In 1999, James returned to Medjugorje with his son, who was severely handicapped and suffered from epilepsy. During the pilgrimage, his son experienced a remarkable healing—an answer to prayer that James understood as a profound grace from God through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Filled with gratitude, James asked Our Lord and Our Lady what this miracle meant and how he could thank them, a question that would become an important part of his journey with Our Lady of Life.

After returning home from Medjugorje, James looked to the sky and saw the outline of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She appeared kneeling upon the world in prayer—an image that remained with him and that he would later recognize as Our Lady of Life.

Years after seeing the outline of Mary kneeling upon the world in prayer, James walked into the gift shop at San Xavier Mission and was stunned to find a statue that looked like the very image he had seen in the sky. The gift shop knew little about its origin—a seller had dropped off only one statue and left behind a phone number. James tried repeatedly to reach him, but without success.

Determined to find more, James contacted religious stores and Catholic statue companies, searching everywhere for the image, but no one could identify or reproduce it. Eventually, James realized that if the statue was going to be shared with others, he would have to make it possible himself—and so began the process of creating the Our Lady of Life statue that would carry the devotion into homes and communities around the world.

As part of the Our Lady of Life mission, James shares blessed Baby Jesus figurines when visiting schools, parishes, and Catholic communities, encouraging families to welcome Jesus into their homes and entrust their prayers to Him, through Our Lady of Life. Through this ministry, 54 women struggling with infertility have received a Baby Jesus and later welcomed healthy babies, inspiring hope and gratitude for the gift of new life.

As devotion to Our Lady of Life grew, parishioners and priests began asking for larger statues to be placed at their churches. Today, 10 Our Lady of Life shrines stand throughout the Diocese of Tucson, blessed by former Bishops Manuel D. Moreno and Gerald Kicanas; in many locations, the Knights of Columbus helped turn the statues into beautiful places of prayer.

Each shrine continues the mission James felt Our Lady had entrusted to him: to lead people to her Son, promote the dignity and gift of every human life, and invite the faithful to pray with Mary for the world.

The devotion to Our Lady of Life has reached far beyond Tucson, with more than 1,800 statues sent throughout the world and 1,800 shrines created in her honor. In homes, churches, schools, and communities, these shrines invite the faithful to turn to Mary in prayer, draw closer to her Son, and entrust to her the protection and dignity of every human life.

Today, the mission of Our Lady of Life is being renewed for a new generation. New statues are being created, the devotion is reaching new families and communities, and Our Lady’s invitation to choose, cherish, and defend life is more urgent than ever in a culture that so often disregards its sacredness.

There is no better time than the present to turn to Mary. Through devotion to Our Lady of Life, we ask her to lead us closer to Jesus, teach us to recognize every human life as a gift from God, and help build a true culture of life—one prayer, one family, and one heart at a time.