Rededicated Grotto Features New Plants, St. Bernadette Statue

The rain and clouds gave way to sunshine just as the rededication of Dominican’s Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto began on Oct. 7.

The ceremony, which included a blessing of the grotto by Fr. Brendan Curran, O.P., Dominican University trustee, was attended by members of the DeLetto family, whose foundation supported the recent renovations of the grotto. A plaque noting the DeLetto Family Foundation’s contribution has been added to the Grotto space.

Nancy Menis DeLetto ’81 and Ralph DeLetto ’81 spent time at the grotto as students of Rosary College and were engaged there.

“Rosary was a great beginning for us,” Nancy shared. “It was a great beginning with faith and trust in God, and Mother Mary was always in our lives.”

Ralph DeLetto passed away on Sept. 29, just days before the rededication ceremony.

“It’s such a closing,” Nancy said of the ceremony coming at the time that it did.

The grotto was completed in 1929, a gift from the Rosary College Class of 1928. It is a recreation of the grotto at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France.

Sr. Priscilla Wood, OP, Sinsinawa Dominican heritage consultant at DU, noted that that grotto is a place where visitors can find a quiet moment, pray, and feel “listened to.”

“Whatever your faith tradition, this is a site that has been honored by prayer and love for 97 years,” she told the crowd of more than 100 Dominican community members who had gathered.

The improvements to the grotto include new plantings and landscaping. The retaining wall was also rebuilt, stepping stones were cleaned, and a new brick platform was created for benches.

The work was performed by McAdam Landscape Professionals, which also donated a statue of St. Bernadette in prayer. The statue was part of the grotto when it was created in 1929, but had not been part of the architecture for many years.

“We saw it in the original pictures, so we thought that would be a nice addition to have St. Bernadette here,” said Scott McAdam, company president and a River Forest native.

A sizable crowd from the Dominican University community attended the rededication. Among them were members of the McEnery family, who contributed to the restoration of the grotto in 2014 in honor of Clare “Sistie” Doherty McEnery ’58.