--- title: "Mary and the Midwest: My Queen, My Mother Book Club (Chapters 4-6)" description: "Erin McCole Cupp ponders the meaning of Mary's patronage of our nation in her reflection on Chapters 4-6 of Marge Steinhage Fenelon's \"My Queen, My Mother,\" our Fall 2019 Book Club selection. Join the conversation!" --- [![catholic-mom-logo-v2](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/images/catholic-mom-logo-v2.svg "catholic-mom-logo-v2")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) [![search-icon](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/search-icon.svg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2019/10/19/mary-and-the-midwest-my-queen-my-mother-book-club-chapters-4-6/#) [BOOKS](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/tag/books) # Mary and the Midwest: My Queen, My Mother Book Club (Chapters 4-6) Oct 19, 2019 12:30:26 PM  |  by [Erin McCole Cupp](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/erin-mccole-cupp) Welcome to the My Queen, My Mother Book Club! We're reading *[My Queen, My Mother](https://www.avemariapress.com/product/1-59471-815-6/My-Queen-My-Mother/)* by Marge Steinhage Fenelon. Scroll to the bottom of this post for information on how to order our Book Club selection. [![My Queen My Mother Book Club (CatholicMom.com)](http://catholicmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/MQMM-book-club-F.jpg)](http://catholicmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/MQMM-book-club-F.jpg) I remember the day in junior high when I found out that the Immaculate Conception was the patroness of the Americas. I also remember finding that fact *boring*. Disappointing. Pathetic. “*Mary* is our patroness? I mean, isn’t she *everybody’s* patroness? Why couldn’t it be some obscure, way more *fascinating* saint?” I hadn’t thought of that sentiment in ages — not until I cracked open Marge Steinhage Fenelon’s [*My Queen, My Mother: A Living Novena*](https://www.avemariapress.com/product/1-59471-815-6/My-Queen-My-Mother/). This book takes readers on a journey across the United States, peeking in at nine of our nation’s many Marian shrines. Each of these shrines holds a piece of a story: the story of a people striving to keep faith and hope across an often stark wilderness, the story of priests and families turning to heaven with core needs for survival, of a nation growing into fruition in the arms of the Queen of Heaven. I saw these faces of our nation especially clearly in Chapters Four, Five, and Six of [*My Queen, My Mother*](https://www.avemariapress.com/product/1-59471-815-6/My-Queen-My-Mother/). In these three chapters, Fenelon invites us to walk in the footsteps of German, Belgian, and even Luxembourgian settlers as they found new homes for themselves in the heart of our ever-growing country. As they struggled with the challenges of frontier life, they also invited Mary into their communities in unique and powerful ways. The devotion of these Americans invited Mary into the very heart of our nation itself. Knowing that our nation is often compared to a salad bowl of cultures and customs (an image Fenelon even uses in [*My Queen, My Mother*](https://www.avemariapress.com/product/1-59471-815-6/My-Queen-My-Mother/)*)*, I was absolutely charmed to see how each of the shrines Fenelon visited in these chapters offers its own flavors of healing and service to the human soul, providing a sort of salad bowl of spirituality. For instance, when the residents of Starkenburg, Missouri saw that the needs of their community today were no longer the needs of the German settlers who’d built their shrine to Our Lady of Sorrows, they used the opportunity to capture a snapshot of Catholic immigrant life before those image and practices of the past faded entirely away. In Carey, Ohio, where immigrants from Luxembourg built the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, I learned about the practice of clothing Marian statues as a sign of gratitude for how she clothes us with the graces she shares. Then, in the home of the only approved Marian apparition in the United States at The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wisconsin, I discovered layers of meaning in Mary’s choice to appear between two trees to give a mission of faith to a simple Belgian immigrant. Through all nine shrines explored in [*My Queen, My Mother*](https://www.avemariapress.com/product/1-59471-815-6/My-Queen-My-Mother/)*,* but especially in these three shrines, I found myself in awe at how God uses the poor and hungry (spiritually and otherwise) to work miracles of healing, feeding, peace, and life. Most of all, I grew in wonder at how God uses Mary to reach the needy — and even in America, what has since become the wealthiest country in the world, we are all needy. By experiencing Marian America through Fenelon’s eyes, thoughts, and prayers, I revisited my first childish thoughts years ago about how “unremarkable” it