About the Shrine

Vision Statement of the Shrine

The Purpose of the Shrine of the Wood of the True Cross and its activities is to bring people close to the Cross of Christ that they may find comfort for their souls in these troublous times and protection against the powerful forces, political and other, that are tearing down the ideals of Christian living and substituting communistic, anti-social, and Godless ideals in their place.

The Shrine of the True Cross serves to "Lift High the Cross" so that devout Catholics will find their greatest happiness in its shadow; lukewarm Catholics will cling to the Cross; non-Catholic Christians may recognize "The Old Rugged Cross" as the symbol of the divinity of the Son of God and of the salvation they hope for; and non-Christians may come to recognize in the Cross the instrument by which the Savior gained for us freedom from the tyranny of sin and the terror of death.

To further the range of our influence (which we do not intend to be political) we are conducting devotions to the Cross. We are persuaded that in this modern day when the forces of evil are using social and technological inventions to such great advantage to further their ends it is not only fitting but even a matter of obligation for us to use the same means to bring the blessings of the Cross of Christ and its teachings into the homes and hearts of thousands who must first hear the truth and the dangers of evil propaganda before they can believe the one and guard against the other.

Fr. Thomas Carney, 1936
Reaffirmed by Fr. Paul Felix, 2010
Under revision by Fr. Rick Arriola, 2024