National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes

About the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes

The National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is a mountainside Catholic national shrine devoted to the Blessed Mother, Mary. Located on the campus of Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, it features one of the oldest American replicas of the Lourdes Grotto in France, constructed in 1875 by Mount seminarians from native limestone just 17 years after the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous. Each year the shrine welcomes more than 400,000 pilgrims from across the country and around the world for worship, pilgrimage, evangelization, and reconciliation. It is a Public Oratory of the Archdiocese of Baltimore proclaimed at the request of Pope Paul VI in 1965.

History

The Grotto's story begins in 1805, when the Sulpician Father John DuBois climbed St. Mary's Mountain, was drawn to a flickering light, and discovered a natural recess formed by a stream beneath a great oak. He erected a wooden cross at the spot — the original Grotto — then built St. Mary's Chapel on the Hill in 1806 and founded Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary in 1808. Mother Seton, Father Simon Bruté, and the young seminarian John Hughes were among the early stewards of the holy site, and in 1875 President Father John A. Watterson oversaw the construction of the stone replica of the Lourdes grotto in France using native limestone. The site remained a quiet devotion of the Mount community until 1958, when Monsignor Hugh J. Phillips was appointed director and began restoring it. He was named chaplain when, on December 8, 1965, Cardinal Lawrence Shehan proclaimed the Grotto a Public Oratory and National Shrine; Monsignor Phillips then erected the 95-foot Pangborn Memorial Campanile with its 25-foot gold-leafed bronze statue of Mary, dedicated May 1, 1964. The sacred site has welcomed more than 400,000 pilgrims annually ever since.

• 1805 — Father John DuBois plants a cross at the site that becomes the original Grotto
• 1806 — St. Mary's Chapel on the Hill constructed (site of today's Pangborn Campanile)
• 1808 — Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary founded
• 1809 — St. Elizabeth Ann Seton arrives and begins praying and teaching at the Grotto
• 1812 — Father Simon Bruté arrives and lays out Corpus Christi Lane
• 1819 — John Hughes lives in the on-site cabin (later Archbishop of New York)
• 1875 — Native-limestone Lourdes Grotto replica built by seminarians under Fr. Watterson
• 1958 — Monsignor Hugh J. Phillips appointed director
• 1964 — Pangborn Memorial Campanile erected (95 feet) and crowned with the 25-foot golden statue of Mary
• 1965 — Proclaimed Public Oratory and National Shrine by Cardinal Shehan
• 1967–1971 — Monsignor Phillips serves as 19th president of Mount St. Mary's University
• 1976 — St. Mary's Chapel on the Hill (Glass Chapel) opens
• 2007 — Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes-et-Lourdes donates a stone from the original French grotto
• 2013 — Miller Family Visitors' Center opens
• 2018 — 60th anniversary of the National Shrine celebrated; Archbishop William E. Lori presides
• 2021 — Golden statue of Mary removed for regilding and structural restoration

First Saturday Devotion (Fatima)

Following the message of Our Lady of Fatima to Sr. Lucia, the Grotto celebrates the Five First Saturdays Devotion — one of the principal points of the Fatima message — every First Saturday of the year. The schedule begins with Adoration and Confession from 10:45 to 11:45 AM, followed by the 12:00 PM Mass, and concludes with a Holy Hour of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary including the Rosary and meditation on the mysteries.

• 2026 First Saturday dates: Jan 3, Feb 7, Mar 7, Apr 4, May 2, Jun 6, Jul 4, Aug 1, Sep 5, Oct 3, Nov 7, Dec 5
• 10:45 AM Adoration and Confession
• 12:00 PM Mass
• Devotions, Rosary, and 15 minutes of meditation following Mass

Plan Your Visit

The road up St. Mary's Mountain to the Grotto passes through beautiful, well-signed forest. There is a large parking lot at the main entrance (Route 15 nearby), with limited handicapped parking available; staff will come to your car and drive visitors with mobility needs to the shrine in a golf cart. From the parking area the first landmark visitors see is the Pangborn Memorial Campanile with its gold-leafed bronze statue of Mary, and the Richard and Mary Lee Miller Family Visitors' Center with restrooms and St. Bernadette's Gift Shoppe. Leaving the visitors' center, pilgrims pass the Mother Teresa Garden and the Seton Walkway, then the outdoor Stations of the Cross along Corpus Christi Lane; at the end of the lane is Corpus Christi Chapel (1905) on the original grotto site, and beyond it the Grotto Cave itself (1875) with a statue of St. Bernadette Soubirous. The return walk along Rosary Lane passes the spring-fed pool with a statue of Our Lady of the Esplanade, where Grotto Water flows from taps and the chaplains can bless the water for pilgrims to bring home. Plan on at least 45 minutes on the property.

