FORT SMITH, Ark. — On Sunday, the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Fort Smith held a blessing ceremony for a newly built grotto with a statue of Mother Mary in the middle after it was struck by a car last July.
"I was quite shocked when several months ago, somebody told me that somebody hit the statue," parishioner Mile Elsken said. "I expected it to be just a little dent, but the statue was pretty much destroyed. Miraculously, and I believe that, Mary was saved."
According to the church’s Facebook page, the grotto was rebuilt in November 2023 and the church received a new statue last week.
Deacon Brad Brown said the original statue of Mary was, for the most part, left untouched. It was moved to a new area of the church.
"When we started moving all the rocks away, we found the statue and it was totally unharmed," Brown said. "The car hit this grotto with a lot of impact, so we're very thankful that the statue was not."
Parishioners of the church showed their support for the new structure by leaving flowers, singing hymns, and praying. Father Mario Jacobo concluded the ceremony by blessing the statue with holy water.
Elsken, who attended the St. Boniface Catholic School as a child and regularly attends mass today, said the new statue brings back good memories.
"I just think that it was important for us to be here because of the history, and all the memories I have of the school, because of that statue," Elsken said.
Brown said this statue helped protect the building it stands in front of and is a powerful symbol for the church.
"It's been in front of the school all these years," Brown said. "Essentially, our blessed Mother has been watching over this school and all the children that have been playing here over the course of the years."
Despite the hardship of having to rebuild, Brown said he believes it was a blessing in disguise.
"What's really profound is that the grotto had started to deteriorate over the years because of how old it was," Brown said. "Out of tragedy, sometimes comes blessings."
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