The Order of Friar Servants of Mary

Today's Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Upper Gardens admission sold until 5:30 p.m.

Sunday Masses

8 a.m.

10 a.m.

12 noon

Chapel of Mary

The 10 a.m. and noon Mass will be celebrated outside in the plaza, weather permitting. Otherwise, all Masses will be celebrated in the Chapel of Mary.

Complete Mass Schedule

Spanish Mass

2 p.m.

Chapel of Mary

This Mass is celebrated on the second and fourth Sunday of each month

Daily Recitation of the Rosary

Daily recitation of the Rosary at The Grotto will take place everyday, one half hour before each Mass.

Above: The Monastery of Our Sorrowful Mother, where the Servite Friars reside.

The Order of Servants of Mary (The Servites)

The Order of Servants of Mary is a religious family that embraces a membership of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nuns, and a congregation of active sisters and lay groups. The Servites lead a community life in the tradition of the mendicant orders (such as the Dominicans and Franciscans).

The Grotto, the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, is a ministry of the Servite Friars.

History of the Order

The Servite Order was founded in 1233 AD when a group of cloth merchants from Florence, Italy, left their city, families and professions to retire on a mountain known as Monte Senario for a life of poverty and penance. These men are known as the Seven Holy Founders, and were canonized in 1888 by Pope Leo XIII.

Others joined the first seven on the mountain, known as the "Friar Servants of Mary," and as the group began to grow, the seeds of the new religious Order took root.

From the beginning, the members of the Order dedicated themselves to Mary under her title of Mother of Sorrows.

Through the centuries, the Servite Order has spread throughout the world, including all of Europe, parts of Africa, Australia, the Americas, India and the Philippines.

The general headquarters of the Servite Order is in Rome, while many provinces and motherhouses represent the Order throughout the world. In the United States, there is one province of friars with headquarters in Chicago.

The Servite Mission

As Servite friars, we gather in fraternal communion as a small community of priests and brothers to be with those suffering and sorrowful.

With Mary as our model and St. Peregrine as our companion, we commit ourselves in a particular way to comfort those who suffer and are alone, especially those burdened with cancer and other serious illness. We strive to heal the broken and reconcile those in our world divided by age, nationality, race, religion, wealth, and education.

To learn more about the Servites, and their ministries at The Grotto, please click here.

The Gift of Humility

Oh, Lord, in today’s Gospel I am given a lesson in humility. Give me the grace today to see myself as You see me. You gave me the gift of life and guide me in Your ways. A humble person can more easily see the needs, desires and struggles of those around them. Give me the awareness of the needs of others and allow me to treat them with respect and honor. It opens me to the love You want to grow between me and others. The gift of humility takes strength. Humility can make me less aware of myself and more aware of the needs of others.

Lord, make me as humble as Your Son Jesus was, that by giving respect we may also receive respect from others. I ask this through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Listen to the peaceful sounds of a bubbling fountain in the Rose Garden, located outside the Monastery of Our Sorrowful Mother, where the Servite Friars reside.

Gift Shop Hours: 9 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

The Grotto Gift Shop carries a vast array of jewelry, home accessories, books, Rosaries , statuary, art, greeting cards and more. We invite you to come in and explore.

Vintage Corner

Come check out the new Vintage Corner at The Grotto Gift Shop, where you can find previously-owned treasures. Check back often to see what is new.

Online Shop