EDWARDSVILLE — A Mass of dedication and thanksgiving was celebrated last month for a new grotto and prayer garden on the grounds of St. Mary Church and School on Madison Street. When former pastor Father Thomas Meyer discovered a statue of Mary from the original St. Mary Church on Park Street in a parish storage room, he and members of the St. Mary Ladies Guild, and other parishioners, set about to restore the statue to its original beauty and create a permanent setting for it. Autenreib Studios was hired to restore the statue.

An outdoor grotto was designed for it as a place for prayer, remembrance and meditation.

Lager Monument from Breese made pavers people could purchase and have engraved with the names of loved ones, petitions, and prayers. Zobrist Masonry created a black granite cross, surrounded by black granite stones on which the Hail Mary was engraved.

Last month Father William Kessler, St. Mary's pastor, celebrated a Mass of Dedication and Thanksgiving at the completed grotto and prayer garden, located on the side of St. Mary Church.