was to have Mary as the patroness not just of my country but of two whole continents, only one of which I call home. Being able to call My Mother not just My Queen but Queen of all this land, I am humbled. I am grateful — to God, to the people he sent to build shrines to our Queen, and to Mary herself for her humble service to each of us, her children. [![My Queen My Mother Book Club (CatholicMom.com)](http://catholicmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/EMCupp-MQMM-book-club.jpg)](http://catholicmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/EMCupp-MQMM-book-club.jpg) ### Questions for Discussion: - What feelings do you experience when you consider that Mary is the patroness of the Americas? How do you see her hand at work in our nation? - What are some faith customs from your cultural heritage that your ancestors brought with them to where you live now? How do those customs connect you to the communion of saints? - What do you think of the idea that you are a subject of Mary, Queen of Heaven? How does this affect the way you see yourself as a free person? Order *[My Queen, My Mother](https://www.avemariapress.com/product/1-59471-815-6/My-Queen-My-Mother/) *from Ave Maria Press and save 20% with coupon code MQMM. This offer expires 10/31/2019. ### [Read the rest of our Book Club posts.](http://catholicmom.com/tag/my-queen-my-mother-book-club) --- *Copyright 2019 Erin McCole Cupp* ### Share this article [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F10%2F19%2Fmary-and-the-midwest-my-queen-my-mother-book-club-chapters-4-6%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F10%2F19%2Fmary-and-the-midwest-my-queen-my-mother-book-club-chapters-4-6%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F10%2F19%2Fmary-and-the-midwest-my-queen-my-mother-book-club-chapters-4-6%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Mary%20and%20the%20Midwest%3A%20My%20Queen%2C%20My%20Mother%20Book%20Club%20%28Chapters%204-6%29) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F10%2F19%2Fmary-and-the-midwest-my-queen-my-mother-book-club-chapters-4-6%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F10%2F19%2Fmary-and-the-midwest-my-queen-my-mother-book-club-chapters-4-6%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ** #### About the Author ![Erin McCole Cupp](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/ErinCupp.jpg) ### [Erin McCole Cupp](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/erin-mccole-cupp) Erin McCole Cupp, CTRC, is grateful to be recovering from the compulsive effects of developmental and betrayal trauma. She coaches, writes and speaks about mental health, family trauma, and addiction recovery. She is the author of several courses and books, including All Things New: Breaking the Cycle and Raising a Joyful Family (Our Sunday Visitor Books, 2021). ## Related Blog Articles [ Foundation and Growth: My Queen, My Mother Book Club (Chapters 1-3) Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2019/10/12/foundation-and-growth-my-queen-my-mother-book-club-chapters-1-3/) [ Drawing Her Children Together: My Queen, My Mother Book Club (Chapters 7-9) Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2019/10/26/drawing-her-children-together-my-queen-my-mother-book-club-chapters-7-9/) [ My Queen, My Mother Book Club: An Interview with Author Marge Steinhage Fenelon Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2019/10/05/my-queen-my-mother-book-club-an-interview-with-author-marge-steinhage-fenelon/) ## Comments ## Donate now [![Support Catholic Mom](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545) [![CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) ##### Subscribe to Catholic Momcast on iTunes or Spotify [![itunes-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/itunes-logo-black.svg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-momcast/id1362352357)[![spotify-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/spotify-logo-black.svg)](https://open.spotify.com/show/15CoipHL7z61IDcYErV0b8?si=hqaQJSxDQgq7S1hxCwsoxQ) ##### CatholicMom on Social Networks [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) ##### About Catholic Mom [Who We Are](https://www.catholicmom.com/about-us) [Contact Us](https://www.catholicmom.com/contact) [Support CatholicMom.com](https://www.catholicmom.com/support-us)   ##### Associated Links [Holy Cross Family Ministries](https://www.hcfm.org/) [Family Rosary](https://www.familyrosary.org/) [Family Theater Productions](https://www.familytheater.org/) [Congregation of the Holy Cross](https://www.holycrossusa.org/) [Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.](https://www.fatherpeyton.org/) [The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life](https://www.peytonfamilyinstitute.org/) ### **Stay connected!** Don’t miss a thing! Sign up to receive our free daily digest email. Copyright © 2026 CatholicMom.com. All Rights Reserved.