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October 3, 2009 It sits in the middle of a grove of white poplar trees at the far end of an open field behind St. Michael’s Church in Lemberg. The church sits apart from this town of about 300 people, its twin spires reaching for the heavens above the surrounding trees. What is believed to be Saskatchewan’s oldest Catholic school building, the preserved Weissenberg School is also on the property at the near end of the field. “I’ve always wanted to build a grotto,” said Mary McTaggart who along with a friend gathered the field stones and constructed what she calls the Divine Mercy Grotto. She really doesn’t know why. It’s just something she’s always wanted to do. “I didn’t have a pattern but I had this vision of what I wanted done.” She comes from a family of 14 whose parents instilled in them a strong faith. “Divine Mercy is quite important as well as Mary the Mother of Mercy and the Crucifixion in which God in his mercy died for us.” The project began in 2007 with the discovery of the open space among the trees when members of the community began building walking trails through the trees in the area. She came upon the open space and thought this was the place to build the grotto she always wanted. It is constructed of field stone as is the church and Weissenberg School. There are three enclaves, a Crucifix in the centre, Mary to the left and a picture of Divine Mercy on the other side of the Crucifix. Stations of the Cross are placed around the edge of the grove and a bench sits directly in front of the structure. She insisted on the Stations of the Cross being placed around the space rather than along the walking trails as was suggested to her. “I wanted people in wheel chairs to be able to wheel around and see the Stations.” She also insisted that the Ten Commandments be placed on tablets below the three alcoves. “They’re trying to take the Ten Commandments out of everything and I wanted them here.” The entire space lends itself to quiet meditation. It is far enough away from Highway 22 which passes in front of the church and through the town and surrounded by trees that protect it from highway noise. McTaggart has also placed a guest book just below Mary’s feet. It contains signatures of people from all over Canada. Most grottos in the Regina Archdiocese are dedicated to the Blessed Mother but the Divine Mercy Grotto is the only known grotto dedicated to her son as the Divine Mercy. Frank Flegel  Enlarge |
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