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IN THIS ISSUE
From the Desk of
Fr. John Madigan, O.M.I.
An Oblate Partnership that Endured
An Oblate Partnership that Endured
As the National Shrine of
Our Lady of the Snows celebrates its
50th Anniversary, Fr. Edwin Guild’s role
as the Shrine’s founder has become
well-known. Father Guild oversaw
every detail of the Shrine’s development
and construction. For years he even
personally welcomed Shrine visitors,
who now number more than one
million annually. When he died in 1995, Fr. Guild’s
body was laid to rest at the Shrine’s Annunciation
Garden where visitors pay their respects to the man
whose hard work and perseverance resulted in the
largest outdoor Marian Shrine in North America.
Another Missionary Oblate, however, deserves
recognition and a great deal of credit for the
Shrine’s founding and development. In his 1988
book Dreams Realized, Fr. Guild chronicled the
events that took place as his dream of building a beautiful place
of devotion to Our Blessed Mother became a reality. In the book,
Fr. Floyd Boeckman, O.M.I. a longtime friend and associate of
Fr. Guild, receives special praise and credit.
“He…was an enormous help to me in the building of the Shrine, and he could well be called its co-founder,” wrote Fr. Guild in Dreams Realized. “Father Floyd and I personally walked over the property hundreds of times, making plans in our minds which we could suggest to the architects.”
Throughout their ministries the men developed lasting relationships with their coworkers, the local community, as well as with people from across the country. In the early 1940s Fr. Guild began developing a mailing list of people who wanted to share in the devotion to Our Lady of the Snows. He turned to these people when funding was needed for the Shrine’s construction. He and Fr. Boeckman also started the Layman’s Association, a group of 1,000 supporters who agreed to support the Shrine with donations of $1,000 each.
“I do not consider myself especially talented,” Fr. Guild wrote,“but God has given me the motivation and drive to go ahead and to accomplish. I have used this drive to realize my dreams, dreams which I hope have enriched the spiritual lives of many. I wish for all people the persistence and joy in seeing all of your dreams realized.”
Both men were born and raised in small towns in Illinois. Both shared a strong devotion to Our Blessed Mother. And despite their entering a missionary order of priests and brothers, both remained in Illinois for their entire priestly ministries. Father Guild served as Provincial of the Oblates’ Central Province, then based in Belleville, Illinois and his work as founder and director of the Shrine kept him close to home. Father Boeckman, who was diagnosed with diabetes at a young age, stayed in Belleville because of his health.
Father Guild taught at St. Henry’s Seminary when he first met Floyd Boeckman, a student. Before long, Floyd began calling his teacher “Pop” Guild, because Fr. Guild entered the seminary later than most students of the time, and therefore was older than the other teachers. In turn, Fr. Guild called Floyd “Bud.” During his formation years, Floyd spent his summers working for Fr. Guild at the seminary, and later at what was known as the League Office, now the Missionary Association. When Fr. Floyd was ordained in 1955, Fr. Guild preached at his first Mass.
Because the two friends put their trust in each other and sustained a strong working relationship, they were able to accomplish much more than either could have imagined on his own. In the final years of his life, when he was struck with Parkinson’s disease, Fr. Guild relied on Fr. Floyd to keep him updated on all that was happening at the Shrine.
As his own health declined Fr. Floyd no longer could walk the Shrine grounds as he and Fr. Guild had done so often over the years. Still, until he died in 2007, Fr. Floyd remained an influential force at the Shrine, personally remaining in touch with hundreds of benefactors through phone calls and letters.
Both men are greatly missed, but the results of their friendship are still very much in evidence at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.