Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service at the Knott Arena.
==== National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes ====
Mount St. Mary's is home to the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, a Catholic pilgrimage site devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary that draws thousands of visitors annually. Emmitsburg.net describes the grotto as "a place of pastoral beauty and spiritual inspiration ... situated high on the mountainside where nature displays itself in all its wild and picturesque glory." The sixty acres of grounds include lush gardens, a pond, rosary paths, the Stations of the Cross, devotional areas, a scenic overlook, and St. Mary's Chapel on the Hill (also known as the Glass Chapel). Grotto water flows from taps located around a fountain pool, and chaplains are available to bless the water for visitors. John Watterson had the stone grotto cave built in 1875 as a replica of the miraculous Our Lady of Lourdes in France.
The grotto was first established on St. Mary's Mountain in 1805 by the university's …
