DURWARD’S GLEN — Using stones from the burned St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison, local residents from Baraboo, Portage, and Merrimac desired to bring something sacred out of the ashes of the former cathedral.
Working with their own hands, they erected a grotto of Mary, Mother of God at Durward’s Glen located in the Baraboo bluffs.
As one local resident describes it, “the stones from the cathedral seem symbolic of the priests of the diocese and the structure itself the unity of the priests with the bishop and pope. As the grotto is only complete when the stones are fitted into the structure, so too the Church is only complete when her priests are in unity with the successors of the apostles.
“Mary, Mother of God, stands in the center of this unity. She, like a priest, was chosen to be a holy vessel of God. And she, like a priest, gives her fiat to his holy will. It is hoped that the grotto will become a place of pilgrimage in this Year for Priests and that as more pilgrims come to pray, holiness will continue to emerge from the ashes of the tragic cathedral fire.”
The dedication Mass will take place at Durward’s Glen, 11876 McLeisch Rd., Baraboo, on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 9 a.m. Msgr. Daniel Ganshert, vicar general, will be the main celebrant. The Knights of Columbus will sponsor a pancake breakfast following Mass.