Maria-ter-Heide – Lourdes Cave – Bredabaan

Maria-ter-Heide is a hamlet of Brasschaat and the church of Our Lady Immaculate Conception houses the parish rectory. Behind the rectory is the parish garden with a Lourdes grotto in it.

In the mid-19th century, Maria-ter-Heide became an independent parish with the patron saint Our Lady Immaculate Conceived. It is Lord Alphonse Della Faille (1809-1879), mayor, castle owner and representative of the people, who stands at the foundation of the parish. The very religious nobleman built a church and a school in Maria-ter-Heide. Behind the church are two steel doors that are monuments of the Della Faille family and give access to the family Della Faille burial vaults.

The Lourdes Cave was built in 1920, in memory of André della Faille (1887-1918), a lieutenant in the Belgian army, and other fallen soldiers from the parish during the Great War/First World War (1914-1918). The cave is 8 meters wide and almost 4 meters high. The Lourdes Cave is made of stone, earth, clay, and iron sandstone. The cave is partly on the parish’s land and partly on the municipality’s land.

In 2018, the Lourdes Grotto was renovated to mark the 60th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Father Frans Van Thillo (1932-2021). To this end, the wild vegetation in the grotto was removed. The Mariabeeld was then restored and a new Bernadette statue with candles was purchased. The altar in the large nave of the grotto is also from 2018. A cloth can be seen here with the text “Ave Maria” and candles burning in the grotto. This altar is made from parts of the high altar of the church.

The cave has a calvarieberg, a pond and a chapel behind the church of the Della Faille family. There is also a large statue of the Virgin Mary with Child from 1985 in the garden.

During my visit to the Grotto of Lourdes, the statue of Bernadette is absent; the pond is dry; the church and chapel of the Della Faille family are closed; the Grotto of Lourdes and the pastoral garden require some maintenance; the car can be parked near the Church Drive.

Address: Lourdesgrot is located next to the church, behind the rectory in a garden. The church is located at Bredabaan 1049, 2930 Maria-ter-Heide.

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