Carfin Grotto

Visitors are welcome at the Carfin Pilgrimage Center at the gate of the Grotto. Here they can stop for refreshments, information and souvenirs.

Inside the entrance to the Grotto stands the statue of Mary, Mother of Jesus,

Carfin Grotto was built in the 1920's by local unemployed miners, under the inspiration of the then Parish priest, Monsignor Thomas Nimmo Taylor after returning from a national Scottish pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1920. Work was initiated on an acre of waste ground belonging to the parish to build Carfin's own Lourdes Grotto, utilizing local volunteers and the labor of idle miners during the Strike of 1921. After much hard work, the Grotto opened on October 1st, 1922, as a sacred place of pilgrimage which could attract as many as 50,000 people in one day.

The parish of Carfin is dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier.
Above are pictures taken inside the chapel..

	A quiet spot on the grounds. This courtyard leads to the cave, shown below with the sculpture of the body of Christ after the crucifixion.

The Crucifixion scene Not far from the courtyard is another favorite stop for tourist. In the Spring and Summer this area is covered with beautiful flowers.
	Around the corner and up the hill from our last stop is the monument dedicated the Polish World War II dead.
The Ukrainian Monument ON THE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EXODUS FROM THEIR HOMELAND THE UKRAINIANS IN SCOTLAND DEDICATE THIS MEMORIAL TO THE SUFFERING CHURCH OF CHRIST IN UKRAINE THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS STRUGGLING FOR RELIGIOUS AND NATIONAL RIGHTS AND ALL WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES FOR CHRIST AND THE FREEDOM OF UKRAINE
The Glass Chapel In memory of the passengers aboard the "Maid of the Seas" which crashed over Lockerbie. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is held daily in the Shrine's Glass Chapel Home Meet Our True Braveheart Memories and Tributes McGill's Travels Photos Links Read Guest Book Sign Guest Book