Carfin Grotto

Carfin Lourdes Grotto is a Catholic shrine in Scotland dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes and created in the early twentieth century. The "Carfin Grotto", as the shrine is locally termed, was the brainchild of Canon Thomas N. Taylor (died 1963), parish priest of St. Francis Xavier's Parish in the small, mining village of Carfin, which lies two miles east of Motherwell, in the West of Scotland.

Contents

• Early days
• Growth and development of the shrine
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux
• National and international pilgrims
• New additions
• See also
• References
• External links

Following a trip to France's principal Marian shrine at Lourdes, Taylor's vision was to build a religious memorial in honour of the Virgin Mary based on the template of the Grotto of Massabielle. To realize this vision became his life's work.

Since its opening in the early 1920s, the Grotto has attracted pilgrims in the hundreds of thousands and its environs have been modified and enhanced with rich Catholic symbols and buildings. The grotto shrine offers a pilgrimage season with Sunday processions, rosaries, outdoor Masses and dedicated feast day events which run annually from early May until late September.

Early days

Work on the Carfin version of the Lourdes Grotto began in the early 1920s. The shrine was built, by hand, by local parishioners on a site opposite the St. Francis Xavier's parish Church. Many of the builders were coal miners from Carfin and neighbouring villages out of work during the 1921 Coal Miners' Strike. It is said that Fr. Taylor was aware of the need to keep these workers occupied to minimise the effects of unemployment on their morale. ^[1] Fr. Taylor inspired hard work and dedication from his workers.

Starting with a bare field in 1920, a frantic period of endeavour driven by the faith and zeal of the volunteers resulted in the shrine being largely complete within two years. It officially opened in 1922. The Grotto's central scene depicted Our Lady's appearance to Saint Bernadette in a bricked, terraced garden which included an altar for outdoor Mass, when the West of Scotland weather allowed. Canon Taylor's book of the shrine's first thirty years records over 300 volunteers working on the grotto in its first two decades. He also records a single pilgrimage of over fifty thousand pilgrims in 1924. ^[2]

Growth and development of the shrine

The shrine opened in late 1922 and it quickly became a pilgrimage site for Catholics from across Scotland and the rest of the world. Services were held for the Polish and Lithuanian communities that had settled in Scotland. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims of different faiths have visited Carfin.

The shrine expanded beyond a single field to many acres between 1922 and the 1960s. The Grotto later added a Glass Chapel situated on a raised "Headland" above the main pilgrim walkway. The Grotto grounds house many life-size depictions of Christ, Our Blessed Lady and many saints. It also contains a life-size representation of Jesus' life with Mary and Joseph in their Loretto house and carpentry shop, which is depicted in a cave, a Reliquary, as well as a sunken garden. Many statues and artifacts were added to the central Lourdes Grotto scene. Other depictions include the Way of the Cross, a large number of statues of saints, and a statue honouring Our Lady, Star of the Sea, complete with miniature lakes.

On Sunday afternoons at 3 pm, between May and October, Rosary processions are held, usually attended by thousands of visitors. The rosary is led by the parish priest, a tradition started by Fr. Taylor and carried on by his successor, Fr. George Mullen (later Canon George Mullen). The priest would stand on the parapet of the Glass Chapel, from which there was a clear view of the Grotto and of the procession along the shrine's gravel paths. Each Sunday procession culminated in Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the upper Glass Chapel. Many local people remember the discomfort of kneeling in the gravel as children, at the moment of adoration in the Benediction service. ^[3]

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

In addition to his devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes, Canon Taylor also admired Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the "Little Flower". This admiration began when he learned of Lisieux's young Sister Therese's life during his frequent visits to France in the early 1900s where devotion to the Carmelite nun rose rapidly following her death in 1897. One catalyst for this growth was the posthumous publication of St. Thérèse's autobiography, Story of A Soul. In the Summer of 1901, the Canon was urged by a priest friend, Father Bernard Lynch, to read the new English translation of the young French nun's inspirational autobiography by Michael Daziwicki, a polish professor. ^[4] The Canon was so moved by the young nun's life story that he contacted the enclosed Carmel convent in Lisieux and built a strong bond with the Prioiress, Mother Mary of Gonazaga, and with St. Therese's three surviving sisters who were also Carmelite nuns in the Lisieux convent, with a view to helping promote the life story of this extraordinary young woman. Quickly, Canon Taylor became an acknowledged expert on the life and work of St. Thérèse and, beginning in 1902, published regular articles in Catholic newspapers of the day of to engender broader awareness of the young Carmelite nun of Lisieux throughout the United Kingdom. Thanks to the Canon's efforts, her enclosed life of devotion to Jesus and her "little way" to God attracted considerable admiration in Scotland, England and Ireland following his publications. Canon Taylor believed that St. Thérèse, a future Doctor of the Church, would become an important figure early in the new century. He also spoke to the Vatican Committee which considered St. Thérèse's cause for canonization and was present in Rome in 1925 soon before little Thérèse was proclaimed a Saint of the Church.

