The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption is a religious shrine located in West Bend, Iowa, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City.
West bend is located in the center of a vast, level expanse of Iowa farmland. It is located northwest of Fort Dodge about midway between the busy state highways.
A conglomeration of nine grottos depicting scenes in the life of Jesus, the Grotto contains a large collection of minerals and petrifications and is believed to be the largest grotto in the world.[2]
It is also "considered to be the world's most complete man-made collection of minerals, fossils, shells, and petrifications in one place." The total value of all the rocks and
…show more content…
After his recovery, he began stockpiling rocks and precious stones. Construction of the grotto began in 1912 and continued year round for 42 years.
Father Dobberstein used the knowledge and skills gained during construction of his first grotto honoring Our Lady of Lourdes, while training at St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin.
His method was to set fancy rocks and gems into concrete. In 1946, Father Louis Greving began helping Dobberstein with the construction.
The grotto covered an area the size of a city block when Dobberstein died in 1954. Matt Szerensce helped work on the grotto until his retirement in 1959.Construction still continues and has been maintained by Deacon Gerald Streit since 1994.
Father Dobberstein's works inspired Mathias Wernerus (who also attended St. Francis Seminary) to build the Dickeyville Grotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin, in 1930 thus starting the grotto building movement in America. As of August 1, 2015, the grotto has been raised to the status of diocesan shrine by R. Walker Nickless, Bishop of Sioux