By: Toni Miles
The Marian Grotto Prayer Garden is a sacred site where St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church parishioners and others often visit to meditate, reflect and pray the Rosary.
After decades of being battered by hurricanes and even vandalism, the Prayer Garden still stands and is in full bloom today - a serene safe haven on the grounds behind St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Long Beach.
The site now has a visible guardian, a statue of St. Michael the Archangel, donated by Dr. and Mrs. James Heurtin. It is the most recent addition to the Marian Grotto Prayer Garden and replaces a statue of an angel cradling an infant, which was destroyed, along with the centerpiece statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by vandalism in July of 2022. The vandalism occurred just three months after a celebration of the Marian Grotto Prayer Garden Historical Marker unveiling and dedication that took place on Palm Sunday, April 10, 2022, at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church grounds.
The statue embodies the Archangel, as often depicted, armed with a sword raised high in one hand and his foot on the neck of the enemy. St. Michael is a protector, who stands ready to defend God’s people, according to the Catholic and Christian faith, a spiritual warrior in the battle of good versus evil, a champion of justice, a healer of the sick and the guardian of the Church.
On the base of the statue of St. Michael the Archangel is a short version of the St. Michael Prayer for Protection, which reads, in part: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.”
The Prayer Garden established at the Church, but at a different site decades ago, has continued to bloom wherever it’s been “planted,” despite category-three (Katrina) and category-five (Camille) hurricanes and the vandalism in 2022.
In August of 2005, the site was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and, in 2009, the Grotto was moved from west of the church to the present location.
In 2021, members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul adopted the beautification and preservation of this sacred site. The site’s historical marker was sponsored by Mary Schepens Levens and family.
The original Marian Grotto was destroyed by Hurricane Camille in 1969. In 1972, Henry Schepens, Sr. donated the Grotto to St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. It was built in memory of his parents, Leo and Theresa Dauro Schepens, and the Vincent and Angelina Trippe Dauro family, Sicilian immigrants, who settled in Long Beach in 1905.
The Blessed Virgin Mary statue, donated by A.C. Fayard, was re-dedicated in 1973 by Helen Fayard, in memory of A.C. Fayard and their daughter, Helen Ann Fayard. In 2002, a cherub fountain complete with an angel holding a baby, provided by Steve and Kathy Day, was given for the Parish Life Center Prayer Garden.
Members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provide ongoing labor to maintain the site. They, and members of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, pooled their resources to restore, refurbish and enhance the Marian Grotto Prayer Garden after the July 2022 vandalism, first refurbishing the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, then adding the statue of St. Michael the Archangel later to replace the statue of the angel cradling the infant.
Also in 2022, parishioners and others gathered at the Marian Grotto Prayer Garden to pray for the very man accused of vandalizing the site as soon as the crime was discovered - the same day the vandalism took place - embodying the universal message of forgiveness and mercy as believed and practiced by Catholics and those of the Christian faith worldwide.
