Thanks to the donation from a parishioner at Holy Family Parish in Woodruff, a new playground has been installed on the church grounds. Parishioners volunteered their time to prepare the space. The parish is also in the fundraising stage for an outdoor prayer grotto, hoping to make it a destination across the Upper Midwest region. (Submitted photo)
Jenny Snarski
Catholic Herald Staff
In late July, parish families gathered to participate in the blessing, dedication and inauguration of a new play structure at Woodruff’s Holy Family Parish. Afterwards, they celebrated with food and fellowship as the children played.
While not part of the same project, the parish has another outdoor endeavor underway. Holy Family has started the process of planning for and building a prayer grotto patterned after many worldwide grottos. There are very few grottos in northern Wisconsin, much less in the entire state or in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
A team of parishioners embarked on changing this. As one of the organizers, Ric Johnson, shared, “The grotto is envisioned as an outdoor place of prayer, not only for local Catholics, but also for visitors, pilgrims and anyone who wants to pray with the saints, make an appeal to Mother Mary, or place their petitions before God.”
Johnson explained that the seven-member planning team, headed by parishioner Steve Humblet and Fr. Jerry Hagen, “hopes that in creating this holy place, people of any faith—even those struggling or without faith, but acknowledging their special needs—will be able to come and place their minds and hearts with intentions before God.”
It is also the committee’s intention that this grotto is to be a powerful tool of evangelization for the Catholic faith to witness to their community 24 hours a day, even if the church is closed.
“Being an outdoor space, everyone will be welcome. People don’t need to be Catholic to come to this holy place,” Johnson said.
The grotto is planned for a wooded area adjacent to the current church building on Hwy. J in Woodruff. Construction will be funded through private donations, with $151,000 donated toward the $400,000 overall goal. Donors are being offered the opportunity to sign the back of one of the granite stones that will line the face of the grotto.
Project funding is divided into three phases. The first, now fully funded, includes the stone grotto structure. The second, a bronze Holy Family statue, will be reached at $300,000, with the last $100,000 funding the third phase of landscaping and supporting statuary.
Final material choices and statuary will depend on the success of fundraising efforts. Johnson noted how expensive they can be, but added, “They can also be awe-inspiring, and our team would like people to come to the grotto and be inspired, as well as comforted by God’s love.”
Fr. Hagen has encouraged the committee to plan the grotto with accessibility in mind to allow for everyone to make use of the space and opportunity for prayer. The decision to locate it in a wooded area just east of the church building was made because of the existing parking and level-ground access for those who use wheelchairs or walkers.
A rosary walk has also been proposed as part of the project.
Holy Family Church is already home to a St. Francis Prayer Walk, which includes 10 stations focused on a particular event marking the saint’s spiritual belief. At the request of former pastor Fr. Jim Hoffman, LeeAnn Niebuhr, another parishioner and Secular Franciscan, conceived of and designed the walk. Wendy Ulfig, a Secular Franciscan of the parish, commented that it is “beautiful with the tall pines, luscious ferns and of course, whitetail deer.”
Ulfig shared that the Secular Franciscans began planting flowers and shrubs to enhance the various stations. A large statue of St. Francis has also been purchased and is scheduled to be placed at the walk’s entrance in August.
Given that 2026 marks the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death, the Secular Franciscans will host guided walks after Masses the weekend of Oct. 3-4. Booklets with guided meditations, biographical information and reflections on St. Francis, including some of his writings, are available.
The local Knights of Columbus chapter has been improving and upgrading this existing prayer walk, Johnson said, which includes refinishing benches, the gazebo and pathway signage.
The committee’s goal is to break ground on the grotto this fall, with a dedication in spring or early summer 2027. Anyone interested in learning more about the project or making a financial contribution can contact Humblet at 715-892-1740, or the parish office at 715-356-6284.
