- POBox W82
- St John’s
- Antigua
- West Indies
The Mill Shrine to Mary
The old sugar mill, built in the late 1600s, is situated in the grounds of the Retreat Centre. It stands majestic against a blue sky by day, and sometimes, nestles in remarkable sunset, for a short time, in the evenings.
It remains a solid construction but without a roof. This is about to change (See below).
The sugar mill may appear dark from the outside.
but to stand inside for a while, to ponder the cloud formations and the sky above, or to look through its windows, across a green and luscious landscape, is a breath-taking experience.
One can look down from the mill, see the retreat centre and beyond across the valley, which is full of all kinds of fruit trees, including mangoes, guavas, oranges, avocados, bananas and pawpaw.
The mill's stone walls and the decaying beams inside are a reminder of the many people who toiled for years, at the mill and in the sugar plantations of Antigua.
The mill's outer structure stands strong, having endured winds, hurricanes, storms, constant rain and sunshine.
To-day it is our dream to convert this mill into a chapel to Our Lady, where future generations could bring it alive again, through music, song, prayer and meditation.
The mill is quite spacious inside and would provide a beautiful spot to praise and worship God.
The new plans for the Sugar Mill Shrine
to Mary are now beginning to take
shape.
We are starting with the tower.
The men arrived on Monday 11 October to start clearing the site.
James Franklin,
Russel Humphreys and
Shaun Charles
