Loving the Grotto of Redemption
We recently sought out the Albert City Thresherman show. While there, I learned we were near the beautiful Grotto of Redemption. I had learned about the Grotto from Sara Broer’s book, 100 Things to Do in Iowa Before You Die.
Leaving the hubby and friend Dan Shima at the show one day, I headed out to tour. I loved my morning at the fascinating Albert City Historical Museum. I was amazed to learn that this museum comprised six buildings and the depot was even the site of a shoot out!
Fron there I headed to the Grotto of Redemption. The beautiful Grotto of Redemption in West Bend, Iowa though stole my heart.
The story of the Grotto
The story begins with Fr Paul Dobberstein, a Catholic Preist who suffered from a serious illness. The brochure shares, “Fr. Dobberstein sought the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in his prayer for healing and restoration, promising that he would subsequently build a shrine….”
Healed, he kept his promise. Gathering rocks and precious stones from around the world first, in 1912, he began construction on his grotto. Construction would continue for the next 42 years. The Grotto of Redemption was completed with the help of Matt Szerensce, parishioner and Fr. Louis Greving, who would serve as the next Catholic Preist to pastor at West Bend. and saw the beauty these stones, crystals, marble and minerals made, and their impact, Fr. Dobberstein continued. Donations helped with the work that tells the story, Father Dobberstein said is, “The whole story of the fall of man and of his redemptions.”
Today donations are still what keep the grotto going.
Details of the Grotto
In the end, nine grottos were completed. It is the largest grotto in the world. Each grotto depicts a scene in the life of Jesus. The first grotto is the Garden of Eden. The 2nd, the Trinity Grotto, then St. Michael, then Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. This grotto is followed by the Ten commandments, then the Stations of the Cross. The subject gets harder as you travel on to the 13th station/Calvary. This is followed by the Entombment of Jesus, then the Garden of Gethsemane. Glory comes at last in the Resurrection grotto!
The early days are shared in the grotto of Nazareth and the Stable in Bethlehem. There is also a statue of Father Dobberstein, and the Christmas Chapel. While there I met a man working on the grotto, he said he is the last individual that has been completing grotto scenes.
I enjoyed all of the grottos. I could see the that this holy place is a place that people come to pray and seek God. Seeing all the scenes of Jesus life is a wonderful way to share faith and see artistic beauty at the same time.
Declared a shrine.
Bishop R. Walker Nickless designated the Grotto of Redemption a Shrine on October 10, 2014, for promoting and perpetuating its function as, “a sacred place to which numerous members of the faithful make pilgrimage for a special reason of piety.”
While not a Catholic myself, I could easily see the beauty of Christ’s love in the work at this wonderful place.
It is estimated that over six million people have come to the Shrine from around the world since its completion. 80,000 visit each year. Besides the shrine itself, there is also a gift shop and museum as well. Tours are available, or you can tour on your own.
