Bishop dedicates Our Lady of the Delta Shrine

GREENWOOD – Wednesday, Sept. 7, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, joined by priests from across the Delta, gathered at Locus Benedictus retreat center to dedicate a shrine to Mary, Mother of the Delta. The Franciscan Sisters from Greenwood offered this history on their blog: The shrine “Mary, Mother of the Delta” was a vision of Father Theodore Dorcey, CsSR, one of the Redepmptorists serving the Hispanic community in the Delta. The statue of Mary and Child is an original work of art, in Carrara marble, by Italian sculptor Armondo Battelli, commissioned by Father Francis Quinn in 1952 for Jackson St. Mary Parish. The statue had stood at the entrance of the church until structural issues caused the church to close. Now she stands as Mother of the Delta.