Indiana

Indianapolis, IN: Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House

A 1950s postcard image of the Lourdes Grotto at the original location of the Fatima Retreat House in Indianapolis. (Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House Facebook page)

Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House was established in 1949, at the much older Convent of the Good Shepherd, at the modern address of 111 West Raymond Street in Indianapolis.

The grotto was built in 1937, according to a newspaper article about its dedication:

Indianapolis Star, June 27, 1937
A postcard with a photo taken during a women’s religious retreat at Fatima Retreat House in the 1950s. the back of the card reads: “Retreatants pray the Rosary at the Lourdes Grotto during a week-end Retreat at Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House.”

The Lady of Fatima Retreat House operated at the West Raymond Street location until the early 1960s, and more than 25,000 women’s retreats were held there, before it moved to a larger facility on the northeast edge of town.

The current Fatima Retreat House has a shrine to the Lady of Fatima, but not a Lourdes Grotto.

Another postcard, the back of which reads: “Retreatants sing hymn at the Lourdes Grotto.”

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