Lourdes Grottos in Alabama
I was able to find references to about 10 Lourdes grottos in the state of Alabama, including the two that have existed at the St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, about which I have written a separate post.
Sacred Heart Convent, Cullman
The earliest was located at Sacred Heart Convent in Cullman, next to the Sacred Heart Church and school, built by 1900, according to a newspaper article.
…the church and convent grounds… occupies an extremely beautiful site…. I saw It one summer’s afternoon, with the shadows of early evening falling over the rose-covered wall and saw a group of white-veiled novices passing into the little grotto of the Lady of Lourdes…. The stone grotto at the rear of the convent is open at all hours, and at all hours one may see a quiet figure kneeling across the threshold. When I was shown the grotto a woman was at prayer, and I involuntarily paused quietly at the entrance….The grotto of the Lady of Loudes is a miniature after the famous grotto in France. The interior is a pyramid of stones, in the center of which is a statue of the Virgin. In the niches were candles…..
Birmingham Post-Herald, June 3, 1900
The Sacred Heart Convent was established by the Notre Dame sisters around 1880, and the Benedictine sisters assumed responsibility for the school in 1898. They moved to their current Sacred Heart Monastery property in 1903, where they built another Lourdes grotto sometime before 1942, when it was mentioned in another article:
Sacred Heart College May Festival The May Festival held here at Sacred Heart College last Sunday afternoon was declared by many who saw it to surpass in the beauty of its setting all previous May celebrations carried out on this campus…. The climax of this May festival came when, immediately following that program, the entire cortege wound its way around to the Grotto of Lourdes. There the Queen offered her crown and flowers to the real Queen of May; and the Princess likewise tendered her bouquet at this shrine.
The Cullman Democrat, May 14, 1942
Spring Hill College
Another early Lourdes grotto was constructed on the campus grounds of Spring Hill College in 1903, according to the school’s Facebook page and this 2012 article about their grotto.
Our Lady of the Assumption School, Selma
Assumption School in Selma built a Lourdes grotto in 1954, according to a newspaper article published that year:
Accompanying the above photo and caption was an article:
Gift Statue Is Dedicated By Students: Directed by the Sisters of Mercy and with students taking part, an impressive ceremony of dedication was staged the past week around the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes which graces the lawn of Our Lady of the Assumption School. Erected during the vacation months under the direction of A. Cunill of Mobile, the wayside shrine has been viewed by all passing along the Summerfield road. Carved from pure contrasting Carrara marble and set in a contrasting grotto of pink marble, the statue is a gift of the late Mrs. Josie O’Rourke Williams…. The dedication of the shrine was a memorable occasion for which the grotto was decorated with beautiful arrangements of palms and pink and white gladioli. Standing on either side, the children of the school formed a guard of honor for the program at which Daniel Mackin acted as master of ceremonies. The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary were recited by all and hymns to Our Lady were sung by the student body. In closing remarks, Father Thomas Lorigan, the parish priest, said | that as a token of gratitude to the donor and her departed loved ones, they should be kept in the prayers of all of the school as they visit the Grotto.
The Selma Times-Journal, Oct 24, 1954
Assumption School closed in 1976, but the grotto still stands on the property which is still owned by Queen pf Peace Church, and has been well maintained by the Catholic community.
St. Pius X Church, Mobile
St. Pius X Church in Mobile, likely constructed in the late 1950s, has a Lourdes grotto made of yellow bricks in a beautiful prayer garden. The grotto may also have been built around that same time.
Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Hanceville
The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, a large Catholic shrine on 400 acres next to a Monastery of the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration in Hanceville, was constructed beginning in 1999. It was built by Mother Angelica, who had founded Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Irondale (AL) in 1981.
In 2008, a Lourdes grotto was added to the many shrines on the property, to mark the 150th anniversary of the original apparitions in Lourdes, France. It was dedicated on October 7, 2008 by Birmingham Bishop Robert Baker, according to an article in the Birmingham News.
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Christ the King Monastery, Cullman
The Benedictine Christ the King Monastery in Cullman, founded in 1984, has an exceptionally beautiful Lourdes grotto, located against the northwest corner of the church. The grotto may have been built recently, perhaps around 2023.
Below is a list of the Lourdes grottos, past and present, that I have located in Alabama (although there certainly must be others: more private ones that have not been mentioned in digitized newspapers or online).
Type of Institution Key:
C=Church S=School M=Convent/Monastery H=Hospital O=Orphanage/Old Home I=Independent Pilgrim Site T=Cemetery R=Retreat P=Private Residence X=Other