Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, St. Lucy's

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Pilgrimage site at Roman Catholic Church

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Stories regarding the renowned healing waters of Lourdes, France have been around for centuries, but for thousands of people each year Lourdes is just a subway ride away. Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto at the corner of Bronxwood and Mace Avenues in the Bronx was built in 1939 as a replica of the French shrine and has been a source of inspiration and solace for the faithful during New York City’s toughest times. From prayers of safety for the armed forces in World War II to an interfaith sanctuary of worship during the events of September 11th, 2001, the grotto has played an important role in the spiritual lives of thousands of New Yorkers, as well as becoming a site of pilgrimage for believers in the grotto’s healing waters.

Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, or “Lourdes of America” as it is commonly referred to, is part of St. Lucy’s Church which was built in 1937 after Monsignor Pasquale Lombardo was commissioned

Stories regarding the renowned healing waters of Lourdes, France have been around for centuries, but for thousands of people each year Lourdes is just a subway ride away. Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto at the corner of Bronxwood and Mace Avenues in the Bronx was built in 1939 as a replica of the French shrine and has been a source of inspiration and solace for the faithful during New York City’s toughest times. From prayers of safety for the armed forces in World War II to an interfaith sanctuary of worship during the events of September 11th, 2001, the grotto has played an important role in the spiritual lives of thousands of New Yorkers, as well as becoming a site of pilgrimage for believers in the grotto’s healing waters.

Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, or “Lourdes of America” as it is commonly referred to, is part of St. Lucy’s Church which was built in 1937 after Monsignor Pasquale Lombardo was commissioned by the diocese on June 24th, 1927 to begin a new parish in the area. Sources suggest Monsignor Lombardo was a respected leader of the parish who often had to pay out of pocket to pay the church’s bills, using money he made translating Italian prayer books. After traveling to the famous grotto in Lourdes, a French town in the Pyrenean foothills which was home to eighteen sightings of the Virgin Mary beginning with Bernadette Soubirous’ vision on February 11th, 1858, the Monsignor set out to build a replica of the Lourdes Grotto on the church grounds.

The grotto was completed in 1939 at a cost of 10,000 dollars. Monsignor Lombardo hoped it would provide parishioners and outside visitors the possibility of experiencing the intimate and spiritual nature of the Lourdes, France grotto without making the transatlantic pilgrimage. Gated within the churchyard, though easily visible from the street, Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto is comprised of an amalgam of stones stacked together forming a “cave” some thirty feet in height. Steps lead up to an altar filled with candles, which are lit by the visitors after a prayer. Behind this, a large memorial plaque is affixed to the back wall with a list of names of some of the parish’s deceased. Opposite the grotto are a few benches providing an area for those who wait to collect water or have just finished and now sit for some quiet prayer or reflection. A small chapel complete with various statues and pictures of the Virgin Mary is immediately adjacent to the grotto where many visitors go to continue their prayer. Also in the chapel is a small giftshop where one can purchase various religious items including candles to use at the grotto, in addition to contributing some income for its maintenance. Each Sunday, the bell at St. Lucy’s is rung, creating the same D natural tone as the church in Lourdes, France. The grotto is open daily, morning to sunset, though may be closed during inclement weather.

A traditionally Italian neighborhood, St. Lucy’s location in Bronxdale now boasts a diverse parish with services conducted in three different languages (English, Italian, and Spanish) seven days a week, due to an increasingly strong Hispanic population in the area. The church and grotto are located on Mace Avenue, directly opposite the St. Lucy’s School, a parochial school with students in grades 1-8. With Christopher Columbus High School a short walk down the adjacent Bronxwood Avenue, the area receives bustling pedestrian traffic, especially when school lets out for the afternoon. The grotto has established itself as not only the most striking feature of St. Lucys Church, but also as a familiar landmark in Bronxdale’s residential neighborhood.

The paramount attraction of Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto is the running water designed to replicate the natural spring water at Lourdes. As at Lourdes, the water at St. Lucy’s grotto flows beneath the statue of the Virgin Mary which sits in a niche in the rocks some fifteen feet from the ground. People collect the water as it falls from above in a small waterfall. Though Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto originally was supplied with natural spring water, eventually it was hooked up to a municipal water supply and is supplied in this manner into the present day. Regardless, the not-so-mystical source of Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto has done little to dissuade the estimated 20,000 believers that continue to attend site and interact with the flowing waters each year, whether splashing it on their face, drinking it, or collecting it in containers for use in washing homes or cars.

Much like its model in France, Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in the Bronx has been the subject of numerous claims of miraculous healings. One Time Magazine article dated Monday July 24th, 1939 described the healing of a Mrs. Geraci, who let her left foot, confined to a metal brace, run under the waters of the recently completed Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto only to immediately discard the brace and walk around freely, much to the astonishment of the onlookers. Since then, the grotto has garnered media coverage from such major publications as the New York Times, which focused on the alleged healing powers of the grotto’s waters. Today, the grotto has become a popular sacred space for New Yorkers as well as for visitors from outside of the city and even the U.S. The proprietor of the gift shop noted that he had met individuals from all over the world who had heard about the water's healing powers and decided to make the journey to the Bronx. It is not uncommon to see abandoned wheelchairs, crutches, and canes lining the wall of the grotto, left by those who have claimed to be healed by its water.