• Hours: Daily 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (closed Thanksgiving & Christmas)
• Parking available at main entrance; limited handicapped parking with golf-cart shuttle
• Grotto Shuttle: available by calling (301) 447-5318
• Visiting points: Pangborn Memorial Campanile → Miller Family Visitors' Center → Mother Teresa Garden → Seton Walkway → Corpus Christi Lane → Corpus Christi Chapel → Grotto Cave → Rosary Lane → Grotto Water Pool

Pangborn Memorial Campanile & the Golden Statue

The 95-foot Pangborn Memorial Campanile, donated by Hagerstown industrialist and philanthropist Thomas W. Pangborn and his son John C. Pangborn, was erected in 1964 under Monsignor Phillips's direction. It is crowned by a 25-foot gold-leafed bronze statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary — at its dedication believed to be the largest statue ever imported into the United States in a single piece, sculpted by Italian artist Marcello Tommasi and cast in Pietrasanta, Italy. The bell tower rings out the 'Ave Maria' and serves as a regional landmark visible from U.S. Route 15. Following decades of exposure, the statue was carefully removed July 7, 2021 to undergo regilding and structural repair of corroded interior supports; restorations were performed by ADTEK Engineers of Frederick and ADTEK's Fairfax, Virginia facility, with Big Hook Crane and Rigging of Union Bridge handling the lift.

• Donors: Thomas W. Pangborn and John C. Pangborn, Sr.
• Dedication date: May 1, 1964
• Height: 95 feet (tower); 25 feet (statue)
• Sculptor: Marcello Tommasi (Pietrasanta, Italy)
• Rings the 'Ave Maria'
• Restoration project: msmary.edu/restoremary

Grotto Cave, Lourdes Water & Corpus Christi Chapel

At the heart of the shrine stands the Lourdes Grotto Cave — a stone reproduction of the apparitions site in France built in 1875 by Mount seminarians, using native fieldstone and limestone. A statue of St. Bernadette Soubirous, the young French girl who saw the Blessed Virgin 18 times in 1858, stands nearby and pilgrims are invited to light candles, sit, pray, and meditate. At the end of Corpus Christi Lane, the Corpus Christi Chapel was built in 1905 on the very site of Father DuBois's original grotto and cross. On the return trip down Rosary Lane, visitors pass the spring-fed Grotto pool, where water flows from taps around a statue of Our Lady of the Esplanade. Pilgrims may bring their own containers to collect the water, which chaplains are available to bless for use in blessing persons, places, and objects.

• Grotto Cave built in 1875 by Mount seminarians
• Statue of St. Bernadette Soubirous
• Candle lighting available at the Grotto Cave
• Corpus Christi Chapel built in 1905 on Father DuBois's original grotto site
• Spring-fed pool of Grotto Water (with Our Lady of the Esplanade statue)
• Chaplains bless Grotto Water upon request

Mount St. Mary's University & Seminary

The Grotto shares the campus of Mount St. Mary's University — the second-oldest Catholic university in the United States, founded in 1808. The university, whose motto is 'Spes Nostra' ('Our Hope'), enrolls over 2,400 students across the College of Liberal Arts, the Richard J. Bolte School of Business, and the School of Natural Science and Mathematics, and is home to the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. Since 2017, the Grotto chaplains have been IVE (Institute of the Incarnate Word) priests, who also staff the IVE Monastery 'Mount St. Mary's' founded on campus that year with the approval of Archbishop Lori.

• Founded: June 6, 1808
• Motto: Spes Nostra — Our Hope
• Mount St. Mary's Seminary — the largest Catholic seminary in the United States
• Current president: Gerard J. Joyce
• Campuses shared with National Shrine Grotto and Mount St. Mary's Seminary

Cemetery & Columbarium

Adjacent to the Grotto, Mount St. Mary's Cemetery offers a final resting place on St. Mary's Mountain for members of the wider Mount family — including current or former employees, alumni, students, donors, and friends of the university or the Grotto. Available options include traditional plots and gray stone-and-marble columbaria with black marble shutters for cremation remains. Arrangements for cremation must be coordinated with a funeral establishment; the Grotto and cemetery do not provide funeral services. Decorations must follow the cemetery's published policies (no picnics, no smoking, and no unapproved cremated remains or urns on the grounds).

