Work continues on the Mary Shrine on the west side of the church.
The grotto area surrounding the statue of Mary in front of the church rectory was built in 1949. Originally designed as a shrine to Our Lady of Fatima, it once included kneeling concrete statues of the children of Fatima which deteriorated and broke over the years and were eventually removed. Then, in 2009, the original concrete statue of Mary was replaced with a marble statue of the Immaculate Conception from the merged congregation of St. Gerard. The garden and landscaping surrounding the statue have suffered from neglect but now, in this one hundredth Anniversary year of Mary’s apparitions at Fatima, a donation from the Ladies Sodality of Blessed Trinity is funding a beautification project of our Marian shrine. Work began in May 2017 when a gardening volunteer from the meet-up group, Buffalo Underground, spent several hours removing vegetation that had taken over the grotto garden. In June, dead and dying trees surrounding the statue were removed, and in July the garden was weeded, replanted, and mulched by parishioners. Additional landscaping is under consideration for the fall. Click HERE to view photos of the work in progress.