Katwijk is a village in the municipality of Land van Cuijk, located in the northeast of the province of North Brabant. The place is also called Katwijk aan de Maas.
The Lourdes Grotto is one of the older grottoes in the Netherlands and is situated in a procession park near St. Martin's Church. This church was built in 1881, designed by the German-born Carl Weber (1820-1908), who later became an architect. In 1886, a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was placed in this church. The procession park was laid out by nurseryman Johannes Hubertus Ebben (1846-1921). At the rear of the park is a Calvary mountain from 1894 with cast-iron, painted statues and a cross with an inscription from the manufacturer Maurice Denonvilliers (1848-1907), 174 Rue Lafayette, Paris. In 1937, a Stations of the Cross was added to the procession park. This was a gift from parishioners to W. Hoefnagels, parish priest from 1912 to 1940 in Katwijk, on his 25th priestly anniversary. The Stations of the Cross were designed by artist Petrus Hendrikus (Piet) Gerrits (1878-1957) from the Holy Land Foundation. In 1948, a new Stations of the Cross was installed, featuring terracotta stations on a pedestal. The maker is visual artist Petrus Hendrik Marie (Peter) Roovers (1902-1993) from Heijen. In 1998, the stations were restored.
The Grotto of Lourdes is one of the oldest grottoes in the Netherlands, as construction began in 1887. This happened after Johannes Ludovicus Ghislenus Suijs (1838-1899), parish priest in Katwijk (1880-1899), received permission from Adrianus Godschalk (1819-1892), Bishop of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (1878-1892), to build a Grotto of Lourdes. The parish priest funded the Grotto of Lourdes with his own money. The grotto is built with bricks, concrete and cement. The grotto is a scaled replica of the original, large grotto in French Lourdes and is 16 metres wide and 8 metres high. These dimensions are exactly half the size of the grotto in Lourdes. The statue of Lourdes moved from the church to the grotto on 14 May 1888, and on this day the Grotto of Lourdes was consecrated.
In 1912, repairs were made to the grotto, and it was refitted with new cement. On 10 May 1944, during the Second World War (1939-1945), Katwijk came under fire, and the procession park suffered damage, but the Lourdes grotto was spared.
In 1958, 100 years after the apparitions of Mary to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, the statue of Mary was crowned by Wilhelmus Petrus Adrianus Maria (Rob) Mutsaerts (1889-1964), Bishop of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (1943-1960). The golden crown was made by sculptor and goldsmith Henricus Wilhelmus Maria (Harry) van den Thillart (1915-2009).
Beneath the statue of Mary, there is a space for lighting candles. This niche is enclosed by a railing. On the right wall of the grotto, a piece of rock from Lourdes has been installed. This stone is affixed to a white marble plaque. There are also taps present. Benches are situated in front of the grotto. A thorough restoration took place in 1997. Healings have been reported by visitors to the Lourdes grotto in Katwijk. The numerous pilgrimage groups are no longer present, but a significant number of people visit the Katwijk Lourdes grotto daily, which is attributed to the continually burning candles.
The well-maintained Lourdes Grotto is a national monument.
Address: Mariagaarde 4, 5433KA Katwijk.
~~~
