One year ago, only a storm sewer existed in an otherwise empty patch of grass at Saint Xavier High School. Now, it’s a sacred space known as The Grotto of the Holy Companions. Metal silhouettes stand in representation of St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Peter Faber, St. Francis Xavier and a student.

“It was really important for the kids to see themselves as part of the Holy Companions,” explained the president of St. Xavier, Tim Reilly. Cut from steel, each silhouette is four feet wide, seven feet tall and an inch thick. Kevin Brady, a 1994 graduate and the school’s Makerspace Coordinator, designed the silhouettes.
Brady has a background in industrial manufacturing and a degree in industrial design. He previously owned an art studio with his wife. He views this project as some of his most significant work.

“It’s really kind of an incredible feeling,” he says.

Seven plaques are also posted at the grotto, inscribed with the Hail Mary in the seven different languages taught by the school. When the grotto was dedicated last fall, students recited the prayer in each of those languages.

“The goal was to make it feel inclusive,” said Reilly. “Every [language] is spoken in somebody’s home here.”

The grotto also holds a statue of the Blessed Mother, perched on a rock with the school chapel’s windows as the backdrop. At Reilly’s request, the statue was inspired by the image of Our Lady of Montserrat. It was created by well-known sculptor Tom Tsuchiya, whose popular works include the Pete Rose statue outside Great American Ball Park.

“[Reilly] wanted a figure of the Madonna that could basically speak with the students,” said Tsuchiya, “[that could] connect with the students in a way that they [would] say, ‘That could be my mother.”’

The statue took about nine months to complete. Tsuchiya started by creating a small clay model. Once approved, he digitally scanned the design, enlarged it to a scale of five and a half feet tall and recreated the figure out of foam. Tsuchiya then enlisted the help of a St. Xavier art class.

“A number of students got involved to apply a thin layer of clay onto the sculpture,” said Tsuchiya.

Back at his studio, Tsuchiya refined it and then took it to the bronze foundry. The foundry made a mold, cast the statue and added the blue-green patina.
“I really love how the design worked out,” he said. “[It] can be appreciated from many different angles.”

The Grotto of Holy Companions invites spiritual growth for the young men who attend St. Xavier.

“It’s another space for devotion, contemplation and reflection,” said Reilly.

For Brady, it’s that and more.

“My dad went here. My grandpa went here. I’m expecting my sons to go here,” he said. “It’s a really good feeling to get to be
a part of the history of the school in a small way.”

This article appeared in the April 2025 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here