JoAnne invited me to go hike up the stairs at Mother Cabrini Shrine this afternoon. Mother Cabrini is also known as St. Frances Cabrini.
It's a really nice walk up some stairs that go up to the top of the mountain where the shrine is located. They're much, much easier than the stairs at Red Rocks, though still enough to wind you slightly by the end. Along the stairs are the stations of the cross done in pretty, colorful mosaics that hang on crosses. At the top is a giant - and I mean giant - statue of Jesus gazing down upon the Denver skyline, along with a rock arrangement in the shape of a heart which was laid by Mother Cabrini herself and which now lies under badly weathered plexiglass which obscures most of the image, and upon which people toss coins. There's also this much smaller statue of Mary, which caught my eye because various pilgrims have adorned her with rosaries, medals, and other offerings.
We also checked out the chapel and gift shop, which was obviously catering to a Spanish speaking demographic. They had these really neat embroidered postcards, so I bought one and stuck it on my collage board where it nicely matches the blues and yellows of other postcards people have sent me over the years.
It was a good way to get my exercise and a dose of Catholicism all in one fell swoop.
