VALPARAISO – A mother’s influence is woven into the lives of her children. Accordingly, Catholics like those encouraging Marian devotion through a home-based program believe that the Blessed Mother “watches out for her children.”
Through the Ambassadors of Mary framework, St. Paul parishioner Jim Bilder has sparked the flame of faith that has seen the return of a decades-old tradition in which a pilgrim virgin statue forms the centerpiece of home prayer. Hosted or “adopted” by a different person or family each week, the representation of Jesus’ mother has inspired veneration throughout Porter County.
“The whole point is that we’re accomplishing what God has assigned to us,” said Bilder, a Valparaiso retiree and Illinois transplant. “It doesn’t matter if it's a small task or a huge task – they all require doing.”
He added, “If you find the time for prayer, everything makes sense ... with Mary there as an intercessor, you find your heart, I think, is so much more open to God.”
Bilder has noticed a renewed interest in traditional Catholic practices, especially among young adults and middle-aged faithful. Each time he or his wife Bernadette or one of their four adult children facilitate the transfer of the finely preserved statue, a scene of mid-century Catholic culture comes to life.
The former mayor of Worth, “The friendly village,” Bilder moved to Northwest Indiana to raise his family. The youngest among five children, he never forgot the practices his parents shared that helped to reinforce their faith, such as the yearly visits from the Ambassadors of Mary and the prayerful devotion that followed.
In 1990, Bilder’s brother-in-law James Grisolano started hosting the Pilgrim Virgin statue as he was in the process of rediscovering his faith. Later, in retirement, Bilder sought to create a cell and bring Our Lady to Valparaiso. He concluded that it was the right time to reach out to the dispersed network of faithful who have kept the ambassadorship program alive.
In 2022, Bilder received a beautiful carved representation of a prayerful Blessed Mother wearing a white veil adorned with gold leaf trim. The origins of the Ambassadors of Mary in the Midwest trace back to 1947. Bilder’s research indicated that 400 statues were commissioned.
The newly minted ambassador began to get the word out about the opportunity for families to host the statue for one-week intervals. He sought to promote Marian devotion, thinking of the Blessed Mother as “a model of joy and humility.” She was by Jesus’ side more than any human being during his earthly life, insisting that the people, “Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:5)
“We bring the statue (from a host home) on a Saturday, and pray the Joyful Mysteries. Then, the ambassador would pray the Sorrowful Mysteries on the way to the next home,” Bilder explained. “When we arrive at the next home, and drop ‘her’ off, we’d say the Glorious Mysteries.”
Bilder said he was inspired by the fact that he would often see St. Paul pastor Father Douglas Mayer praying a Rosary as he walked the campus grounds. The parish’s associate pastor Father Roque Meraz told the new ambassador not to be discouraged, but rather spend his energy educating the faithful about the traditional devotion, and it would catch on.
Bulletin announcements in local parishes have helped create interest in the initiative and their hosting schedule began to fill since the broader program launch in August. “We thought that the feast of the Assumption would be a good time to start it,” Bilder said.
Father Meraz said devotion to our Blessed Mother is a beautiful way to reinforce our Christian lives and a way that leads people to her Son.
“It’s important to remember that our Lord gave Mary to St. John from the cross, and Scripture says St. John took Mary into his home. I think it’s important, as Catholics, to invite Mary, our mother, to come into our home so she can intercede for us.”
For Valparaiso residents, Rick and Angelica Lahart, the timing of their participation as hosts of the Pilgrim Virgin statue aligned with one of their teenage sons’ trip with a friend’s family to Europe.
“Our youngest son was traveling to Fatima, and when he was about to leave, we had heard about the (Pilgrim Virgin hosting) program and it became a way for my husband to feel a little closer to our son while he was there,” Angelica Lahart explained.
The Laharts said creating a new tradition built around family togetherness can only help reinforce the bond of faith in a society where messaging from secular media, government and corporate entities inundate people with concepts anathema to the values of Catholics and other people of faith.
“As parents, having the statue in our home kind of made us feel like there is a reason, there is hope. We’ve taught our kids and hopefully, they will embrace the faith.”
Bilder wished to remind believers that the statue is not “a magic lamp” but simply a reminder of faithfulness. Our Lady beckons, as she has in her many apparitions throughout the world, a return to a relationship with her Son.
He retold his parent’s affinity for the Servant of God, Father Patrick Peyton, CSC – the pioneering media-savvy “Rosary priest” who often said, “The family that prays together, stays together.”
With that, one of Bilder’s sons, James Builder, a Valparaiso police officer, returned home to greet his mom and dad and say a prayer near the statue.
Caption: A Pilgrim Virgin statue of the Blessed Mother sets in the home of Debra Key. A participant in an initiative of St. Paul parishioner and Valparaiso resident Jim Bilder, Key recently hosted the representation of the Mother of Jesus within the framework of the Ambassadors of Mary program, which encourages family devotional prayer. (provided photo)