Servants of Mary Festival celebrates statue, country

WINDSOR TOWNSHIP – Pat Heinz loves to have people visit the Servants of Mary Center for Peace.
The Servants of Mary Festival is the perfect opportunity for Heinz to welcome people from all over the world to the facility.
“It’s always meant a lot to Pat for visitors to come,” Jessica Babic, manager of The Servants of Mary gift shop, said. “It’s a great opportunity for lots of people to meet each other.”
Deacon Ed Heinz and his wife, Pat, watched as a statue of St. Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, was completed on their 50-acre farm 31 years ago. The farm is now known as the Servants of Mary Center for Peace, 6601 Ireland Rd., Windsor Township.
The Servants of Mary Festival, from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8, is a way to celebrate the completion of the statue. The Light up the Night fireworks display closes the festival and will also serve as a celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
“The festival is the anniversary of when the statue was built,” Babic said. “The statue’s been here for 31 years. We’re all also really excited to celebrate the United States as they hit the 250th anniversary.”
The festival serves as a religious event for visitors.
“It’s important to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Babic said. “People have such a devotion to her. We have people walk up to the statue on their knees. The festival is just a way to celebrate Our Lady and Mexican traditions.”
Visitors arrive from places far and wide for the festival.
“There are so many people who come from everywhere to pray, and they hope those prayers get answered,” Babic said. “They come to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe. Everyone just wants to celebrate, get together, have fun and listen to music. The Aztec dancers will be here. We have all kinds of kids’ games. It’s a place where everybody can get together. They come from all walks of life.”
The Servants of Mary Festival will feature live music, kids’ entertainment, bounce house, face painting, authentic Mexican food, festival food, beer and wine (21 and over) and fireworks in the evening.
A Spanish mass will be held at 7 p.m. in the chapel.
The cost is $25 per car and $150 per bus, so pack up the car for more of a discount.
The highlight of the festival is the fireworks, which begin at approximately 9:30 p.m., or when the sun sets enough to see the bursts of color in the sky.
“Everyone asks when the fireworks festival will be,” Babic said. “That’s what people call the Servants of Mary Festival. We have a spectacular fireworks show to end the evening. It’s just special.”
“Last year was my first year here and I wept,” Babic continued. “The fireworks exploding over top of her were just special.”
The statue of St. Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe is the largest such statue in the world.
At the center of the 50-acre farm stands the world’s largest statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The statue stands 50 feet tall and is covered by more than 450,000 mosaic tiles. The design and construction of the statue were donated by Richard Hyslin of Mission, Texas. He and many of his students and other volunteers spent 10,000 hours constructing this work of art.
In front of the statue lies the Lake of Hope, which is surrounded by the world’s largest illuminated 15-decade rosary.
Along the path following the rosary, you will find the Holy Innocents Chapel. Inside is the Book of Life containing names of children up to seven years of age who have died due to abortion, miscarriage or natural causes.
The Servants of Mary Center for Peace also offers a chapel, where mass is held on the first Saturday of every month at 9 a.m., a gift shop, banquet hall and a barn that is used for weddings.
The summer hours for the gift shop and chapel are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The grounds, including the statue, are open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The statue will be closing at noon on the day of the festival to prepare for the fireworks show that night. The center does not permit any of these actions on the grounds: grills, open fires, camping, outside food and pets.