Living Water

Grotto water fountain restored

It’s the spiritual center of Notre Dame’s campus. And coming here just about any time of the day, on any day of the week, you can see why. The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is a place of prayer and reflection. The candles have flickered light off the back of the cave walls since before World War I, their illumination a reminder of the prayers that have been offered here.

Sacred places – even outdoor sacred places – need upkeep as well. Sometimes you come here and you think it just always looks this way. You sometimes forget that something so well-maintained requires maintenance to fulfill the descriptor.

Over the summer the University did just that; it replaced the pavers and stair rail around the grotto. And while they were at it, they took the chance to upgrade a piece of art that is often overlooked here: the water fountain.

The fountain was constructed in 1943 but had weathered poorly. Sculptor Miklos Simon '91 MFA was commissioned to refurbish it and it was reinstalled in October 2019. 

Hear more about the restoration of the fountain on the Notre Dame Stories podcast (beginning at 17:47): https://go.nd.edu/NDStoriesS2Ep4