After many months of planning and preparation, the parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Wickford has unveiled a beautiful new grotto dedicated to its patron saint. On the Feast of the Assumption the grotto was blessed and on 30 August, after evening Mass, Parish priest Fr Britto Belevendran dedicated and blessed the new statue of Our Lady of Good Counsel which is to be placed within it. As part of that moving ceremony, parishioners renewed their commitment to their faith community and the Church.
The statue of Our Lady was then carried in solemn procession through the aisles of the church, to be seen by the many parishioners who had come for the occasion. She was then installed in the new grotto, built on the piazza in front of the church.
This was the culmination of many months of preparation, in raising the funds by donation, ordering the statue and then waiting for it to be made by St Anthony’s Architects in Kerala, India. Says parishioner Tom Lee: “By happy coincidence it all came to completion on the final weekend of Fr Britto’s two years with us. He has encouraged, led, guided and overseen the project throughout.”
Also, by happy coincidence, say parishioners, it has all taken place in the early months of the papacy of Pope Leo XIV. The Augustinian Friars, the Order to which Pope Leo belongs, look after the original Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano near Rome. One of his first visits, after his inaugural Mass as Pope, was to that very shrine. His devotion to her is an open secret.
“The original statue was donated by our traveller community who also contributed generously to the grotto and whose devotion is an example to us all,” adds Tom. “We as a parish are forever grateful to all who contributed to the grotto, which will surely bring many blessings to our parish and inspire growing devotion to our Blessed Mother.”