Photo by Skip Lawrence The Rev. Jack Lombardi, center, leads a rededication service at the Grotto of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, where repairs have been completed after recent vandalism.

About 50 people attended the Monday afternoon ceremony, led by the Rev. Jack Lombardi, to consecrate the bronze cross, which had been taken from over the shrine's main altar and thrown into a nearby creek, said Msgr. Stuart Swetland, vice president for Catholic identity and mission at Mount St. Mary's University. Father William B. Cavanaugh originally donated the crucifix in memory of his mother.

Two 20-year-old men were found smashing candles and glass after trying to set a fire on the grotto's altar about 3 a.m. Feb. 10. Public safety officers later found the bronze crucifix in the creek.

Timothy A. Hines of Silver Spring and Jesse R. Huston of Derwood were detained by Frederick County Sheriff's deputies at the scene and charged with malicious destruction of property, trespassing and defacing religious property. The two are not affiliated with the university.

The grotto, part of the Mount campus, draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year and has remained open during the repair. The shrine has been in use since the early 1800s when Father John Dubois, the university's founder, established it as a place of prayer and devotion, according to the university's website. The shrine is surrounded by statues, altars and other objects donated in memory of loved ones.

Swetland said he does not remember any other cases of vandalism at the grotto.