Chapel of Mary, the Grotto, Portland, Oregon

Name of Church Chapel of Mary, the Grotto

Address 8840 NE Skidmore Street, Portland, Oregon 97220

Phone number (503) 254-7371

Website www.thegrotto.org

Mass times Depends on the time of the year, call or check the website.  In

November, the Mass schedule is: Sundays, 10 a.m.  Weekdays, noon.  Saturdays, 8 a.m.  There are Masses for special events, such as first Saturdays at noon, St. Peregrine Mass.  Most Masses are celebrated in the Chapel of Mary, an old church on the lower level of the property, although there is an outdoor grotto area nearby with an altar where Sunday noon Mass is celebrated during the summer, weather permitting.

Confessions  Saturdays, 11 a.m. – noon.  (Additional confession times added in Lent.)

Names of priests The Grotto is cared for by the Servite order.  Fr. Jack Topper serves as executive director of the shrine.

Special activities There are seasonal activities; they are known for their Christmas Festival of Lights, which begin this Saturday, Nov. 29 and run daily through Dec. 30.  There are special devotions.  During the Fridays of Lent at 3 p.m. you may participate in Via Matris (The Way of Our Sorrowful Mother).  On first Fridays and the Fridays of Lent 12:30 -3:30 p.m. (except

Good Friday), they have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction at 3:30 p.m.

Fellow parishioners Serves the local community and tourists.

Parking Free, park in the lot on the lower level.

Additional observations  The Grotto is a 62-acre shrine operated by the Servite order in East Portland.  It was established by Servite Father Ambrose Mayer in 1923;

he built it in thanksgiving to the Blessed Mother for her role in sparing the life of his mother years before when she nearly died after childbirth.  He began by carving out a grotto and building a stone altar where outdoor Masses could be celebrated.  In 1955, the shrine’s church, the Chapel of Mary, was dedicated by the Portland archbishop.  The Grotto was designated a National Sanctuary in 1983.

There are two levels.  The entry/lower level consists of a gift shop (which helps fund the facility), the outdoor grotto plaza where Mass can be celebrated, and the Chapel of Mary.  The chapel contains works of art, including some  depicting the seven holy founders of the Servite Order.  For $4.50, you can take an elevator to the upper level, which has gardens, streams and ponds, hundreds of statues,

the Servite residence, and tall fir trees for which the Pacific Northwest is famous.  There’s a great view of the city from the upper level.  It’s a place to bring a rosary and prayer book, and spend the day walking around, enjoying the grounds and (mostly) traditional Catholic art.  There are unique and special pieces;  on the upper level, look for the bronze statue of Our Sorrowful Mother blessed in the Vatican by Pope Pius XI in 1934.  You can walk the Stations of the Cross, or see images of the Mysteries of the Rosary.