So, as a measure of his devotion to the Little Flower, the Canon added a statue of St. Thérèse directly across from that of Our Lady of Lourdes. The shrine's statue to St. Thérèse was erected within weeks of her beatification in Rome by Pope Pius XI on 29 April 1923, an event which the Canon attended. The decision to erect the statue was controversial. Some pilgrims expressed the view that this "new" Saint's statue should not stand in such proximity to that of the Blessed Mother. The Canon took the unusual step of collecting these opinions and sending copies to the Superior of the Carmelite convent in France where St. Thérèse had lived her vocational life. The Mother Superior's advice was that the statue should remain in its location, and she predicted that the Carfin Lourdes Grotto would enjoy large numbers of pilgrims as a result. ^[5]

St. Thérèse of Lisieux is the secondary patroness of the Grotto after Our Lady.

In August of 2019 the relics of Bernadette of Lourdes were brought to Scotland specifically the chapel and grotto, where 30,000 people came to visit the relics. ^[6] Students from Taylor High School, New Stevenston carried the relics from St Theresa's church into the vehicle in which they were taken to Carfin, and then from the vehicle into St Xavier's church. ^[7]

National and international pilgrims

By the time of Canon Taylor's death in 1963, the Carfin Lourdes Grotto enjoyed a high national profile and attracted tens of thousands of pilgrims annually. Among the many seasonal pilgrimages to the shrine, each May, First Communicants from surrounding diocesan parishes visited for procession, with lines of white-dressed girls and school-blazered boys. As the region is rich in Irish immigrants, local Hibernian groups attended the shrine annually on procession. Lithuanian and Polish groups also attended the shrine on annual pilgrimage.

New additions

Following the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival, ^[8] the glass chapel used at the event was relocated to Carfin Grotto, where it was placed near the arena of Our Lady, Star of the Sea in the lower garden area of the grotto. This building, the grotto's second Glass Chapel, was subsequently dedicated to the victims of the Lockerbie Disaster. Daily Mass is now celebrated in this glass chapel, now named Our Lady, Maid of the Seas after the ill-fated aircraft from Pan Am Flight 103, which crashed near the Scottish town of Lockerbie on 21 December 1988.

More recently, the Reliquary opened within the Grotto grounds and features many religious artifacts used throughout the years at various processions and celebrations.

Most recently, a new Pilgrimage Centre opened in 1997, featuring an exhibition of the history of different faiths and beliefs, as well as displaying various religious artifacts. The centre also features a café and shop. In 2019 the diocese announced plans to close the pilgrimage centre, prompting a petition opposing the decision. ^[9] This was discussed on BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme on 18 August 2019. ^{[10] [11]} Since 2021, and as of February 2024, the website states that the pilgrimage centre is currently closed but renovations are underway to reopen it. ^[12]

See also

• Catholic Church in Scotland

Related Research Articles

A shrine to the Virgin Mary, or Marian shrine, is a shrine marking an apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Marian devotion. Such locales are often the destinations of Christian pilgrimages.

Bernadette Soubirous, also known as Bernadette of Lourdes, was the firstborn daughter of a miller from Lourdes, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in France, and is best known for experiencing apparitions of a "young lady" who asked for a chapel to be built at the nearby cave-grotto. These apparitions occurred between 11 February and 16 July 1858, and the young lady who appeared to her identified herself as the "Immaculate Conception".

Therese of Lisieux, in religion Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, was a French Discalced Carmelite who is widely venerated in modern times. She is popularly known in English as the Little Flower of Jesus, or simply the Little Flower, and in French as la petite Thérèse.

Walsingham is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval monastic houses. Walsingham is 27 miles northwest of Norwich.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a Catholic Marian shrine and pilgrimage site dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. The sanctuary includes several religious buildings and monuments around the grotto of Massabielle, the place where the events of the Lourdes apparitions occurred in 1858, among them are three basilicas, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Rosary Basilica and the Basilica of St. Pius X, respectively known as the upper, lower and underground basilica.

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Catholic shrine located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The 100-acre (0.40 km²) grounds include a visitors' center and outdoor devotional areas such as a rosary walk, Stations of the Cross, and a votive candle chapel. Mass and the sacrament of Penance are celebrated daily by Norbertine canons of St. Michael's Abbey.

Carfin is a village situated to the north-east of Motherwell, Scotland. Most local amenities are shared with the adjacent villages of Holytown, Newarthill and New Stevenston which have a combined population of around 20,000 across the four localities.

Our Lady of Lourdes is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic Church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, of which Bernadette Soubirous told her mother that a "Lady" spoke to her in the cave of Massabielle while she was gathering firewood with her sister and a friend. Similar apparitions of the "Lady" were reported on 18 occasions that year, until the climax revelation in which she introduced herself as: "the Immaculate Conception". On 18 January 1862, the local Bishop of Tarbes Bertrand-Sévère Laurence endorsed the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower, also called Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Thérèse Church, is a historic Catholic church in San Antonio, Texas. It is one of 84 minor basilicas in the United States and one of only four in the state of Texas.

The National Shrine of Saint Jude, adjoining the Roman Catholic parish Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Faversham Kent, England, is a shrine to Saint Jude and a place of pilgrimage and prayer for Catholics and other Christians since it was officially opened in 1955. It comes under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark. It is located on Tanners Street, to the west of the town centre. The shrine was founded by the Order of Carmelites and it lies within the Faversham Conservation Area.

Our Lady of Grace is a Title of Mary. The feast day associated with this title is February 7. The title of Our Lady of Grace is venerated in many countries throughout the world under various aspects. Many parishes, churches, and schools bear this name.

A Lourdes grotto is a replica of the grotto where the Lourdes apparitions occurred in 1858, in the town of Lourdes in France, now part of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Some Lourdes grottos are almost identical reproductions of the scene of the apparitions, with statues of Our Lady of Lourdes and Bernadette Soubirous in a natural or artificial cave, while others may differ from the original in size, shape or style.

The National Shrine of St. Therese in Darien, Illinois, is a Catholic shrine dedicated to Thérèse de Lisieux. It is a part of the Aylesford Carmelite campus run by the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary. It is supported and served by the Society of the Little Flower, a religious organization devoted to the saint.

St.Theresa Church is a Catholic church under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore (Chennai-Mylai) in Tamil Nadu, India, in Sembiam division of Perambur, Chennai. Approximately 900 families have the membership in this Catholic parish. Many people from various parts of Chennai make pilgrimage to this church for the devotion of Infant Jesus.

Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Villianur, Puducherry is a Catholic Marian shrine and a parish church in Villianur, Puducherry, India. The shrine is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, commonly known as Penrose Park, is a Catholic place of veneration of the replica of the Our Lady of Jasna Góra, a Black Madonna. The shrine is ministered by the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit, known as the Pauline Fathers, who have been the custodians of the original Icon of the Black Madonna since 1382. The Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, Penrose Park, is one of only two shrines dedicated to Our Lady in Australia.

The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is located at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States, and is a reproduction of the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France. The current Grotto was built in 1896, replacing a wooden grotto built on August 22, 1878. An artificial rock cave, the Grotto is used by its visitors as a sacred space for prayer, meditation, and outdoor Mass.

The Pilgrimage of the Relics or Maastricht Septennial Pilgrimage is a seven-yearly Catholic event in the Dutch city of Maastricht. Originating in the Middle Ages, it developed from a pilgrimage to the grave of Saint Servatius into the present-day religious, historical, cultural and commercial enterprise. Highlights in the programme are the displaying or unveiling of the relics in the main churches and secondly, the processions with the town's main relics. The next pilgrimage will take place in 2025.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carfin Pilgrimage Centre .

• Official website
• Pilgrimage Centre website
• Video footage of Carfin Lourdes Grotto

55°48′20″N3°57′19″W / 55.8056°N 3.9553°W / 55.8056; -3.9553