Grotto of Lourdes 2005

The chapel in the woods at the Grotto of Lourdes of Emmitsburg, Maryland.

It would be impossible to overstate how beautiful this national shrine is, wrapped in trees on a hillside. Here you can see the fall color. There are equally stunning photos on the web site of the area in the spring when everything is in bloom.

On the approach to the grotto itself, after passing the Stations of the Cross...

...and within the stones, hundreds of memorial candles burning back in the dark cavern.

A natural spring feeds this spigot. I always think of little glass-stoppered bottles as the appropriate receptacle for water from a sacred spring but people had brought big empty plastic containers to fill.

The fountain is fed by the spring as well.

Here's a view of the back of the chapel with a statue of Mother Seton. There is a much larger (and more accessible) glass-walled chapel near the parking lot, but it doesn't have the charm of this one.

Our Lady of Medjugorje

Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of Banneux

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Grace

Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Lady of the National Shrine of the Grotto of Lourdes

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