Part of seventeen acres purchased from a Mr. Triplet in the 1960's, this ground first held a half-built house with a basement used as a home, later renovated into a multi-purpose parish space with a small kitchen for meetings, religious education classes, social activities, and bingo before the building was torn down in 1984. On Sunday, October 25, 1992, a newly installed statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of "The Immaculate Conception" was blessed by Father Michael J. Ruane and crowned by Molly Applegate after the 10:15 a.m. Mass, in a ceremony with a procession, Marian hymns, flowers at the base of the statue, and the recitation of the rosary. The gigantic rosary used that day was provided by Joe Sirera and the Notre Dame Council of the Knights of Columbus in Baltimore. The five-foot-high, five-hundred-pound Carrara marble statue was imported from Carrara, Italy, ordered through Townler Corporation of Elberton, Georgia, and took nearly fourteen months to deliver. It cost $3,358.25, and Raymond G. Merkle, Inc. received and set it on the pedestal for $350.00. The St. Michael's Men's Club, led at the time by president Kelvin Kelly, sponsored the project, raised funds for the outdoor grotto, landscaping, and beautification, and with skilled friends constructed the foundation and pedestal and created the landscaped setting. The site was further enhanced with annual and perennial flowers and trees, including memorial plantings for Al Onaitis, Frank Panneton, and Victoria Cocuzzi Utterback, two stone benches, and an adjacent church sign built and installed by Rick Rollyson. Buzz Claggett coordinated the grotto project, Dave Milburn and Jim Onaitis designed the landscaping, Art Lyons, Jack Lyons, Vince Kirchner, Phil Abel, and Nick Campanile assisted, Henry Hamilton and Dave Richardson built the marble pedestal, and Skip and Bill of nearby Piccirilli Quarries donated the marble. The grotto was intended to provide a place of prayerful reflection and to acknowledge Mary's esteemed place in the Church as the mother of the Redeemer and as a sign of sure hope and solace for the pilgrim people of God.