The Grotto: A Place of Prayer and Peace for Nearly a Century

This article appears in the Spring 2026 issue of the ��Ĺ�� Magazine.
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Nestled in the northwest corner of ��Ĺ��’s River Forest campus, the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto carries meaning for those who find solace there.

Since 1929, the Grotto has been a place of prayer, reflection, adoration and peace for the Rosary College and ��Ĺ�� community, as well as the greater neighborhood. Residents often take a moment out of their day to sit quietly on a bench, pause in short prayer while walking a dog or leave flowers for the Virgin Mary.

“Just spending time in that peaceful, contemplative area helps me ground myself after a busy or long day at school,” said student Esteban Muñoz, a theology and Italian major.

“It’s a place to wind down, think, pray and spend time in what is one of the most beautiful areas on campus.”

A gift from the Rosary College Class of 1928, the Grotto was modeled after the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. The design celebrates the site where faithful believe the Virgin Mary appeared to a 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous, in 1858. Water from Lourdes, believed to have miraculous healing powers, was brought to River Forest in 1929 and added to the Grotto’s reflecting pool.

Last fall, a rededication of the Grotto was held after aesthetic improvements were spearheaded by Nancy Menis DeLetto ’81 and Ralph DeLetto ’81. A crowd turned out for the afternoon ceremony, which included a blessing of the Grotto by Fr. Brendan Curran, OP, a ��Ĺ�� trustee, and the placement of roses along the steps by those gathered.

A Comforting Place

Nancy Menis DeLetto ’81 and Ralph DeLetto ’81 at the Grotto on their wedding day

A spring day one year after their graduation would forever connect Nancy and Ralph to this spiritual place.

“I remember us walking to the Grotto, and I was holding onto his left arm, and I could feel his heart beating really strongly,” Nancy recalled. “When we got to the Grotto, he got down on one knee and on this beautiful, sunny, ordinary day, under Mother Mary’s mantel, he asked me for my hand.”

The couple’s strong Catholic faith made the Grotto particularly special, Nancy explained, and they often spent time together there while attending Rosary. Their engagement at this sacred spot “reinforced that together, we could do anything,” she said.

When the couple created the DeLetto Family Foundation to give back to others and support projects meaningful to them, they decided to fund a revitalization of the Grotto.

New flowers and landscaping were added, the retaining wall was rebuilt, stepping stones were cleaned, and a new brick platform was created for benches. A replacement statue of a praying St. Bernadette—which had been missing from the Grotto for years—was donated by McAdam Landscape Professionals, the company that performed the renovations.

Scott McAdam, the company’s president, also brought water from Lourdes, which Nancy and her 4-year-old twin granddaughters added to the reflecting pool following the ceremony.

Sadly, Ralph DeLetto passed away just days before the Oct. 7 rededication. Nancy urged ��Ĺ�� to hold the ceremony as scheduled, calling it a “closing.”

“We will always be tied to the Grotto because that is where we began our story,” she said.

Nancy Menis DeLetto ’81 watches as her granddaughter adds water from the sacred spring in Lourdes, France, to the pool in ��Ĺ��’s Grotto.

Familial Connections

Other families with strong ties to the Grotto and ��Ĺ�� have supported restoration efforts through the years as well.

In 1988, Ruth McGrath O’Keefe ’35 and her daughters—Maureen O’Keefe ’65, Cathie O’Keefe Anderson ’67 and Mary Eileen O’Keefe Bateman ’68—donated new, flowering trees for the lawn and an “evergreen wall” along the back. New flowers were also planted.

The restoration was in memory of Sr. Benita Newhouse, OP, Ruth O’Keefe’s aunt, who served as bursar general of Rosary College and was a force behind the Grotto’s creation, leading the initial fundraising effort.

“Back in 1929 when the Grotto was first dedicated, Sr. Benita said she hoped that the trees planted there would intertwine with each other, their branches reaching out in the beauty of nature and the beauty of friendship,” said Dr. Clodagh Weldon, vice president for Mission and Ministry at ��Ĺ��. “I love that image. It reminds us that so many years later this is still a beautiful and sacred place.”

Fr. Brendan Curran, OP, blesses the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto during a rededication on Oct. 7, 2025.

Mary Eileen said the 1988 renovation effort was driven by her family’s deep connection to Rosary College through Sr. Benita and their shared love of their alma mater. She recalled childhood Sundays spent at the Grotto when the family visited with Sr. Benita.

“The Grotto had water coming down over rocks and at the bottom was a pond with goldfish,” Mary Eileen recalled. “I remember we would throw pennies in and make wishes.”

When she became a Rosary College student in the 1960s, the Grotto retained its pull.

“If I had a worry or a test, I’d go out and say prayers at the Grotto, saying, ‘please get me through this.’” Mary Eileen said. “A lot of praying went on out there!”

‘A Mother to All of Us’

In 2014, Dr. Eugene and Clare “Sistie” McEnery ’58 added their mark on the Grotto. Four stones from Sinsinawa, Wisconsin were added: three for seating along the pathway encircling the Grotto and the fourth for offerings at the base of Mary. Additional masonry and brickwork were completed, plants were added, and the water feature and pool—filled in years earlier—were reintroduced.

Sistie said she and her husband wanted to help return the Grotto to its earlier glory because, as Oak Park residents and long-time supporters of the university, they have always felt its connection. When driving by ��Ĺ��, Sistie would often turn into campus, park near the Grotto and say a short prayer from her car.

“When you take a moment to stand before it, it’s a wonderful scene to take in,” she said.

An undated historical photo of the Grotto.

Over the last 97 years, the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto has been a place for not only private prayer, but for communal worship and gathering—from Rosary Sunday, a long-standing tradition observed on the first Sunday in October, to the candlelight Día de los Muertos procession last fall.

“I’m excited to see what it’s going to be like as it moves forward,” said Nancy Menis DeLetto. “I can only hope and pray that Mary will touch everyone who goes there because she’s a mother to all of us.”

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