"The Shrine of Lourdes in Litchfield is a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes
in France. Built of local fieldstone by two Montfort Brothers, Brother
Alfonso and Brother Gabriel, with the help of Montfort seminarians and
people from the area, the Shrine was dedicated in 1958." Lourdes in Litchfield web site
The Grotto, Litchfield, Connecticut
The Brothers who built the Grotto came from the Montfort Province in Italy, with the express mission to build a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes, France on the grounds of the then major seminary in Litchfield Connecticut. Anyone who has been to Lourdes can testify they did a brilliant job. They were artisans and masons but also took on many other tasks. First they had to clear the site on the hillside below the seminary and remove all the trees and brush, Then they proceeded to dig into the hillside and pry loose, using dynamite and their own strength, the field stone which would eventually become the Grotto. Finally they built the Grotto into the hillside, stone by stone, with the help of the scholastics (seminarians) in residence. It took two or three years to complete the replica before its dedication in 1958, the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin to a young peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous.
A word about the Brothers, Alphonso and Gabriele. They were plainspoken, dedicated religious men. Gabriele was man of the earth and a bit rough aroind the edgesat times but always friendly. He also enjoyed playing little tricks on the seminarians. Alphonso was a bit more genteel. He was always peaceful, friendly and supportive. Many times as the seminarians labored under a hot sun to load or unload the portable cement mixer with, sand gravel and cement powder, or move the large blocks of field stone for the brothers to put in their place in the Grotto, he would give an encouraging 'Fortia', 'Couragio' or 'Patientia' accompanied by an encouraging smile. Alphonso was happy to tell you he and Gabriele were from the Bergamo Province in Italy, which was the birthplace of Angelo Guiseppe Roncalli who became Pope John XXIII in October, 1958 (the same year the Grotto was completed).
Both brothers were also knowledgeable and hardworking farmers. They planted and harvested vegetables for the seminary kitchen and raised chickens, sheep, pigs and cows, which contributed to the community food stock. (As seminarians we had the wholesome experience of helping in all these ventures, including once in a while milking the cows, collecting eggs, killing, de-feathering and dressing (gutting) the chickens, etc. We also spent many hot summer days loading hay bales onto the truck and then stacking them in the barn. I'm sure the experience heightened our appreciation of farmers and farm life. My own experience included helping Brother Gabriele birth a calf. I also tried to milk the cows, not very successfully, when the brothers were away on retreat or a vacation trip back to Italy. And, not to be forgotten, Gabriele and Alphonso made their own polenta and Grappa. I imagine they routinely shared the Grappa with the seminary faculty but not with the seminarians. However there was one frigid winter day when classes were cancelled so all the scholastics could help the Brothers finish siding a new shelter they had built in which the sheep could more safely birth and nurse the season's lambs. It was so cold that when the job was completed after about three hours working in freezing temperatures, the Seminary Rector, Tom Kelley, treated us all to a small shot of Grappa, to keep us from getting pneumonia. No one did, so it must have worked. Good Grappa!
Salute Fratelli Gabriele y Alphonso!
(Editor's Note: If anyone has pictures of the two Brothers, it would be great to publish them here.)
