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Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto

The Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in Washington, D.C. at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America was originally created in 1899. The grotto is a replica of the grotto in Lourdes, France where the Marian apparitions took place. It is located in the gardens of the monastery, secluded from the other areas to allow for quiet prayer and reflection time. Since it was created in 1899, it has been redesigned several times in order to accommodate more visitors, to make the grotto look more like the grotto in Lourdes, and to add the statues of Mary and the St. Bernadette.¹ Mount Saint Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery. (2007). Virtual Tour. Retrieved from www.myfranciscan.org/VirtualTour.htmlAt first, the Mary statue was visible within the rock façade all year round, while the St. Bernadette statue was only displayed from 11 February to 16 July, the time period in which St. Bernadette received her visions from Mary.² Rebsomen, André. 1926. Notre Dame de Lourdes; album du pélerin. Paris, France: Editions Spes.Many of the pilgrims who visited the Franciscan Monastery asked the monks to keep the St. Bernadette statue with the grotto all year long, so now the statue is out at all times (figs. 1-2).

The original grotto in Lourdes, France became a site of healing and pilgrimage after St. Bernadette, a fourteen-year-old girl at the time, received numerous apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes. Starting on 11 February 1858 and lasting until 16 July of the same year, St. Bernadette saw eighteen apparitions of Mary, who asked her to spread the devotion of saying the Rosary daily. The grotto at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C. honors all of those Marian apparitions and the devotions that came from it. The grotto contains an altar, where Mass is said at the grotto. It also is surrounded by flowers from the gardens of the monastery. The flowers do not have specific symbolism associated with Mary, St. Bernadette, or Lourdes, but they change from year to year as outside companies donate their time and money to refurbish the gardens, which are maintained by the monks during the year.³ Franciscan Monastery, D.C. (n.d.). The Francisca Monastery of the Nation’s Capital [Brochure].

The Our Lady of Lourdes statue and the St. Bernadette statue were both created by Richard Burns and Amelia Ardoin. The statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was completed in 1941 and the St. Bernadette statue was completed in 1943.⁴ Popli, Abigail. (2001). Catholic Across America. Steubenville, OH. Franciscan University of Steubenville.The grate across the grotto, the altar and the votive candle holders were all designed by Father Isaiah, one of the members of the monastery, in 1953 (fig. 3). The grate and the votive candle holders are made of wrought iron and wax to prevent the iron from rusting. The altar is made from small pieces of marble, wood, and white aventurine.⁵ Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land. (n.d.). The Works of the Monastery [Pamphlet].

Pilgrims are invited to come visit the rest of the Franciscan Monastery, as well as to the plethora of religious events that occur every day.

For more information visit The Franciscan Monastery.

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