When I was very young, my parents took our family to Northwest Iowa to visit my mom’s relatives. While there, we took a side trip to West Bend to see a grotto. I did not remember much about this place but was motivated to visit again. Since David and I planned for our 2022 summer trip would be to tour Iowa, we decided to make this one of our stops.
I grew up near St. Mary’s of Lourdes Church in Germantown Hills, Illinois and there is very nice grotto there. So I was expecting something a bit smaller when I arrived at the grotto in West Bend. The proper name of the grotto is “The Shrine of the Grotto of Redemption“. We learned that this is the largest grotto in the world – in Iowa!
The Grotto of Redemption is comprised of nine separate grottos. Each grotto depicts an event regarding the life of Jesus of Nazareth. As I walked through an arch into the Stations of the Cross, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of individual grottos depicting the 14 stations. The 13th station is on a 40 foot high mountain-like structure with the empty cross and Mary holding the body of Christ. At this spot, I encountered a people praying aloud.
The grotto was the life work of Fr. Paul Dobberstein (1872-1954). For a decade, he gathered rock and precious stones from around the world then began construction in 1912. For the next 42 years, Fr. Dobberstein created hundreds of intricate rock settings that form the Grotto’s walls and ceilings. The building did not end with his death in 1954. A parishioner, Matt Szerensce and Fr. Louis Greving worked with Fr. Dobberstein then continued construction after he died.
People have visited from all over the world to experience the beauty and peace of this place. They visit for prayer, reflection, pilgrimage and penance. We hope to visit again.
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