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Did you know there is a grotto inside All Saints Church in Albany? 

Well, it might be made of paper, but it is still drawing great attention!

The parish’s grotto, displayed inside a large niche in the back of the church space, is complete with stacks of stone rocks (made from crushed, paper lawn bags) and a waterfall (made of blue, velvet fabric) that flows along the display, filled with rosaries, flowers and candles. With the trickling sounds of the baptismal font a few feet away, you can almost imagine water running along the indoor display and pooling at the feet of the statue of Mother Mary, to which the space holds homage. 

Fortunately, All Saints was well prepared for the project thanks to Assunto “Dino” Barbato, 80, who has been decorating the church for over 40 years. 

The grotto is the newest niche Barbato has been working on with Clare Carroll, parish volunteer and council member. Carroll got the idea to start decorating some of the niches in the past year, and since has started working with Barbato to bring their visions to life. 

“I started helping to decorate the back, larger niche and just had all these visions,” she said. “I thought of the grotto and I immediately thought of Dino. We got the materials and our vision came out beautifully. We worked so well together, it was just magic.”

Born and raised in Italy, outside of Naples, Barbato came to the United States when he was 20. He has been a parishioner at All Saints for 40 years. As he likes to put it: “The same place, the same seat.”

A tailor by trade, Barbato has always had an eye for decoration and design. For years, he would build a massive Nativity scene inside the cellar of his family’s house, which eventually caught the attention of Schenectady’s Daily Gazette some 20 years ago. 

After the All Saints’ pastor at the time saw Barbato’s Nativity in the paper, he asked if he could build a similar display for the church. Ever since, it’s been a decoration parishioners look forward to at Christmas.

“I did the best I can, and now every year I do the same thing,” he said. “Everybody loves it.” 

At Easter, Barbato and Carroll helped turn the large niche (that currently holds the grotto) into a cave made of the same paper lawn bags, spray painted to look like rocks.

Clare Carroll and Dino Barbato in front of the Easter display at All Saints. (Provided photo)

“It’s very welcoming, it draws people in,” she said. “People talk about it (and) it opens up your doors more. We’re trying to live through our little niches … We’re living our faith visually, as real as possible.” 

The duo is already coming up with new ideas for how to fill the church niches. But for now, the grotto isn’t going anywhere too fast. 

“It’s just something to really make it real and touchable, something that’s a good visual,” Carroll said. “It brings you as close to the experience as you can.” 

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