Dominic Grzegorek, of Ashley, regularly prays at the grotto (right) for the Blessed Mother Mary that was built on his property by Nashville mason Dave Schuette. “It’s a way of honoring her and showing respect for her, and it turned out really good,” Grzegorek said (Submitted).

By Linda Norris
Messenger Staff

Dominic Grzegorek starts and ends the days at his farm praying at a grotto for the Blessed Mother Mary.

It holds a statue of the Virgin Mary and a bouquet of flowers he had commissioned on his property near Ashley earlier this year, where the old milk house once stood.

“We used to have a dairy farm,” said Grzegorek, 70. “When we removed the milk house, I knew I wanted a flower bed there, so the first couple years, I just planted flowers. Then I thought I wanted to honor St. Mary and have a nice grotto built there.

“It’s a way of honoring her and showing respect for her, and it turned out really good. The statue is beautiful, and the ground is beautiful. The flowers are now in full bloom.”

Dave Schuette, a mason from nearby Nashville, built the grotto. Grzegorek said when he first asked Schuette about the grotto, Schuette said: “You want me to build what?”

Though he had never built one before, Schuette approached the project knowing he wanted to make it perfect, Grzegorek said.

“He took his time; he measured and measured,” he said. “He was so particular in how he built it, how to make the arch. … It turned out pretty.”

Some of Grzegorek’s neighbors, who are not Catholic, have asked him about the grotto and what it means. This has been an opportunity for him to talk about Mary and what she means to him.

“Hopefully, more people will have a devotion to Mary, in this way of honoring St. Mary and thanking her,” Grzegorek said. “I stop there in the morning when I go feed the cattle, and I just say hi and good morning. I say a little prayer to her and thank her for everything.

“At the end of the day,” Grzegorek added, “just before I go in the house, I sit there and thank her for everything she does for us, and think of everything she did for us.”