While we are temporarily closed

At this time, we are unsure when we will reopen. However, we promise to open our chapel, gardens and shops as soon as possible. We will keep everyone up-to-date in our daily emails and on our website, thegrotto.org .

One way you could help us during this time is by sharing these emails with friends and family. Help spread the word that The Grotto is here, and we will be waiting for you all when we can once again open our gates.

Daily Spiritual Reflections

Please enjoy our new feature, Spiritual Reflections, prayers and reflections from the day's Gospel reading, found on our website, thegrotto.org.  Click here to view.

Video Message and Prayer

Click here to view a special message and prayer from Fr. Richard Boyle, OSM, recorded in The Grotto Monastery on Monday, March 23.

Series continues

We will continue to share a piece of The Grotto with you each day until Masses resume and our gardens open.

We hope this feature, A Place of Sanctuary: Bringing The Grotto to You, brings you joy, and we pray we will see you all at The Grotto very soon.

May you, too, experience the peace our visitors and pilgrims encounter in the spiritual and natural beauty of our holy sanctuary. 

Statue of Mary, Our Mother (1933)

This bronze statue entitled "Mary, Our Mother" stands atop a granite monument some 150 feet above The Grotto.

The statue is one of the earliest installments at The Grotto. This early photo shows Mary standing above The Grotto, long before the trees on the upper gardens grew around her.

A gift from Catholic Daughters of America

The statue was a gift from the Catholic Daughters of America. The photo below was taken April 29, 1933, at the dedication.

Commemorating the 700th Anniversary of the Servite Order

The statue was made by Italian artist Giuseppe Cassioli. Blessed by Pope Pius VL, the statue commemorated the 700th Anniversary of the founding of the Order of Friar Servants of Mary. The Grotto is a ministry of the Servite Friars.

Around its base are the Seven Sorrows of Mary (the Via Matris) and the seven founders of the Servite Order. To learn more about the Servites, click here .

The eight-and-a-half foot, 2,600 pound statue of Mary stands as a regal sentinel over The Grotto, and symbolically over all her children.

Prayer to our Blessed Mother

at the Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother

O Mary, Blessed One of the Most High

And Mother of Grace,

Through you the Church lifts up her prayer of praise.

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Beloved daughter of the Father,

by your acceptance of the word of the Angel Gabriel

you co-operated in the salvation of the world,

for in you the creature once again obeys its Creator.

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Mother of Jesus,

by pondering the word in your heart

you showed us the way to Wisdom,

and opened to all people this same word of glad tidings.

Spouse, beloved of the Spirit, by accepting the Word of God

you gave life to the world through the gift of your Divine Son,

 and in you humanity has become the dwelling-place of the Divine.

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Loving Mother,

woman of prayer, we turn to you and ask:

support our prayers for ourselves, for all your Servants,

for our friends and our families, for those who share the Christian faith,

and for every person on Earth , that all might know peace and salvation.

Ask the Heavenly Father that we may truly know Christ,

be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,

remain protected in all adversity and freed from every evil.

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Help us to build God’s Kingdom:

an everlasting Kingdom of praise, justice, and peace.

We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.

AMEN.

The overlook where she stands

The statue stands directly above The Grotto, facing out toward the north. When you visit the statue, you are treated to a spectacular view to the north.

You can also look down toward The Grotto Plaza. Below is a photo taken at the annual Freedom Day celebration in July.

The statue creates marvelous silhouettes against the sky, seen from the great lawn in The Grotto Upper Gardens.