The first grotto on the campus of St. Pius X High School, a special project of the late Deacon Rene Greivel, has come to fruition. Honoring the Servant of God Sr. Blandina Segale, S.C., the grotto was dedicated and blessed by Archbishop John C. Wester on Feb. 28, 2020. St. Pius X faculty, staff, students and honored guests including members of Greivel’s family also were present to witness the dedication. Click here to view a video of the dedication.

The stone grotto and garden just north of Senior Hill overlooking the city and the mountains were a 15-year dream and project of Greivel to promote Catholic faith, prayer and unity on campus. Greivel, at times chaplain and leader of campus ministry at St. Pius X for 15 years, worked to secure sufficient donations for the project and oversaw the construction of a garden, a grotto and the placement of three statues: one of Mary, one of Joseph and one of the Servant of God Sr. Blandina Segale, S.C.

Greivel was hospitalized at the time of the dedication and passed away on March 31, 2020. 

A serene place for prayer and reflection, the grotto provides teachers and their classes the opportunity for outdoor lessons or group prayer. St. Pius President Fr. John Trambley told students at the dedication that they might even want to stop by for a quick prayer before heading into the science building for one of Mr. Ball’s chemistry tests.

The Servant of God Sister Blandina Segale, a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati, was instrumental in the establishment of New Mexico schools and hospitals in the late-1870s to 1900 and whose cause for canonization was announced in 2014. Members of the Sisters of Charity participated the blessing ceremony.

When interviewed in 2019, Greivel said: “Sister Blandina was instrumental in bringing education to New Mexico. We want to honor her history in education in this part of the world. And what better than to honor on our campus the woman who will, God willing, be our first New Mexico saint.”

“The Hand of God has been with us throughout this process,” Greivel added. “At each point along the way, He led us to the next person who could help.” 

Deacon Greivel first conceived the idea of the grotto when he was assigned to the school about 15 years ago. He was able to complete the project with help from SPX staff along with funding and in-kind services from SPX parent Darren Beckett, the Hilltop Landscape Architects and Contractors, CHI St. Joseph, and Atlas Electrical Construction.