Bienvenue & Welcome to our “New” Stations of the Cross
Having celebrated the birth of Christ, soon we will be preparing for Lent and the Passion of Christ. One of the beautiful traditions of the Catholic Church is praying the Stations of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa, the way Jesus took through Jerusalem to Calvary.
At St. Anthony’s Chapel, the outdoor Stations of the Cross are being restored by parishioner David Hornberger. Originally handcrafted as an Eagle Scout project by Andre Klaes, David is revitalizing the stations by burning in new etching along the current design as well as painting in haloes, combining varnish with gold paint from his grandfather. David is consulting with Andre to preserve his original intent at each step. The restored Stations will be back in place for Lent.
We are excited to have a new set of Stations here as well. After a few hurdles and roadblocks, Alex Navas discovered a beautiful set of Stations online. These Stations are works of art that are approximately 150 years old and were saved from a Church in France that was either being closed or demolished. Working with a clearinghouse for religious items throughout the world, the parish acquired this set of Stations. They were first imported to the contact in Kentucky, where they were inspected and their condition was confirmed; then they were shipped here in three crates, each weighing 500 lbs.
The Stations arrived in Grand Haven on Dec. 15. and with the help of a team of parishioners and a forklift, each station was carefully unpacked and carted up to the parish office where they will be stored until they are ready for installation. We will work with a restoration expert to clean, retouch and repair the stations. We give thanks for the generous donor who gave money to replace the current stations. Additional funds are needed for touch-up & installation, if you would like to contribute. We are also contacting Fr. Roosevelt about sending our current stations to Haiti as another connection for our parishes.
These French Stations will be installed by Ash Wednesday (March 2) so that they can assist in our Lenten prayers and preparations for Easter. With both sets of Stations, we are blessed with beautiful art that, through prayer and reflections, can help us to know, love, and serve Jesus more deeply.
