You may have caught a glimpse of it while travelling on the New York State Thruway.  A few miles east of the Canajoharie exit, on a hill just south of the Mohawk River, stands the Coliseum at Our Lady of Martyrs.  It's much more commonly known as the Auriesville Shrine.

The Shrine at Our Lady of Martyrs is dedicated to three Jesuit missionaries who were killed at the Mohawk Indian village in the mid 1600's.  They were involved in teaching Christianity, captured and later killed.  The missionaries are the only canonized Roman Catholic martyrs of the United States.

In 1930, the Coliseum was built at the shrine atop the hill overlooking the valley.  it's one of the first circular churches built in the United States, and seats nearly 6,000 worshipers for Mass.  You can learn more about this historic location at www.martyrshrine.org

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