One of the things I have grown to love about travel is being able to visit different churches around the country. We went to Indonesia & Bora Bora when we were first married and have been kicking ourselves for not having attending Mass while there.
On our last trip to Walt Disney World I was bummed to discover that they no longer hold Mass at the Polynesian Resort. Further research led me to discover that there were too many Catholics on property to be able to house them all in one location once a week. That’s pretty cool, actually.
In January, we were able to check out the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of Heaven. Typical of Florida churches, the parking lot was paved for the summer crowd with overflow parking in grassy areas. The grounds had areas for outdoor rosaries and other prayer spots. I didn’t have an opportunity to see those personally, but did see them as we drove to the church. There was a nice palm tree lined walkway to the church and a well stocked Catholic gift shop with some exhibits in a separate building.
The church was larger than I expected. Not traditionally styled, but not gaudy either. The ceilings were quite tall and had a balcony along both sides. At the time of our visit, they did 4 masses a weekend. Ours was fairly full. Not only was it full but there were people from all over the world. There were people from Asia in front of us and a mother speaking French behind us. I’ve never attended a Mass with so many nationalities before–it really cemented how Universal Catholicism really is!
It was really a delight to be able to visit such a grand church while traveling. If you are in Disney, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of Heaven is just a short drive away. They offer confessions daily (!), adoration all day Saturday, and currently have 4 weekend masses. Please visit their website for further details.
Do you have a Catholic spot that you’ve visited? Or that you welcome visitors to? If you’d like to write a post for HLH, please email me at jen (at) happylittlehomemaker (dot) com with your article or pitch!
