The Grotto is Finished

The day was finally here. The Grotto is finished. After many hours of planning and building...this project is done. I went to get flowers for Mary's Garden this morning and when I got home, they were in the garage getting the statue of Jesus to take over to the Church. I followed in my car and arrived just in time to see them lift the heavy statue into the niche. Many adjustments had to be made. It seemed that this was the hardest part of the whole project. After lifting Jesus up and down and a little prayer from me...they got it right.

It fit perfectly. The blue surrounding him represents the sky. It will be beautiful at night with the lights on.

I got very emotional at this moment. Joe wanted to put the crucifix on himself. His back is killing him, but he climbed the ladder and put it on the keystone. He has worked so hard for months. No one knows, but me...what he has gone through. The guys stood back and stopped working while Joe had his moment.

One last adjustment and the crucifix is attached.

After putting the statue and the crucifix on, they sprayed the whole Grotto with a sealer. It is a finish that gives it a soft sheen. It dries quickly and the men were scrambling to get it spread around with their brushes. I even pitched in and grabbed a brush and worked fast with the workers. No picture of me, however.

Here's another view of the fast brushing.

Everyone working to get it covered. It is a windy day, and the sealer dries fast.

Here's the crew of guys that worked on the Grotto. I told them that they should be proud of themselves for this beautiful work of art. They all took pictures for themselves. It is a one of a kind piece of art...they probably will never work on anything like this again.

Balisha