I came upon this "Place of Solitude, Peace, and Prayer" entirely by accident. Late one very hot weekday afternoon, exhausted from fighting gridlock on US I-5, I exited on Sandy Blvd. and decided to stop here to rest a bit. The Grotto is a Roman Catholic shrine dedicated to the mother of Jesus – the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is essentially two private woodland parks. You enter and park on the lower level. There is a man-made Grotto – 30 feet deep, 30 feet wide, and almost 50 feet high – on the bottom of a 125-foot plus cliff. Inside, the dimensions of the cave dwarf a replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta. There is an outdoor altar in front of the Grotto. You will also find on this lower level 14 fine E
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There is a stunning life-size statue of the Madonna and Child in the Meditation Chapel that is so realistic it’s almost eerie. The sculptor, American artist John De Andrea, created the statue from polyester resin and fiberglass. He wanted his creation "to breathe," and he succeeded – perhaps too well! The statue is surrounded by a thick, see-through plastic "cage" (probably necessary because so many visitors would be tempted to touch it, if only to satisfy themselves that the lady and baby weren’t real and breathing).
There is a monastery on the edge of the upper gardens as well as a convent – both, however, are off limits to the casual visitor.
There are benches along the winding paths throughout the upper and lower garden levels, perfect for rest and meditation. The upper gardens especially must be spectacular in the spring, when hundreds of rhododendrons and azaleas are in full bloom.
Even for non-Catholics, the serene beauty of these old growth Oregon woods and carefully tended gardens are worth a visit. I left the Grotto refreshed in body and spirit. (Check out their website at www.thegrotto.org.)
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