Shrine of Our Lady, Queen of victory and peace
The Shrine of Our Lady, Queen of Victory and Peace, was erected in 1943 and was formally dedicated on Sunday, July 11 of that year. Approximately 1,000 alums, faculty, students and friends of Xavier attended the dedicatory ceremony. J. Paul Geoghegan, the president of the Xavier Alumni Association, presented the Shrine to the University on behalf of the alumni, and Celestin J. Steiner, S.J., Xavier's president, accepted it on behalf of the University. John T. McNicholas, Archbishop of Cincinnati, then blessed the Shrine and delivered the principal address. The exercises closed with solemn benediction at which Paul J. Sweeney, S.J., the alumni moderator, presided. A choir of one hundred voices performed the music. A plaque affixed to the Shrine reads as follows: "To the greater glory of God and to the sons of Xavier who serve in the armed forces of our country, especially to those who gave their lives, this shrine is humbly dedicated." The Shrine was designed by the architect Albert V. Walters. The statue of the Madonna was created from Bedford limestone by the Cincinnati sculptor Ernest Bruce Haswell.
Shortly after the Second World War a plaque was affixed to the Shrine identifying the one Xavier graduate killed in the First World War and the 75 who died in the Second. In 1999, the Shrine was extensively renovated and the names of the 3 sons of Xavier who died in Korea and the 8 who fell in the Vietnam were inscribed.
In the fall of 2011, the names of Xavier's fallen heroes from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were proudly added to the Shrine.
August 19, 2011
Thomas P. Kennealy, S.J.
Archivist
Quick Facts
Architect: Albert V. Walters
Sculptor: Ernest Bruce Haswell
Dedicated: July 11, 1943
Medium (Madonna): Bedford limestone
Location: On University Drive, near Edgecliff Hall
Additional Notes:
- Renovated in 1999
- Lists all 87 of Xavier student affiliates lost to war
Plaque Inscription:
"To the greater glory of God and to the sons
of Xavier who serve in the
armed forces of our country,
especially to those who gave their lives,
this shrine is humbly dedicated"
