Since 2012, The Grotto has operated as St. Anthony's campus ministry house serving the students of Hillsdale College.  Since opening, our numbers for every sort of event have gone in only one direction: up.

 

Last school year, we broke numerous attendance records. When the weather cooperated, we had over 200 students at our Convivium nights (weekly dinner and a lecture) and up to 75 at daily Mass. Throughout our five hours of weekly Adoration, students would be lined up waiting for a turn before Our Lord in the chapel—there just wasn’t space for everyone who wanted to adore Him. The chapel and living room were regularly full for evening Rosary as well, and steady streams of students came to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament during daily open hours. When the door was unlocked at 7:30 a.m., there were always students waiting to pray before Our Lord. We have every reason to believe this "demand" will continue.

 

Our great limitation, however, is space.

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These photos show how our ministry has outgrown our house. In the fall and spring, as many events as possible (including Mass) are held outside where we can accommodate more people. In the cooler months, students leave their shoes and belongings on the front porch (when it’s not snowing) to maximize interior space. During one fall Convivium lecture last year—when it was too cold to send everyone outside but warm enough to have a window open—students were literally standing outside of an open window to hear the evening’s talk. 

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We know that we are missing opportunities to serve Hillsdale students because we don’t have enough room to comfortably welcome them to The Grotto.