Station VII - St. Bernard Abbey - Cullman, AL - Relief Art Sculptures on Waymarking.com

County of art: Cullman County
Location of art: St. Bernard Drive SE, ¼ mile S. of US-278, Cullman
Location of stations: St. Bernard Abby, along the path between the grotto and the Abby Cemetery

"Much of what you see – from the sanctuary to sacred vessels, altar rail, crucifix, confessionals and Stations of the Cross – was designed and constructed in Madrid, Spain." ~ Alabama Tourism

"The history of Saint Bernard Abbey is a rich one. In the 1840s monks from Metten Abbey in Germany, a monastery founded c. 700 A.D., came to America to plant the Benedictine monastic life in the United States and to minister to the growing German-speaking immigrant population. St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, became the first foundation, and in the 1870s monks from St. Vincent were sent to Alabama to serve the needs of German Catholics here. In 1891 those monks gathered to establish St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama. One year later, 1892, a school was opened at the new Abbey.

"At overlapping intervals from 1892 to 1979 the monks operated a high school, junior college, four-year college, and seminary. The present St. Bernard Preparatory School, opened in 1984, is the recipient of this Catholic educational heritage.

"In 1934 the Ave Maria Grotto, a religious devotional creation of Brother Joseph Zoetle, O.S.B., was dedicated in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Abbey grounds. This garden walk through Brother Joseph’s miniature replicas of famous Old Testament and Christian buildings has welcomed visitors every day since. Most famous among the miniatures are the buildings of ancient Jerusalem, thus the creation’s popular name “Little Jerusalem”.

"In 1981 the monks opened the St. Bernard Abbey Retreat and Conference Center. This center welcomes religious retreat and pilgrim groups as well as Abbey guests, school groups, and others." ~ St. Bernad Abby