first Catholic Mass of the thirteen Colonies - the Feast of the Annunciation presided over by Father Andrew White, S.J. - on March 25, 1634, the congregation erected a wooden Cross and recited the Litany of the Holy Cross on bended knee and declared religious freedom for all.
March 1934The tricentennial of the first landing in early March 1634. In celebration, the local community erected a new 40-foot cross on St. Clement's island to mark the spot where the early European settlers arrived, again reciting the Litany of the Holy Cross.
September 30, 1994The Reverend Don Rinfret, the Director of the Jesuit Missions in Baltimore, Maryland, visited the site planned for the future Mother of Light Shrine. He held a first-class relic of Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, a gift from Reverend Aloysius E. O'Connor, the Associate Pastor of Holy Angels Church.
September 30, 1994The Reverend Don Rinfret, the Director of the Jesuit Missions in Baltimore, Maryland, visited the site planned for the future Mother of Light Shrine. He held a first-class relic of Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, a gift from Reverend Aloysius E. O'Connor, the Associate Pastor of Holy Angels Church.
October 5, 1996His Excellency Bishop Leonard Olivier, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, blessed the statue titled "Mother of Light," as Mary is the mother of Jesus, who is the Light of the World. During the blessing ceremony, the Holy Angels Catholic church Adult and Children's Choirs performed an original song composed by Millie Huseman, titled "Mother of Light, Our Special Love."
September 27, 1997The statue's inaugural pilgrimage to the new shrine for positioning on bricks and rocks collected from historical religious sites worldwide, including the Holy Land. The Reverend Paul Liston and Sodalists visited the adjacent St. Clement's Island Museum and wintnessed the newly buildt Shrine. They were the first Pilgrims to arrive, and Father Liston blessed the Shrine. A neighbor, Colonel Hart, was amongst those present.
June 29, 2014The Archdiocese of Washington celebrated its 75th Anniversary on historic St. Clement's Island. During the Mass, his Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, blessed the Mother of Light Shrine.
January 2003Millie Huseman forms the American Delegation for World Peace. The delegation participated in the 4th World Families meeting, accompanied by Msgr. John B. Brady (Pastor of Holy Angels Catholic Church), Dawn Spranger representing Our Lady of Fatima's Sodality, Jim Bailey, and Preston Rose, a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus in the Father Andrew White Assembly #377. Together, they taught the Knights of Columbus how to make living rosaries and pray with them for world peace. Additionally, Mrs. Huseman signed a document with Mrs. Magsaysay, forming an Alliance for World Peace (recorded in the Courthouse in the Province of Zambales).
November 2019Millie Huseman wrote a gift letter to the Archdiocese, submitted along with an interest letter written by Father Tietjen. Deacon Kyte, assisted by his wife Mari Kyte, communicated with Bob Messer, the Facility Director at the Archdiocese. Terry Farrell, the Executive Secretary of the Curia, subsequently expressed his support for the opportunity for the parish. The Shrine, now belonging to the Archdiocese of Washington, would be relocated to "Mary's Garden" at the Immaculate Conception Church in Mechanicsville, MD.
January 11, 2020Deacon Bill Kyte met with Millie Huseman at the Shrine, marking the beginning of its disassembly. The new home of the Mother of Light statue would be in Mary's Garden at the Immaculate Conception Church in Mechanicsville, Maryland, where Deacon Kyte served as Deacon. Assisted by parishioner John Krznarich, Deacon Bill arrived at Colton's Point to remove the statue from its archway.
February 11, 2020Deacon Bill Kyte, of Immaculate Conception Church in Mechanicsville,MD, and Father Michael Tietjen, a former pastor of Holy Angels Parish and then pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Mechanicsville, MD, (from November 2013 through February 2025) discuss relocating the shrine to their parish, where parishioners would assist in its maintenance. At the end of this meeting, Father Michael Tietjen concluded that the Shrine would be accepted at Immaculate Conception Church following documented permission from the Archdiocese of Washington.
Individual Details Not Previously Highlighted:- Rev. Charles Connor, S.T.L., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Church History at Mount St. Mary's Seminary and EWTN Historian.
With EWTN, Father Connor recorded a documentary entitled "Catholic Beginnings in Maryland" that included the Mother of Light Shrine. - Patty Copsey
- Father DeMarchi, the Spiritual Director of Sister Lucia, author and historian
- ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK (EWTN)
Visited and filmed a history of the shrine. - Mary Martha Griffin
Donated the archway that reads, "Oh, Mary Conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." - Jay Guy
Founded the Saint Clement's Island Museum beside the Mother of Light Shrine. - Al Guy
Obtained the bricks and rocks collected from historical religious sites worldwide, including the Holy Land, from the St. Francis Xavier Manor that were laid directly below the feet of the Blessed Mother's statue, and helped move the large pedestal from St. Mary's Academy in Leonardtown to Colton's Point. - Mike Humphries, former Director of the St. Clements Island Museum
Crafted a kneeler using wood from the old St. Francis Xavier Church in Newton. This kneeler is now at Immaculate Conception Church's Parish Center. - Carol Johnson
- Knights of Columbus, Father Andrew White Assembly #377
Living Rosaries and Rosary Rallies, which attracted numerous pilgrims. - Frankie Lacey
Constructed the Shrine with Mike Huseman using all the accumulated bricks. - Gladys Long
- Mrs. Magsaysay
Invited Millie Huseman to a Marian Congress in the Philippines and presented her with a statue of the Blessed Mother, Ina Poon Bato. - Wayne Mast
Prepared the archway that encircled the Mother of Light statue. - Our Lady of Fatima Sodality from Holy Angels Church in Avenue, MD
Living Rosaries and Rosary Rallies, which attracted numerous pilgrims. - Sodality Union in the Archdiocese of Washington
- Joan Warczynski
- Rev. Charles Connor, S.T.L., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Church History at Mount St. Mary's Seminary and EWTN Historian.