Miracles of the Grotto

Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, MD

Blessed Grotto Spring water
The “Spring” at the National Shrine

Another miraculous Grotto where the water is reported to heal and save is located at the Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, Maryland (USA).

Our Lady of Lourdes of Emmitsburg, Maryland is just the sort of setting for a miracle: Officially these grounds made holy by association with a canonized Saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, who lived nearby. She was canonized in 1975 as the United States’ first native-born saint.

There are many that believe that the water has miraculous healing powers. At minimum people believe and felt that it is at minimum cleansing and healthy for the body and soul. In this case, there aren’t any officially documented miracles,   but many have reported favors, graces and healings from praying while drinking the Grotto Water.

Drawn by tales of the Virgin Mary’s presence, they come from all faiths to the wooded niche that is the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes on the grounds of Mount St. Mary’s College. Last Easter, 1,500 people came for a non-denominational service despite a 3-inch snow cover. Most are expected to gather on the Western Maryland hillside clutching their rosaries, and empty plastic juice bottles for holy water. The water they seek rises from the spring at the oldest Mary Shrine in the original 13 Colonies, water they faithfully and sincerely believe can cure the sick.

A Baltimore psychiatrist believes the water cured his deafness. A documentary filmmaker came seeking the facts and reported visions of white lights and doves.

Jerry Caffrey, 44, a recovering drug addict and alcoholic, says the shrine and the help of Monsignor Hugh Phillips, the grotto chaplain, showed him the way to faith and provided the strength he needed to kick his addictions.

“Every time I fall or am tempted, I go down to the grotto and say my prayers, get my soul in order,” he added. Divorced and living by himself, he is lonely, he said. “But when I go down there, the loneliness goes away.”

Former Archbishop of Baltimore Lawrence Shehan reported being healed of tuberculosis at the grotto. Seminarians have reported cures for eye problems and for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Baltimore psychiatrist Robert Ludicke had been operated on at Johns Hopkins Hospital for an ear condition that resulted in a loss of hearing. He said he applied spring water to his ear and was instantly cured of his deafness. “I don’t know if I’d call it a miracle,” he said. “Let’s say a favor was granted, whether coincidental or not.”

“The Mother of God is especially present in this place,” said Mr. Caffrey. “I know a lot of people who’ve experienced cleansing in their soul here.” He discovered the grotto on a walk while he was a patient at a nearby drug rehab center, he said.

Monsignor Phillips once said, “A lot of beautiful things happen up here.” Monsignor Phillips came to the Mount as a sixth grader and graduated from its prep school in 1927. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1931 and was ordained from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in 1935 for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He also received a Master of Arts degree from the Mount in 1935.

Following his ordination, he returned to the Mount for 32 years. He personally designed and directed the construction of the current campus library—which bears his name—raising the quality of its holdings and services until it was cited for excellence by the United States Department of Education. Besides serving as a professor of theology and church history at the Mount, he was a professor of philosophy, psychology, and church history at St. Joseph’s College in Emmitsburg, Md., from 1938-50. He also taught theology, psychology and medical ethics at the Catholic University of America from 1937-60..

Asked if Mary has appeared here, in this spot, Monsignor Phillips whispered, “Oh, YES!” and looked quickly around, as if the very words might spark a visitation.

Monsignor Hugh J. Phillips entered God’s Heavenly Kingdom July 11, 2004. (RIP).

There are the skeptics but “If you have faith, no explanation is necessary.”

Is the Grotto Water a Miracle Water?

We believe.

You be the Judge