As promised (albeit a tad later than first anticipated) here are the pictures I took of a beautiful grotto in Jette, Belgium. A regular stop (long, long ago...) during many walks with my Granny, I was delighted to see it remains as beautiful as ever.
Dedicated to Notre Dame de Lourdes and erected for the purpose of praying for soldiers, this grotto was inaugurated in 1915 amidst the tumult of World War 1 by Cardinal Mercier and is an exact replica of the one in Lourdes, France, down to its size.
Under the image of the Virgin Mary can be found a stone of the original grotto and the magnificent altar (see below) was a gift of King Albert 1, known as the Soldier King.
The recently renovated garden holds little chapels, a reminder of the fifteen stations of the Cross whilst a beautiful replica of Christ on the Cross hangs as a reminder of His gift to us.
A haven of tranquility, the grotto celebrated its 100th anniversary at the beginning of May.
Tomorrow, on to France's countryside!
Until then,
Beautiful.
ReplyDelete~Lynne
w/L
A beautiful place to pray and reflect on God Noelle. Thanks for sharing:)
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Aimee
I had not heard of this shrine before this. Lourdes is very popular amongst Catholics in Sri Lanka. Everyone dreams of going at least once in their lifetimes.
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