How The Grotto Began
The Grotto community was first formed when permission was granted by the Order to
commence the Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother back in 1923. Fr. Ambrose Mayer, OSM,
had purchased the property from the Union Pacific Railroad, and with the title came the
impetus for starting his dream project. Father Mayer had promised God that if his
mother recovered from serious illness following the birth of a young daughter, he, young
Ambrose, would do something great for the Church when he grew up. His mother did
recover and over the years the promise was not forgotten. Ambrose grew up, became a
Servite priest, and kept looking for the opportunity to fulfill his promise. The
purchase of the property in northeast Portland was just the beginning.
The Sanctuary opened in 1924 and was dedicated by Archbishop Alexander Christie, DD,
whose dedicatory message much later became the slogan for the new shrine dedicated to
Mary, Our Sorrowful Mother: "...a place of solitude, peace, and prayer..." The
early years of the shrine were not easy ones, but in 1933 Father Mayer arranged for the
first Marian Congress in the United States to be held on the grounds and it was attended
by thousands of clergy and lay persons and was presided over by Servite Cardinal Lepicier
who came from Rome for the event. The congress brought much publicity to Portland
and to the Sanctuary. Portland was not known to be a Catholic city and the
appearance of so many Catholic dignitaries made people sit up and take notice. The
small chapel on the upper grounds dedicated to St. Anne marks the spot where the altar was
built for the Congress.
Throughout the years, the theme of the shrine continued to stress devotion to Our
Sorrowful Mother, the patroness of the Servite Order (Servants of Mary) and patroness of
motherhood. The pietà by Michelangelo which sits atop the altar in the cave became
a focal point for this devotion and other statues and paintings depict the stations of the
Via Matris (the Way of the Mother) which tell the story of the seven major sorrows in the
life of Mary from the prophecy of Simeon to the placing of the dead body of Jesus in the
tomb. Not to be forgotten is St. Joseph (co-patron of the Order) whose concern and
care for Mary and the young Jesus is depicted in the Seven Joys and Sorrows of Joseph - a
scripturally-related series of correlating joys to Mary's sorrows.
In the early years the Servite community lived in a house off the property on Beech
Street, but in 1935 the foundation was laid for a permanent dwelling on the upper level
grounds. The monastery was completed in 1936 and at times was the home of up to
twelve priests and brothers. At present there are four priests and three brothers in
residence. The monastery was condemned by the fire department in 1985 and the
community had to move out while the entire structure was torn apart and rebuilt to modern
specifications. It was a fortuitous move because it became possible to re-think the
old concept of cells and update to one- and two-room suites complete with private
bathrooms! Through the generous contributions of many Oregonians and others, the monastery
was re-opened and is now a comfortable, functional home for the friars. In 1990 a
convent was built behind the monastery to house the four Sisters Oblates of St. Martha who
came from Saltillo, Mexico, to follow their ministry of service to God and His clergy by
taking on the household and sacristy apostolates to the monastery, the Chapel of Mary, and
the administrative offices. Prior to the arrival of these Sisters, a branch of the
Servite Sisters (Missionaries of Our Sorrowful Mother) from Juarez, Mexico, had served for
twenty-five years in the same capacity, but they were recalled for work in their own
apostolates to the sick and elderly in Mexico.
Chapel of Mary