• Eligibility: Mount St. Mary's employees, alumni, students, donors, and friends of the University or Grotto
• Options: traditional burial plots and columbarium niches
• Phone: 301-447-5318 (Group & Cemetery Manager Laura Hullett)
• No picnics, smoking, or unapproved cremated remains on the grounds

Pilgrimages & Retreats

Each year the Grotto sponsors or supports several organized pilgrimages and retreats. The flagship Lenten retreat is 'Friends of the Cross,' led by the IVE chaplains and rooted in St. Louis de Montfort's spiritual classic 'Friends of the Cross' — a day of talks, prayer, Mass, adoration, and confession. The Grotto also hosts an international Rome/Lourdes Pilgrimage hosted by Fr. Robert Malages, M.SS. Other recurring pilgrimages and feast-day Masses fill the liturgical year, including the May Crowning and Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

• Friends of the Cross Lenten Retreat (Saint Louis de Montfort spirituality)
• Rome/Lourdes International Pilgrimage
• Annual May Crowning
• Feast Day Masses (Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, etc.)
• Group pilgrimages coordinated through the Grotto office

Chapel Refurbishment & Capital Projects

In 2018, on the 60th anniversary of the National Shrine, leaders announced a vision to preserve, restore, and grow the shrine to accommodate a growing number of pilgrims. The plan includes a second floor on St. Mary's Glass Chapel to convert it into a spiritual retreat center, a new church near the Visitors' Center, an amphitheater restoration, expanded picnic space with a pavilion, new parking, an additional outdoor prayer pathway, restoration of 'The Way' meditation path from the seminary, and additional cemetery plots and columbarium niches. Each project supports the Grotto's mission: 'Mary is a mother with arms open, who invites her children to come and receive that gift that has been given to us: Jesus Christ.'

• St. Mary's Glass Chapel — proposed conversion to retreat center
• New church near the Visitors' Center (designed by Fr. Mentesana, IVE)
• The Way restoration (meditation path from the seminary to the Grotto)
• Restore Mary statue campaign (msmary.edu/restoremary)
• Cemetery and columbarium expansion

Staff & Contact

The Grotto is led by a small professional and pastoral team within Mount St. Mary's University. The Executive Director is Dawn Walsh; she is assisted by Associate Director Julie Smith, Administrative Coordinator Lisa Rush, Group & Cemetery Manager Laura Hullett, and Operations Managers Will Lyons and Patrick Goad. The chaplains are IVE priests: Fr. Daniel Mentesana, IVE (chaplain), Fr. Theodore (Ted) Trinko, IVE (chaplain), and Fr. Cesar Ramirez-Prieto, IVE (chaplain, who also serves the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg). St. Bernadette's Gift Shoppe is staffed by Manager Keenan Aungst and Assistant Manager Mary Blickenstaff.

• Executive Director: Dawn Walsh — 301-447-5606 — [email protected]
• Associate Director: Julie Smith — 301-447-5484
• Administrative Coordinator: Lisa Rush — 301-447-5521
• Group & Cemetery Manager: Laura Hullett — 301-447-7434
• Operations Managers: Will Lyons & Patrick Goad — 301-447-7431
• Chaplains: Fr. Daniel Mentesana, IVE · Fr. Theodore Trinko, IVE · Fr. Cesar Ramirez-Prieto, IVE
• St. Bernadette's Shoppe Manager: Keenan Aungst — 301-447-6725

Bulletin, Homilies & News

The Grotto publishes a monthly informative bulletin for pilgrims, with an archive of past bulletins available on the official website as Adobe PDF files. Homilies from chaplains are also published, and the Grotto's social channels — Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and its podcast — feature videos such as the May Crowning and the EWTN-featured walking tour with Fr. Leonard Mary.

• Monthly bulletin (PDF archive on the Grotto website)
• Homilies posted online
• Social: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Podcast
• Featured on EWTN with Fr. Leonard Mary