Historic Old Colorado Springs is an eclectic mix of normal and flat out strange. On Good Friday we decided to check out the Little Saint Rose Arveson Shrine. Now most people would look at the property and say, "no way am I going in there!" Being the curious person I am and because of my year long quest to discover place and people, I just had to investigate.
Rose Arveson died in August 1963 and at the same time gave birth to a legend. Her two daughters, Dorothy and Pauline, claimed a miracle occurred after their mother's funeral when six wilted roses on her casket revived and then bloomed ten days later. The sister's claimed that a petal from one of the roses cured a friend's arthritis. From there news spread fast and people began to visit in search of miracles. A shrine was set up, sainthood was sought and rose petals, blessed in their mother's name where shipped out by the thousands to people around the world. A document at the shrine from the Mercian Rite Catholic Church proclaims Rose as a saint. Research shows that the Mercian Church was set up as a non-profit in 1987 but is now defunct. Official sainthood never came to Rose despite the efforts of the sisters. As they aged, the property once full of gardens and pilgrims, went into disuse and decay. Pauline died in 2008 at the age of 82 and Dorothy in 2011 at the age of 81 ( when neighbors complained of an unholy smell, Dorothy's body was found on the porch by the first reponders.) According to the current caretaker, Carson Crisel, the house had been condemned and vandalism is a problem. He wants to clean up the property and bring it back to some of its former glory but that will take money he doesn't have. Just before I said goodbye and gook luck, I told Carson about the LEAP 366 project. The shrine will be represented by red of course but when I asked Carson what his "personality fabric" would be he said, "Purple, just purple no print. I'm an ordinary guy who works in construction." I'm not sure what to make of Carson's quest or this place. I am sure someone should write a story about it! Reality, fiction, drama, mystery and horror, all pressed together like a faded rose petal.
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