St. Mary's of the Barrens Renovation Progress
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

There is still time if you haven't had a chance to donate!
Call 1.800.264.MARY (6279) to find out how you can help.
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.

Your help with this project is greatly appreciated. Make your contribution today!
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

Ask us how you can help contribute to this historic project! 1.800.264.MARY(6279)
Removing the old walking path

Work continues on the church entrance


Reserve your walkway bead today! Only 40 left! 1.800.264.MARY(6279)
Finished bead that will connect the walking path
AMM staff tour the grounds renovations

Forming the church entrance for concrete

Ask us how you can help with interior church renovations. 1.800.264.MARY(6279)
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

Call us to reserve your walking path section. 1.800.264.MARY(6279)
Preparing beads for concrete

A section of the walking path showing bead forms

Leveling ground for apparitions

Ask us how you can help with the apparition statues. 1.800.264.MARY(6279)
Removing the Blessed Mother statue from the grotto

Carefully bringing the statue to ground level

Preparing to remove Our Blessed Mother statue

Ask us how you can contribute to the grotto renovations! 1.800.264.MARY(6279)
Ground breaking on the church entrance

Removing Our Lady of the Mounds statue

Transporting the statue for restoration

Close up of statue pre-restoration

Ask us how you can help statue restorations today! 1.800.264.MARY(6279)
View of church entrance ground breaking

Leveling ground for the Rosary Walk

Call us about Rosary Walk areas still available for reservation! 1.800.264.MARY(6279)
Close up of stairs removed from the church entrance

Statue of St. Vincent de Paul pre-restoration

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