Alum Completes Eagle Project in Memory of Classmate

By the Reardon family
November 11, 2020

If you’ve found yourself in Woodbury recently, you may have noticed the new Mary statue and grotto that now adorns the front of St. Ambrose Church. The project was the end result of a collaboration between the Parish of St. Ambrose and Jimmy Reardon '20 coming together in order to complete Jimmy’s Eagle Scout Project. An Eagle Scout Project is one of the culminating aspects of a Boy Scout career.

The story of how this grotto came to be has its origins in a family stop at Notre Dame University – upon the pilgrimage to the nationally-recognized grotto, Jimmy was inspired. He realized that building a grotto of his own at St. Ambrose for his Eagle Scout project would accomplish three things: one, it would be in a place important to him; two, it related to his Catholic faith; and three, it would be a project that he could regularly come back to in the years to come. After Jimmy pitched the idea of the grotto to St. Ambrose, Father Peter Williams, and Deacon Larry Amell, they were in full support and granted Jimmy permission to pursue the project.

While the parish would be responsible for the funding of the statue, Jimmy’s role would include removing the sod, mulching the nearby area, and building a pair of benches that were to reside in front of it.

The benches were first assembled and stained in November 2019 and remained in the Reardon family basement for over six months. They were finally installed in May after the Mary statue had also been installed.

Jimmy (who is currently a freshman at Iowa State University) noted the ideal timing of the conclusion of the project: “I think that this project came together at a great time, giving St. Ambrose parishioners a safe place to pray and reflect during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

The statue, its base, and the mulch that surrounds it was primarily funded through anonymous donations as well as from the St. Ambrose Men’s Club. The statue was chiseled in Florida and was made out of Italian marble. The tracks of the crane that was used to move it could still be seen when the benches were first installed, which really showcased just how heavy the person-sized statue is. Jimmy couldn’t be any more pleased with the results. “Overall,” he said, “I would say that the project was very successful, and it still leaves room for further improvements for other potential Troop 9005 Eagle Scouts to consider.”

In November of 2019, one of Jimmy’s senior classmates at Cretin-Derham Hall, Paige Bullis, tragically passed away in her sleep. This was a very difficult time for the whole senior class, and it occurred only a week after Jimmy began his project. He knew that he wanted to commemorate Paige in some way through this project, so that along with the statue, her memory can also last forever. This led him to add an “In Memoriam” plaque for Paige, which then was placed onto one of the hand-made benches. Every time Jimmy or others go to the Mary statue to pray, they can also think of Paige, and pray for her and ask her to pray for them. Live Jesus in our hearts - Forever.