What is the history of the Grotto in Key West?

The parish grotto, which depicts the appearance of Our Lady to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France, was designed by Sister Louis Gabriel and dedicated on May 25, 1922, the feast of the Ascension and the 25th anniversary of her entrance into the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.



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Today, artificial grottoes are purchased and built for ornamental and devotional purposes. They are often used as shrines in which to place statues of saints, particularly the Virgin Mary, in outdoor gardens. Many Roman Catholics visit a grotto where Bernadette Soubirous saw apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes.

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Thursday, February 11th 1858 was the day Our Lady revealed herself to Bernadette in the grotto at Massabielle (Old Rock) by the river Gave just outside Lourdes. The grotto itself was not a particularly savoury place, full of river-swept debris and where pigs had been kept.

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The garden grotto went hand in hand with the idea of mountain caverns or underground caves. Grottoes, associated with cold, the desert, death, initiation- became, in the literary context, images of the interior of the Earth.

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The holy site known as the Nativity Grotto is thought to be the cave in which Jesus was born. In 135, Emperor Hadrian had the site above the grotto converted into a worship place for Adonis, the mortal lover of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and desire.

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The Grotto offers many lush and peaceful spots for spiritual meditation. Nearby, a tranquil trail is lined with towering trees; downy tufts of moss inch up their trunks, providing an aura of muted solitude.

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It is a long standing tradition in Catholic, as well as other religious traditions, to light a candle as a physical representation of one's prayers.

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It is a long standing tradition in Catholic, as well as other religious traditions, to light a candle as a physical representation of one's prayers.

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The bright azure color of the water inside the cave is due to the sunlight which enters the cavern through an underwater opening which is positioned exactly under the cave's mouth. As the light passes through the water, the red reflections are filtered out and only the blue enter the cave itself.

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The Grotto of Massabielle is a must for all visitors to the Shrine of Lourdes, whether they are ordinary visitors or believers. The visit to the Grotto is silent, most people touch the wall of the Grotto with their fingers in respect or to make a wish or a prayer.

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Spiritually, in the Bible, the Rock symbolises trust in God, the stone on which the Church is built, the solid word on which we lean. Although the current health crisis does currently allow us to touch the Rock, you can make this gesture in your heart at the feet of the Virgin Mary.

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