An outdoor shrine, also known as a grotto, planned for the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Park Hills has become the center of a high-stakes legal battle — one that Kentucky’s attorney general and 19 other states want the U.S. Supreme Court to hear.
The Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist, which operates the parish, received city approval in 2021 to build the grotto — a small dome-topped structure sheltering a statue of the Virgin Mary, surrounded by a prayer plaza, walking path and retaining wall.
For parishioners, it would serve as a quiet place for prayer before and after Mass…