The Virgin Mary grotto ruins are located at the Collège Saint-Alexandre in Cantley Québec. The grotto was built in 1910 by the local Jesuit priests.
The building in which the school is housed was built in 1850 by Alonzo Wright. It was at first used as a manor for parties. Wright died in 1894. After the death of his wife in 1904, the property was bought by Jesuit priests fleeing secularization in France. They sought to turn the building into a private institution where they would teach classical studies, including philosophy, Greek, and Latin. In 1912, it would become the Collège Saint-Alexandre, which was founded by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. In 1967, the classical courses were abolished after extensive reforms by the Quebec government during the Quiet Revolution, in which the province acquired a large role in the jurisdiction of education. Priests have gradually stopped teaching, and today the institutions is as secular as public schools. In 1988–89, the first female students were admitted to the College; the first group finished the secondary level in 1993.
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