The Lourdes Grotto in Dongen is situated behind the cemetery with many graves of the Franciscan Sisters of Dongen from the Maria-oord convent. A number of sisters have been reburied here. The grotto was built around 1874, making it one of the oldest, still existing Lourdes grottos in the Netherlands. This was 16 years after the apparitions of Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes in 1858.
In front of the cave, a mosaic has been laid of black and white stones with a pattern and the words “AVE GRATIA PLENA”. This Latin means in Dutch “hail, full of grace”.
Over the many years, the Lourdes Grotto fell into disrepair. A major restoration of the grotto took place between 2019 and 2022. This happened at the initiative of the Local History Society “De Heerlyckheit Dongen” in consultation with the Monument Watch.
The image of Mary stands at about 1 metre high. The wreath around Mary's head shows the French text “Je suis l’ammaculée conception”. This translates to Dutch as “I am the Immaculate Conception”. The statue of Bernadette stands to the left in front of the grotto and gives a somewhat weathered impression.
In Dongen, more Lourdes grottos once stood, but with the exception of the grotto described here, they have disappeared.
The Lourdes grotto in Dongen is beautifully situated between trees and two cemeteries.
The cave can be reached via Schoolstraat, not only diagonally opposite number 4, but also diagonally opposite Villa Gardiaan at number 3. Postcode 5104JN Dongen.
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