Father Gawain & the Mystery of Saint Anthony’s Shrine

The Second Installment of the Shadow Appalachia Series is Coming to Life

Introduction

This past week I’ve been down at the house with a respiratory infection. I have to tell you, it’s been quite miserable. Between the coughing, sneezing, fevers and fever dreams, sinus issues, and poor sleep at night, I’ve not been able to do much of anything.

But, as miserable as it’s been, it has also been somewhat productive.

Now, before you chide me for not resting, let me assure you, all I’ve done is lay on the couch. I wasn’t able to work. I wasn’t able to go to the normal church functions. I wasn’t able to do much around the house. But, I was able to be productive in another way.

Being sick allowed me the opportunity to do quite a bit of reading and writing between naps, which has led to what will become the second installment in the Shadow Appalachia series I started writing back in 2021.

I’ve had lots of people ask me over the past year when I was going to start writing Shadow Appalachia stories again. My answer has always been an honest “I don’t know, we’ll see.” As a writer, I’ve learned I can’t force things. I have to let them come into existence in their own timing and ways. For about a year or so, Shadow Appalachia stories stopped coming to me and other stories were coming to me, so I didn’t try to force them.

I’ve spent most of my time over the past year or so writing a high-fantasy work called The Legend of the Four Stones. The stories of this world living in my head has come out in way of myths, legends, languages, liturgics, cultures, peoples, and magic systems. I’ve released bits and pieces of it here and there to other trusted friends who write, but I suspect that it’s a long-term project I’ll plod away at over the years and eventually release.

But, as of this week, that has shifted. I’ve put Legends of the Four Stones down for now and a whole new Shadow Appalachia story has come to me. I’m excited to give you a preview of it, which is what this entire thing here is about. However, before I do that, I want to tell you how it came about so that you’ll be caught up in the story that I’ve been caught up in myself.

Boomer, We Have A Problem

Over the past week, I’ve been captivated by a local mystery. It all started as I was feeling crummy, laying on the couch looking through my Facebook memories. As I was scrolling through, I came across a photo I took of a place called Saint Anthony’s Shrine about 10 years or so ago when my wife and I visited in a small town called Boomer as we were traveling through Fayette County. After seeing the memory, I thought to myself, “that was such a beautiful place, I wonder what its story was?”

This single question has sent me on a journey that has a thousand roads to be traveled. I’m still traveling them, but here’s what I found out thus far.

Saint Anthony’s Shrine is the only Roman Catholic shrine in West Virginia. And, at the heart of the shrine, there is a mystery. Reposed in the shrine is a first-class relic of Saint Anthony of Padua. For those who don’t know, Saint Anthony is the patron saint of lost items in catholic theology. Here’s where things get interesting. The shrine has no recorded history of how the relic got there or what the relic actually is.

That’s not all. The deeper I dug, the more I discovered. Saint Anthony’s Shrine was set apart as a shrine around a decade before the relic of Saint Anthony arrived. From what I gather, this is unusual. According to Catholic Canon Law (And keep in mind, I am a foreigner to the Roman Catholic Church as a very convinced Protestant), there are no shrines in name only. Shrines are set apart as shrines because they’re either the home of a relic of a saint for the purpose of religious pilgrimages to the location, or if there was a historical event of faith that occurred there, or if there was a spiritual event that occurred there — like an apparition.

The community, nor the clergy knows why Saint Anthony’s was set apart as a shrine prior to the relic arriving there. The reason, ironically, has been lost.

So, the questions I have are this:

If the shrine wasn’t a shrine in name, and was set apart as a shrine prior to the relic of Saint Anthony coming there, then was there a historical event of faith or spiritual event that occurred in Boomer, West Virginia that has been lost to the people? Obviously, no one knows the answer to this question. But, things are different in Shadow Appalachia. We must remember, the world of Shadow Appalachia is Appalachia on the other side of the veil. This is what I’m exploring in the second installment in the Shadow Appalachia series which I am calling Father Gawain & The Mystery of Saint Anthony’s Shrine.

Who is Father Gawain?

Now, after reading that title, some of you may be asking “who is Father Gawain?”

Father Gawain is a character who has been in my head for several years now, and I have no idea where he came from. He was there one day, and I’ve been learning who he is ever since.

What I know of Gawain is that his parents named him after Gawain from the classic Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. An interesting thing is that the pattern of this story has seemed to manifest itself in the life of Father Gawain. His mother, like Morgan Le Fay, ended up becoming an enchantress who dabbled in Appalachian folk magic in the later years of his life in attempts to gain power. His father, on the other hand, was a faithful Catholic who taught him the value of self-sacrifice instead of attempting to gaining power. This upbringing makes for an interesting skill set for Gawain later on in life, because he’s a man who has touched the darkness and seen the Light.

As a young man, Gawain spent time in law-enforcement which gave him skills necessary to do investigative work. After about a decade, Gawain, because of a consuming call upon His life, became a Catholic priest who, apart from his clerical duties, travels Appalachia as a sort of investigator of religious and folkloric mysteries.

This is all I know of Gawain at this point. There are characters in my worlds who are different than me, and have different beliefs than me because that’s how the real world works. So, any sub-created world must have that realism to it. So, with the background out of the way, I’ll go ahead and share with you the opening scene from Father Gawain & The Mystery of Saint Anthony’s Shrine.

The Opening Scene of Father Gawain & the Mystery of Saint Anthony’s Shrine

The sun over the small town of Boomer, West Virginia had been hidden behind gray clouds.

Father Gawain stepped out of his black Ford Crown Victoria in the parking lot of Saint Anthony’s Shrine, feeling uncertain about where to enter since he had never been there before. He walked up to the large white doors under the arch and knocked.

