Our Lady of San Juan del Valle has sat in the heart of the San Juan Basilica for decades. 

More than a million people visit Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle National Shrine every year to pray and ask for her intercession

On October 23, 1970, years after the shrine’s construction, pilot Frank Alexander deliberately flew into the shrine, destroying it.

More than 50 priests were inside at the time, celebrating mass. Everyone except for Alexander was able to escape unharmed.

“Mr. Frank Alexander, by destroying it, he thought it was going to destroy the faith and devotion of the people in the Valley, and it just grew stronger,” Gomez said.

Despite the destruction, the statue of Our Lady was salvaged.

“I think that is a manifestation that she wanted to stay, because she is made out of wood,” Gomez said. “In the flames, she would have been destroyed."

All that is left of the original church is a steeple. 

In the aftermath of the fiery crash, Father Gomez says many original items were lost or destroyed. 

“Bulldozers came, and they were going to throw everything in the trash, and people came and took whatever they could,” Gomez said.

Now, the Basilica is asking for the community's help to find those lost items in the hopes of displaying them in a new exhibit.

Collected relics include the burned torso of the body of Christ that was found in a woman's garage, and a chalice purchased for $2 at a garage sale.

The church plans to make an exhibit area in the old candle room inside the Basilica to display all the items collected.

Pieces of the plane that flew into the Shrine are part of the collection. 

“It's important to look back so we don't commit the same mistakes, “Gomez said. “People who took the items from the old Shrine, they knew what it was. They value what they were because of their faith — they are pieces of sacred art."

To make sure the items brought in are authentic, they will be matched up to photos of the original Shrine.

The Basilica plans to open the exhibit in December 2024.

For more information, or to turn in a relic, call 965-787-0033.

More information is available online.

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