Bishop Baraga

Location Description

On US Hwy 41 west of town. Look for the “Bishop Baraga Shrine” teepees on the south side of the road, which mark the turnoff. The statue is inland, atop a bluff among the birch trees, looking out over US Hwy 41 to Keweenaw Bay.

Bio

Baraga, a native of Slovenia, arrived in the United States in 1830 after fighting against Jansenism, despite opposition from his Bishop and other clergy. The story of his life is described in a booklet called “The Snowshoe Priest” available at the gift shop. In his thirties, he went to Michigan to minister to the Great Lakes’ Indian communities, starting near Grand Rapids and later moving north. He traveled by foot, often as far as 700 miles in the winter, and used snowshoes to reach remote areas. In 1843, he arrived in L’Anse, on Lake Superior’s Keweenaw Bay and described it as an “unpleasant sad, sterile place.” Baraga learned the Chippewa and Ottawa languages and wrote a Chippewa dictionary in 1852. He passed away peacefully in 1863 and was loved by his congregation.

Monument Description

The Bishop Baraga Shrine, a remote non-denominational pilgrimage site, is located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and still receives 100,000 visitors annually. Although it is located just off Highway 41, there are no billboards indicating the turnoff. Visitors should look for the five “Bishop Baraga Shrine” teepees on the south side of the highway.

Each of the 9.5-foot tall teepees symbolizes an Indian mission established by Baraga and holds massive curved wooden beams that converge at a 25-foot stainless steel cloud. A 35-foot tall brass statue of Bishop Baraga stands on the cloud, with snowshoes in his left hand and a 7-foot cross in his right.