Bids to be opened Sept. 12, construction set to begin in October
The American Society of Ephesus, Inc. (“ASE”) has released bid documents (plans and specifications) for the new Our Lady of Fatima Shrine at Indian Lake.
Working with the Sidney, Ohio, architectural firm of Freytag & Associates, ASE has invited a select group of local contractors to submit sealed bids on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. After hiring a contractor, construction will begin in October.
The sculptor for the new Shrine project is Mike Major of Urbana. He has completed more than 200 bronze sculptures including large public monuments and small limited edition castings. Those monuments include life-size and larger than life monuments of many public figures.
There will be a pre-bid meeting with the bidders, architect, owner and sculptor at the project site before the bid date.
“This is the result of a lot of hard work by everyone, and we could not be more excited,” said Bill Quatman, president of ASE, who interviewed three local architectural firms and three local sculptors before hiring the Freytag firm and Mr. Major.
Freytag & Associates previously worked with ASE before on the Our Lady of Ephesus shrine at Lehman Catholic High School in Sidney.
The five-person ASE selection committee held a “design charette” with the architect and sculptor earlier this year to brainstorm ideas.
“At ASE’s instruction, we tried to incorporate lots of ideas from last year’s state-wide design competition into the final Shrine design. I think the community will love the new design,” said architect John Freytag.
The design was kept confidential until the bid documents were released Monday, Aug. 18.
There are many differences from the original 1964 design and the new design. First, the nearly 20-foot tall fiberglass statue of Mary is a different image than the original, now shown with a flowing gown and open hands, with a large metal, lighted halo.
Second, ASE has added three life-size bronze statues of the Fatima children who witnessed the original apparition in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.
Third, the Stations of the Cross have been moved from the west side of the site to the east with a new concrete walkway that encircles the Shrine.
Fourth, rather than a tall pre-cast concrete pedestal holding up the Mary statue, the winning design proposed a stone base to resemble Mary’s House in Ephesus. That concept was incorporated into the final design.
“There also will be three story-boards on the south façade that will tell the stories of Fatima and Ephesus, plus the history of ASE,” Freytag said.
“The layout of the site will feel familiar to anyone familiar with the old Shrine,” Quatman said. “But we have added new a Rosary Walk, made of clay tiles embedded into the concrete walk that surrounds the Shrine.
“Mike Major custom-made the rosary beads, the cross and the medallion for us, and it is intended to be walked on as people visit the Shrine,” he added.
Some of the old benches, kneeler and signs from the old Shrine will also be reused, which have been stored off-site.
Also new will be an engraved cornerstone and a metal time capsule incorporated into the stone base.
“The cornerstone will be hollow and will hold the time capsule inside,” Quatman said. “We will soon announce a process for the Indian Lake community to submit letters, photos and other artifacts for the time capsule. The idea is to open the time capsule in 100 years so the great-grandchildren of local residents can read the letters and see the artifacts.”
The old Shrine was dedicated in August 1964 and lasted almost 60 years until it was destroyed by a tornado in March 2024. It was one of the tallest statues of the Virgin Mary in the U.S., at 43’ tall, including a 19’-6” fiberglass statue of Our Lady of Fatima on a concrete pedestal.
“The odds of another direct hit by an EF3 tornado are very slim and we think the new Shrine will last more than 100 years,” Mr. Quatman said. “We did not attempt to design a tornado-proof Shrine, as I am not sure that is possible.”
The official dedication of the new Shrine is planned for Aug. 15, 2026, and the public will be invited, as well as the design and construction team, and local officials.
For more information, visit:
www.ase-gbqfoundation.org or www.freytaginc.com