Though Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto is part of a Catholic church, its visitors are not all Catholic. Indeed, Protestant Christians have frequented the site along with some Jewish and Muslim visitors, all seeking help from the grotto’s waters regardless of creed. On my trip I noticed a Jewish candle with Hebrew writing sitting lit amongst the many candles of the grotto. The cultural and religious diversity of New York City is readily apparent at this sacred site. Furthermore, Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto has long been a destination of many New Yorkers during times of crisis. On September 11th, 2001 and the dates following, the Grotto saw a huge spike in visitors who kept vigils, talked with one another, and drank the water, providing an important spot for prayer in New York City’s most trying time. Though Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto may never gain the notoriety of the original Lourdes grotto, the site functions in much the same way, providing faith, inspiration, and prayer to the thousands of followers who come to drink its waters. For sixty-eight years, Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto has provided an influential and powerful sacred space in New York

Sources

"Miracle in the Bronx." Time, 24 July, 1939. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,771685,00.html.

Sedensky, Matt. "Neighborhood Report: Bronxdale; Solace, Pilgrims, and Maybe a Cure, At a Grotto in the Bronx." New York Times, 28 Oct., 2001, Late ed., sec. 14: 6.

Weil, Jennifer. "Seeking Miracles in City Water." Columbia News Service. 03 Apr. 2002, www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2002-04-03/322/asp.

Interview by B. Garrone with gift shop employee, 2 Feb., 2007.

[Posted, February 2007]

Nominations

This is a Catholic church with a most unusual under and overground grotto. It is architecturally unique--more Sicilian than anything else, but Hispanic worshippers used to make weekend pilgrimages to the site to get holy water from the waterfall throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

There is a waterfall/grotto immediately adjacent to the church that is open a lot of the time but the massive catacomb portion which has a ground level as well as an upper level is rarely open to the public. It is one spectacular experience to walk through the ground level cave-like catcombs and view the larger-than-life-sized statues of the saints. I have not been inside the spot in more than 30 years because it seems to have been sealed up/gated/locked in the 1970s or 1980s for security purposes. It is extremely unique, the only one of its kind that I have ever seen. The church is also interesting as it is below ground with an elaborately tiled ceiling.

The place matters because the grotto is totally from another era and another continent (Italy). The resemblance to catacombs makes it totally unique.(December 2006)

When I was a little girl growing up in the Bronxdale neighborhood of the Bronx,in the 1970's, the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, St. Lucy's Church, was perhaps our most frequent family outing. Unbeknownst to me, my family had a very tight budget that did not allow for daytrips that required food, ticktets and transportation. Many an Easter Sunday, Mother's Day, and Birthdays were spent on the park benches in front of the grotto, feeling the cool splash of the miraculous holy water that trickled down its rocks. We talked about special memories, we shared Mr. Softee Ice Cream, we took pennies out of our little purses to toss into the grotto, we prayed for grandma and grandpa, and we took many of our family fotos here. We shared our tiny piece of paradise with out of town guests, all along knowing that this was "our" place, from our neighborhood. Family and friends who came to visit us in the Bronx, fearful of entering the dangerous "ghetto" soon were in awe before our Lady of Lourdes, her gardens and her fountain. Tears come to my eyes to remember that little miracle that we relived many times.

We believed in the apperance of our Lady of Lourdes, here at this little grotto off the sidewalks of the Bronx. The Grotto is testimony to the first Italian-American residents of the Bronxdale neighborhood of the Bronx. The place is a vital piece of living history both to its community and to the Roman Catholic Faith.

The physical details of this place provide a tiny oasis in the midst of a rapidly changing urban inner city. I would be saddened to know that it's land was sold for commercial development, for a parking lot or even for a church expansion. The Grotto is a beautiful garden that povides comfort and solace. (February 2007)

To see more Lady of Lourdes type interiors in local NYC churches:

1. The basement of Our Lady of Lourdes in Hamilton Heights has a great faux grotto:

Our Lady of Lourdes Church

472 West 142nd Street

New York, NY 10031

212-862-4380 phone



2. The Church of Notre Dame in Morningside Heights at Morningside Drive and 114th also has a grotto (fabulous!)

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/earl/ccm/notredame.html (for info)

(March 2007)

It is a stone-cut, dressed and hand-made grotto at St. Lucy's Church in the Bronx. The stones for the grotto were hand-cut by an Italian craftsman named Gino Brandolini. He had immigrated from Italy and his family lived for three generations in the Bronx. It is an excellent representation of the actual grotto in Lourdes, France, which I have visited. (May 2012)