Our Lady of the Rockies--Redemption from Our Environmental Sins?

Our Lady of the Rockies (Butte, Montana)

Reaching out and blessing the city of Butte,

This icon, Our Lady of the Rockies,

90 feet tall, 3500 feet above the city,

Straddling the Continental divide,

She, the patron of women, of pioneers,

(of the past and of today),

Blesses the world at her feet

Offers redemption for the astonishing environmental disaster,

The deep copper pit in Butte’s heart,

Filled with a stew of toxins, heavy metals,

Even radioactivity, the legacy of

100 years of careless mining,

Ignorance, greed,

A disaster that can never be

Fully fixed—

Our Lady,

Asking us to do our best,

To keep our house in order,

To restore the world

            and never let this happen again!

Bob Coughlin / June 30, 2016

Our Lady of the Rockies, as seen from afar

A view of the open mine pit in the center of Butte. A mile long, half mile wide, 1800 feet deep, filled with poisoned water.