The Rev. Gustav Gollbach, O.M.I. - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

On a side street in Rio Grande City, Texas is an Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto built to resemble the Shrine of Lourdes in southern France. As the traffic speeds by on US 90, only a few blocks away, this man-made cave is a peaceful, beautiful respite from the world.

It is pincipally the work of one man, the Rev. Gustav Gollbach, who was born in Germany, but spent most of his life in this part of Texas. Gollbach served in churches around Texas for nearly 20 years after his ordination in 1906, before before being sent to Rio Grande City. It was while he was there, serving as pastor the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church for 13 years, that he began the work that draws many even today.

The Grotto is a man made mountain, standing 33 feet high and 90 feet wide, and Gollbach, a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate order, built much of the mountain himself. The rocks were gathered from around nearby Roma with petrified wood found near Escobares. Concrete posts were etched to look like tree branches and the walls are decorated with native plants from the surrounding desert. In the center of the grotto, a 7-foot-tall statue of the Madonna in a white gown with a blue sash looks down on a life-size statue of the poor French peasant girl kneeling in prayer.

Some people hurry through life, passing by much, but never seeing or knowing anything. Others are creators, people with a dream and a vision. Rev. Gollbach left a legacy because he was a visonary, leaving something for future generations. As is often the case, this historical marker notes something most people are unaware of, but it is a story worth knowing.

The pathway leading to the Grotto

The Grotto

This marker is also unique in the sense that there are two markers at this location that are identical. One is in English, the other in Spanish.

Spanish version

Both markers along with the Oblate Trail marker.

Marker Number: 5411 Marker Text: (September 24, 1878-December 26, 1955) A native of Germany, Gustav Gollbach was ordained a priest in the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Order on April 21, 1906. He immigrated to Texas soon after his ordination, and served churches in Del Rio, Castroville, Mercedes, San Benito, and Ballinger before coming to Rio Grande City in 1924. Serving as pastor of Immaculate Conception Church until 1937, he built a replica of the Grotto Shrine at Lourdes, France, using petrified wood and native stone from the Roma area. Dedicated in 1928, it has become an important historic site in the Rio Grande Valley.

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