While watching cars pass the shrine, Gawain was still unsure why he was there. Earlier in the week, his friend and the local priest at the Shrine, Father Joseph, had called him to see if he would be interested in spending an evening catching up, praying for the churches in the diocese of Charleston-Wheeling together, and looking into a mystery that had long puzzled the residents and former priests of Boomer. Gawain had no idea what to expect but was eager to see how he could help.

The door cracked open, and Father Joseph appeared on the other side.

“Gawain! It’s good to see you again, my old friend! I wondered when you would finally make your way to this side of the state. How are you? Please, come in.”

“I’m well, Joseph. How long has it been? I’ve been looking forward to getting together with you again. I’ve needed to make my way down this way. I’ve never been to this part of the state. There were some beautiful waterfalls on the trip down. This shrine is like a beautiful crown that sits atop these mountains.”

“I’m glad you think so. This is the only shrine in the state, and it keeps many secrets that I’m hoping we can unravel together.”

“Yes. You mentioned a mystery over the phone. What kind of secrets is this place keeping?”

“Ah! I knew that would be enough to pique your interest and get you here. Follow me.”

Joseph opened the doors of the shrine and led Gawain through the narthex. With their gaze fixed upwards, they came to a carving of Saint Anthony of Padua holding the Christ-child high upon the marble wall. Just below the carving were four rows of white votive candles. Each row stepped upwards like a step-pyramid, directing the gaze to a space carved into the marble. Within the space was a golden cross displaying a reliquary containing a relic of the saint. 

“This is our relic of Saint Anthony. It is a first-class relic that we are very blessed to have in our possession. As you know, father, all Catholic parishes have two relics within their altars where the Mass is said. This relic, however, is at the center of our mystery. We have no idea how it came into our possession or what exactly it is.”

“So what you’re telling me is the history of how a relic of Saint Anthony got into the hills of West Virginia has been lost. Ironic, considering Saint Anthony is the saint of lost things.”

“Yes. That is part of the mystery. To be honest with you, I’m satisfied with the bits of information I have pieced together over the years. In the 20th century, many Italians immigrated to the area to find work in the coal mines. Saint Anthony was buried in Italy, so I suspect the relic made its way to Boomer then. As to what part it is, it doesn’t really matter to me.”

“The mystery I’m most intrigued by is this: This place was designated a shrine before we received the relic.”

“Curious. There are a few reasons why that could be, as you know. But, perhaps it was just a shrine in name until the relic arrived?”

“Doubtful. The shrine was built in 1953. The relic didn’t arrive until the 1960s. How many shrines are you aware of in name for nearly a decade?”

“That’s a good question. None off the top of my mind.”

“That’s because of Canon Law, which states that in the case of a shrine, if there is not a relic reposed there, there must have been a historical event of faith taken place there.”

“That is true. What kind of historical event are you suggesting, father?”

"That's the mystery. However, what I do know is that Saint Anthony is at the center of that historical event. The shrine was already named after him before we received our relic, and the bishop approved of it. That should count for something."

"Well, it's quite clear to me that Saint Anthony's body is not buried here in Boomer, nor was he ever physically present in Boomer. That leaves us with only one real possibility: an apparition of sorts?"

"Yes, Gawain! I think you're on the right track. That's the same conclusion I have come to. But the question I continue to ponder is why Saint Anthony, the great saint of lost objects, would appear in Boomer?"

Gawain paused and gazed at the relic for a few moments. He could hear Joseph continuing to talk in the background, but he was captivated by the golden cross glistening like the sun enthroned in the marble wall. Scenarios were running through Gawain's head like train cars on a railroad. After a moment, he interrupted Joseph.

“Father, perhaps Saint Anthony made an appearance in Boomer because something here was lost that needed to be found, and we have simply lost the knowledge of what that could be?"

Joseph stared at Gawain in disbelief for a moment before finally finding his voice.

"I came across something this week that I wanted to share with you. I haven't shown it to anyone else because, to be honest, I didn't know what to make of it. We recently replaced the altar here at Saint Anthony's. The previous one was a ghastly modern thing that was a disgrace to our Italian heritage. While inspecting the old altar to retrieve the relics within, I made a most remarkable discovery that may be related to what you’re proposing here.”

Joseph handed a piece of old parchment to Gawain. Gawain gazed at the parchment for a moment before reading it aloud.

"Nestled with time and trial, it stood tall and proud. It was corrupted by shadows, and its past is now whispered only by the stones."

Gawain pondered the riddle on the parchment. "It appears that this riddle is speaking of a mountain that has been corrupted down to its very stones," he said, handing the parchment back to Joseph.

Joseph furrowed his brow in contemplation. "The only mountain I am aware of that has ruins on it is Mount Carbon, just across the river."

Gawain rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "I'll need some time to gather more information. Is there a place nearby where I can stay tonight?"

"Certainly," Joseph replied. "The Glenn Ferris Inn is just a few minutes back up the road. You passed it on your way in. We’ll put you up for the night and make sure you’re well fed.”

"Marvelous!" Gawain exclaimed, with determination in his eye. "I am honored to receive the fabled hospitality of the mountaineers of southern West Virginia. Let us convene at the break of dawn, Father, and do dress accordingly as we shall be crossing the river to Mount Carbon tomorrow,"

Conclusion

I hope you’ve enjoyed the preview of Father Gawain & The Mystery of Saint Anthony’s Shrine! I’m optimistic about having it finished up by the summer. I have an idea of where the story is going, but I still have many roads to travel myself before I reach the end. There are many mysteries yet to discover atop of Mount Carbon that will shed light on the presence of Saint Anthony in Shadow Appalachia’s version of Boomer.

I also hope that the real life mystery of Saint Anthony’s Shrine has piqued your interest the way it has piqued mine!