About the Grotto
Did you know that there is a 62-acre shrine, The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, (aka “The Grotto”) located here in Portland, Oregon? The Grotto is a Roman Catholic ministry of the Order of Friar Servants of Mary and during 2019, The Grotto hosted roughly 375,000 visitors.
It is considered amongst the top attractions to visit within Oregon.
Highlights:
- Acres of beautifully landscaped lower and upper-level gardens
- The Grotto cave (where outdoor masses are held), a wide array of impressive religious art, 5 shrines of Mary, Via Matris (The Via Matris, The Way of Our Sorrowful Mother, is a centuries-old Servite devotion.
- Similar to the Stations of the Cross, the Via Matris focuses on seven moments in the lives of Mary and her son, Jesus), meditation chapel, St. Anne’s Chapel and more. Do not miss the upper gardens! It has been described as something out of a book
- St. Mary’s Chapel, built 1955 and recently restored 2021. This impressive basilica style catholic church holds 457
- Gift Shop – This Christian Gift Shop is one of the few throughout the region.
- Coffee – The Grotto now sells its own coffee and guests may purchase coffee at the gift shop. It’s good!
- Annually, The Grotto hosts a wide array of special events: concerts, weddings, pilgrimages, tours, other special events and the always popular Christmas Festival of Lights
About “Friends of the Grotto”
Get Annual Family Admission (6 people) to The Grotto’s Upper Level Gardens, discounts to The Grotto Gift Shop, access to special events and perpetual enrollment in The Grotto Guild of Masses and Prayer. There are various levels to participate.
Benefits include:
- Annual Family Admission (6 people) to The Grotto’s Upper Level Gardens
- Year-long 10% discount coupon to The Grotto Gift Shop
- Four tickets to the Christmas Festival of Lights, good any night
- Two tickets to the Friends of The Grotto Appreciation Reception (Date TBA)
- Opportunity to order tickets to The Grotto’s special events in advance
- A perpetual enrollment in The Grotto Guild of Masses and Prayer
To learn more about the various levels and benefits available, please visit >> https://thegrotto.org/shop/giving/friends-of-the-grotto/
To learn more about the Grotto’s history, visit >> https://thegrotto.org/our-history/
More About Jordan
Jordan Turel has spent 20 years serving within program and project roles within business and nonprofit industries. He thrives in drawing together talented teams and delivering impactful results through project leadership, strategic business analysis and executive advisement.
Some career accomplishments include:
- At Door to Grace – Led efforts that introduced systematic change for the entire Oregon foster care system (7,000 families) with first-ever online anti-sex trafficking training reaching all Oregon foster care families and caregivers (3rd state in US to do so).
- Wells Fargo Bank – Managed the highest performing customer experience team in the nation, from inception, to meet deadlines in closing 15,000+ customer cases, complying with federal regulations and saving the bank millions of dollars as part of a change management effort.
- Piloted efficiencies that guided results, provided ongoing customer ROI, value proposition and business goals that placed value on client relationships.
- Jordan pivoted into the technology sector where he currently works as a Customer Success Manager at Corvel.
Jordan is an MBA graduate from the University of Portland, class of 2018. In his off time, he loves exploring and adventuring with his grade school aged son.