The Lourdes Grotto in Simpelveld, South Limburg, is located behind the former Huize Loreto convent, which houses the Museum de Schat van Simpelveld. To reach the grotto, you must enter the Hellingbos behind the car park. On the path to the Lourdes Grotto, there is a statue of Our Lady on the right.
The grotto was created in 1954 in the woods, specifically in the garden of the former monastery “Huize Loreto”. This monastery was founded by the German nun Clara Fey (1815-1894) in 1875. In 1844, she founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus. This order provides education and helps neglected children. Due to the German “Kulturkampf” (1872-1879), an anti-Catholic political movement, the sisters left Germany and settled primarily in Simpelveld.
The Lourdes grotto is constructed from concrete and natural stone and has two alcoves. In the upper right of the grotto, there is a small hollow space for the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, and a larger space is located in the lower left for an altar and candles. A low, wrought-iron fence encloses the grotto.
The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes was consecrated on 10 December 1954 by Joseph Hubert Guillaume Lemmens (1884-1960), Bishop of Roermond (1932-1957). The year 1954 is inscribed on the front of the altar in the grotto.
Large candles are available in the grotto, but the image of seer Bernadette Soubirous is missing. Due to the absence of an image of Bernadette, it is in fact a Mary grotto. The grotto makes a well-kept impression.
Further into the Hellingbos are a chapel, a Calvary, and Stations of the Cross dating from 1925, realised through donations. There is also a cemetery for convent sisters, which was the first to be established in the woods, after the convent was set up in 1875.
In 2009, the chapel, Stations of the Cross, and Lourdes grotto were renovated by volunteers from the Stichting Vrienden van het Hellingbos.
There is parking available next to and behind the monastery.
Address: Kloosterstraat 68, Simpelveld.
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