Image: The Grotto of the Redemption Pic1

Description: The story of how the Grotto came into being is as moving as are the scenes it portrays. It is generally told as a fact that as a young seminarian, Father Dobberstein became critically ill with pneumonia. As he fought for his life he prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Mother of God) to intercede for him for the grace of health. He promised to build a shrine in her honor if he lived. The illness passed, the student completed his studies and after his ordination he came to West Bend as Pastor in 1898. For over a decade he was stockpiling rocks and precious stones. The actual work of giving permanence to his promise began to take shape in 1912. The designed purpose of the Grotto is to tell in silent stone made spiritually eloquent, the story of man’s fall and his redemption by Christ, the savior of the world. West Bend is located in the center of a vast, lush, level expanse of Iowa farmland. Wise, industrious and fairly prosperous farmers populate the surrounding area. It is located northwest of Fort Dodge about midway between the busy state highways: number 18 to the north and number 20 to the south. On most road maps, West Bend is marked as the site of the Grotto of the Redemption. It might seem odd that here where scarcely any type of rock is known, not to mention any deposits of precious geological specimens, that this collection of unique stone should be found. However, it is merely the play of divine providence that determined the setting in this particular place. This site was chosen because the Bishop decided to send Father Dobberstein to that particular parish, located in West Bend, Iowa.
Title: The Grotto of the Redemption Pic1
Credit: Own work
Author: Alejandro Pulido
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes