Quirky Mary Shrine

[Ysarex]

Drove my wife to an appt. this afternoon near St Mary's hospital and had some time to wait. For decades I've driven by the back corner of the hospital and seen there was a green area with a grotto of sorts but I never investigated further. It was on the grounds of the convent where the nuns lived who founded and operated the hospital. They came to St. Louis from Germany in the 1870s and broke ground for the existing hospital in 1929. In 2010 the nuns left and the hospital is now part of SSM Health. The convent was taken down (parking lot) but the grotto in the back corner was preserved and given a new walkway. So I finally walked over for a look see. No disrespect but I found it rather amusing to see Mary seeming to levitate in a niche at the top of the grotto -- Jesus on the cross with a flag didn't help. Here's some snaps and a map to show the location. Canon G7mkii.

 

[wobe]

Interesting story and photos - nice that they left something of the old convent behind.

 

[jeffashman]

Interesting series and back story.