A Tribute to St. Vincent de Paul and His Works

We hope you have noticed the new statue of St. Vincent de Paul that now graces the music space near the organ. The dedication and blessing will take place this weekend. The statue was scheduled for delivery some time in December before Christmas, and everyone is delighted it was brought in earlier. As mentioned in Fr. Peter’s message last week, the piece is the culmination of a lengthy process through the commitment of the parish conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and the generosity of parishioners who contributed to the fundraising campaign. The efforts of President Phyllis Pottinger and the members of the ministry have now made this vision a reality.

The statue was created by sculptor Timothy Schmalz of Toronto, Canada. For over 25 years he has been sculpting large scale pieces that have been installed worldwide; some of his most reputed pieces can be seen in historical churches in Rome and at the Vatican. The sculpture itself sits on a base fashioned by Paul Sepp from sections of mahogany and a baptismal font from the late 1960’s made of oak and granite, all pieces original to St. Francis parish. It has been repurposed, sanded down, stained and lacquered to bring out the depth in the wood, and rebuilt into a new foundation so the statue is clearly visible in its location.

This tribute to St. Vincent de Paul recalls his compassion, humility, and generosity through his dedication to serving the poor. May we all be reminded of his example this holiday season.