The beautiful 200 year celebration.
The new fountain greeted our visitors from 30 states

The Saint Joseph statue was
unveiled to the AMM board and staff yesterday

Michelle from Restorations Plus works on some final
touches on the church

The new guardian angel gets placed
on top of the welcome fountain. Just beautiful!

Our Lady of Lourdes is lowered into place at the meditation walk

A construction worker cleans up one of the crosses
on the new welcome fountain

This statue of Our Lady encourages visitors
to kneel and pray to Jesus through Mary

The new statue of Jesus has arrived and it is beautiful!

Work begins on the new fountain in front of church

The original Vincentian cabin has been restored
and painting begins soon

The Miraculous Medals are added to the
First and Second Apparitions as work continues

The second apparition features a special stone from the church in
Bardstown, KY where Vincentian priests stopped on their journey to
Perryville, Missouri 200 years ago

The new ornate kneelers are ready for prayer

Four new kneelers are installed at the grotto

Work continues on the first apparition

Church renovations continue to move forward with completion
scheduled for the 1st of August!

Work continues on the side altars of church

Work begins on the second apparition

Work begins on the first apparition  

The finishing touches are added to the grotto  

The cross has been safely set in place in the water feature  

Our Lady of Grace is back where she belongs  

Our Lady of Grace gently returns to her home in the grotto  

The Meditation Walk is nearing completion  

The new Cross is set in place along the Rosary Walk  

Our Lady of the Mound...restored and returned to her home  

The new 4 foot tall Miraculous Medal has been placed
on the new Rosary Walk  

The newly restored St. Vincent de Paul statue has been set in place
in anticipation of May Procession on May 6th at 1:00 p.m.  

Arial view of the grotto and rosary walk  

New sod gets laid into place around the welcome and crucifix plazas  

The Grotto pavers are being set. The area should be ready for
the May Procession.  

The new welcome plaza gets finishing touches  

Work continues on the grotto  

The finishing touches are done on the main altar  

Scaffolding is moved to work on the back of church.
Church will be open for daily mass beginning April 2nd.  

A new roof gets put on the Shrine replacing the brown shingles  

Hand-railing gets secured in front of church  

New hand-railing goes up on the church steps  

The new bronze statue of Mary is temporarily placed to determine
spacing of the kneelers and additional statue of Jesus  

Work continues on the many details of the church and Shrine  

The Stations of the Cross get every detail restored, repaired, and repainted  

Restoring the many statues in the church  

The painting in the dome of the Shrine gets cleaned, repainted
where needed, and detailed  

The altar in the Shrine gets re-grouted after hours of detailed cleaning  

The altar in the Shrine gets some much needed cleaning  

Church painting continues with special focus on the many works of art.
A painter repaints one of the stations of the cross.  

The second bridge will be the perfect connection between the Rosary Walk and grotto  

The second bridge is finished while work on the grotto continues  

The tile roof gets put on the new welcome plaza and will match the roof of the church  

Scaffolding continues to go up near the Shrine as the area is prepared for painting  

Scaffolding goes up in church as we begin painting  

A break in the cold weather has allowed for more work on the bridges  

Workers add stone to one of the new bridges. Note the stone cross
being added to the center section.  

A break in the below freezing weather has allowed for the second
cross to be poured  

The new water feature and stone bridge are taking shape  

Grotto work continues despite cold weather  

The concrete for the new entrance to the cemetery has been poured  

A new bridge is going up near the grotto  

The statue of St. Vincent de Paul has been completely restored  

The statue of St. John Gabriel Perboyre has been completely restored  

The crucifix plaza is being formed and prepared for concrete  

The new flooring in the Shrine has been completed  

The new church flooring is nearing completion  

The new church floors are being buffed and prepared for a second coat of finish  

The steel forms of the new Welcome Plaza have been erected  

The Our Lady of Grace Statue from the grotto has been completely
restored after removing over 30 layers of paint  

The Our Lady of Grace statue from the grotto during restoration  

The Rosary Plaza and adjoining walkways are beginning to take shape  

The new creek is being installed near the grotto  

The back section of the grotto has been cleaned and restored  

During restoration, we discovered the grotto is hollow. This is a view of the inside of the grotto looking up  

Details emerge on this statue of St. Vincent de Paul as more than 30 coats
of paint are being removed after 100 years  

Restoration of the statues located around the grounds begins  

A construction worker hand scrubs each rock of the grotto
in preparation for tuck pointing and restoration  

The area under the grotto is being prepared for the new candlearium and restoration  

Construction workers begin arranging rocks for the new water feature located near the grotto  

The basement of the church is rarely seen
and will be inspected for termites in the upcoming weeks  

Preparation has started in the grotto area for the new water feature. The old bridge has been removed in preparation for a more accessible entrance  

Construction workers carefully remove the overgrown bushes from the cemetery in preparation for new sidewalks  

Concrete pouring begins on the Rosary Walk leading from the mound to the grotto  

The welcome plaza begins to take shape  

Work on the church floors continues. Worn spots are where old pews used to sit.  

Interior church restorations begin  

The old mound walkway has been removed in preparation for the Rosary Walk  

Photo of the top of the grotto. 7.20.1918 - date of completion carved in the cement  

Side entrance to the Votive Light Room getting updated with new concrete  

Preparing to pour concrete close to the grotto  

The Our Father beads are going in  

AMM staff and friends gather to enjoy the solar eclipse in the new drop-off area of church  

Planting the seeds of faith for the next generation  

Mother and child on a bell in the bell tower  

Checking the St. Boniface bells in the tower  

Aerial view of the new drop-off area in front of church  

Looking at lighting options for the bell tower  

Front parking lot is prepared for new bus drop-off area  

Front turn-around area beginning to be poured  

The beads are beginning to be connected   

Another bead link is finished. Note the 1907 Seminary water tower in the distance   

New steps and walkways are prepared for the new church entrance   

Roger and Peggy Steinbecker take a sneak peak at all the renovations.   

    Beginning to connect the beads   

   This oak, overlooking the Vincentian cemetery, is from an acorn of the oak
at St. Vincent's home in France. Look for it on the Rosary Walk.   

    Finished bead by the cabin and the Vincentian cemetery   

    Finished bead approaching the Vincentian cemetery   

    Cross walkway coming together. View from church doors   

    Church walk begins to take shape   

    Forms ready for concrete on the church entrance walk   

Front porch of church is now wide enough for wheelchairs   

    Stairs at the church entrance have been completed   

    Preparing the Entry Plaza area for concrete  

    Removing the old walking path  

    Work continues on the church entrance   

 Finished bead that will connect the walking path    

    Choosing concrete colors   

    AMM staff tour the grounds renovations   

    Forming the church entrance for concrete   

    Forms ready to pour beads   

    Log cabin on the grounds, pre-renovation   

    Preparing for concrete on the church entrance   

    Putting up concrete forms   

    Digging the path by the church   

    Preparing beads for concrete   

    A section of the walking path showing bead forms   

    Leveling ground for apparitions   

   Removing the Blessed Mother statue from the grotto   

    Carefully bringing the statue to ground level   

    Preparing to remove Our Blessed Mother statue   

    Ground breaking on the church entrance   

    Removing Our Lady of the Mounds statue   

    Transporting the statue for restoration   

    Close up of statue pre-restoration   

    View of church entrance ground breaking   

    Leveling ground for the Rosary Walk   

    Close up of stairs removed from the church entrance   

    Statue of St. Vincent de Paul pre-restoration