Across the parking lot from St. Peter Roman Catholic Church in Columbia, there's a tangible testament to patience and faith. Members of the church and community volunteers created a grotto, open to the public as a space for prayer and reflection.

The vision for the space began in 2021, when the church wanted to express thanks to the Blessed Mother for bringing it through the worst of the pandemic. Although the groundbreaking took place on Thanksgiving Day of 2021, it would take two more years before work began in earnest, and the project was just completed in mid-July.

Looking over the space, now called Our Lady of Grace Grotto, committee member Mike Sahd expressed amazement at the transformation of the area.

"There was nothing here before," he said. "It was all grass."

Sahd and other volunteers spent countless hours grading the site, installing a drain and completing other prep work for the grotto. Church member Tom Bentley, a carpenter, donated his time and all of the wood for the grotto, used to build benches and an archway entrance.

Although the group's members had a vision of what they wanted in terms of layout and design, they didn't necessarily have the skills or experience to bring it to fruition.

"We were all desk workers," Sahd said. "There was nobody in the parish who knew how to do some of the things."

The committee relied on Jim Jones, a local landscaper, to provide guidance on how to install pavers and how to organize the space efficiently. Jones suggested a centerpiece of a cross, surrounded by a rosary created out of stones in the ground. The grotto also includes a Blessed Mother altar, trees, solar-powered lights and a wall of engraved bricks, which the committee sold to fund the project.

Someone on the parish board had a connection to Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, and four students came with their instructor to install the bricks free of charge. A member of St. Leo the Great Catholic Church completed work on a storage building that abuts the space, including installing a new rainspout and new vinyl, and a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Columbia painted a mural on the side of the building that faces the parking lot.

Sahd said he hopes the grotto receives a lot of use, and he's already seen people praying in front of the altar or spending time in reflection on the benches.

"We don't care what religion you are, where you come from. It's open to the public," he stated. "I don't want this to just be for St. Peter's." The space is wheelchair accessible and easily entered from the parking lot next to the church off of Union Street in Columbia.

Sahd noted that Father Augustine Joseph was instrumental in overseeing the project, providing hands-on help throughout the construction.

"It turned out well, better than we imagined," Joseph said. "When I came here in 2021, the parishioners wanted to give thanks for the protection they received during COVID-19, and they wanted to build something in gratitude. This is a place where anyone can come to pray and experience the Lord."

St. Peter Roman Catholic Church is located at 121 S. Second St., Columbia.