The birthplace of the grotto movement is no doubt the Saints Peter and Paul Church in West Bend, Iowa, home to The Grotto of the Redemption. This "Mother of all Grottos" takes up an entire city block and contains nine contiguous grottos that illustrate the story of the Redemption, from the Fall of Man to the Resurrection. It is said to be the largest collection of semiprecious stones, minerals, and petrified materials in the world, and it valued at $4.3 million. It should be seen at night as well as during the day.

The grotto was meant as a way for German-born Paul Dobberstein to give thanks. Dobberstein, who came to the United States in 1893 to study for the priesthood at St. Francis Seminary near Milwaukee, suffered a severe case of pneumonia. Should he get well, he promised to build a shrine to honor the Blessed Virgin. While the Grotto of the Redemption is the culmination of that promise, a small stone grotto honoring "Our Lady of Lourdes" was built at the seminary in 1894, and some people also attribute it to Dobberstein.

As parish priest at Saint Peter and Paul's Church, Dobberstein began to stockpile massive amounts of fieldstone, rocks, and boulders in 1901, but he did not begin to build in earnest until 1912. He continued work on the grotto until his death in 1954. Dobberstein attributed the grotto tradition to the Middle Ages, when shepherds attending their flocks in the hills sought refuge from storms in natural grottos, or caves. There, they adorned the interiors with holy pictures and crucifixes, placing them over small altars to give the appearance of a church sanctuary.

Father Dobberstein, as someone educated in geology, knew his rocks and minerals. He learned to embed his colorful minerals into concrete panels and then assemble them to form many shrines and grottos. Matt Szerensce assisted Dobberstein, starting in 1912 and continuing until his death in 1959. Together the men made frequent trips to the Black Hills and elsewhere, excavating railroad carloads of rocks, minerals, and precious stones. Father Louis Greving, who was assigned to the parish in 1946, also helped complete the grotto, working until his recent retirement. Because Dobberstein was also commissioned to construct many smaller grottos for Catholic churches and convents in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois, his handiwork can be seen in small towns around the Midwest.