What is the story behind a Catholic grotto?

Then in 1858, St. Bernadette saw a vision of the Virgin Mary in a cave. A spring of water appeared and countless miracles have occurred through immersion in it. Pilgrims eventually built a large church near the grotto and it quickly attracted thousands of people from around the world.



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The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, also known as The Grotto, is a sixty-two-acre Roman Catholic sanctuary dedicated to Mary, Mother of Jesus. Located in northeast Portland, The Grotto, which opened in 1924, attracts more than 200,000 visitors annually.

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A grotto is a natural or artificial cave, one that is often associated with religious devotion. Grotto comes from the Italian word grotta, which is related to our word grotesque. In the 15th century, Romans discovered a series of underground rooms dating back to the reign of the Emperor Nero.

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The spring and the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes within it are the centre of attention of all the pilgrims. The Grotto, by itself, says much about the Message of Lourdes. A hollow in the rock, it echoes the words of the Bible: “The Lord is my rock, my salvation, my citadel” (Psalm 62:7).

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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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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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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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The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa, is the largest man-made Grotto in the world and is home to one of the largest collection of precious stones and gems found anywhere in one location!

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The Massabielle Grotto is the very place where the apparitions occurred, and within it is the spring that Bernadette discovered. To the right of the Grotto are the Taps where you can drink Lourdes water. Those who wish to can also go to the Sanctuary Baths and perform the water gesture.

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