San Pablo, Our Sister Parish

The Story of the Stations of the Cross

     A commitment was made to bring a set of the Stations of the Cross to our sister parish in the Dominican Republic. On December 10, 2007 Father John and Pat Adams drove to St. Williams Church in Dorcester (home to all of the religious artifacts and belongings from the closed parishes in the diocese) in the hopes of finding a set to take with us in January.

We saw immediately that many of the stations were problematic in terms of size, weight, damaged areas, or incomplete sets. As we looked around and carefully perused the church, we noticed a collection of large, dark brown-colored stations on the floor, carefully propped up against a wall. They were beautiful in color and distinct in design, the frame around each station depicting the wounds of Christ along the top border. We realized, however, that because of their size it would be impossible to carry them on board a plane. Then, lo and behold, off to the side, Father John noticed that one of these stations had fallen out of the frame, probably during their move from the walls of St. Andrew the Apostle approximately eight years ago. This station was badly damaged but was secured and wrapped onto a strong piece of foam board. This was a blessing as it drew our attention to the fact that the station was actually a separate insert to the frame and that each station could be removed from its’ frame, making each light-weight and small enough to bring along on the plane!

The fourteen stations were brought to St. John’s, and on Saturday morning, standing in the cold of the garage, Mark O’Hara carefully tapped each station away from its frame and all survived without damage. Father John, Mike and Debbie Ryan, Frank Valente, Mark O’Hara and I carefully cleaned each piece with a mild dishwashing liquid. A microfiber polishing cloth was then used to thoroughly dry each one. The subsequent shine was striking indeed!

Mike Ryan’s son Stephen constructed an enclosed wooden frame around the sides and back to protect the exposed plastered edges, create a mechanism for hanging on the walls of the chapel, and, in addition, beautifully add to the presentation and aesthetics! Everyone agreed that Stephen’s work was masterful. The one broken station remained a concern, and on a suggestion from parishioner Claudette Yutkins, the station was brought to the Hannah Shop in Beverly by Pat Adam and Frank Valente. An estimate was provided and, with Father John’s approval, the work was completed in a few short days. Incredibly, the station was restored to the best possible condition. To the naked eye the repair was unnoticeable!

Frank, Mark and Mike were very busy during the week, sanding and staining the wooden frames. The final stage of polyurethane was brushed on and the preparation was almost over. Claudette Yutkins delicately touched up any small spots of exposed plaster with paint and the entire set looked brand new. Frank Valente made fourteen small wooden crosses to place above each as we hung them on the walls of the chapel and Claudette numbered each cross with Roman numerals.

The next hurdle to overcome was how to transport 14 stations on a plane to the Dominican Republic. Ideas were tossed around, and different options were raised and discarded as fruitless. As we talked, each of us realized how concerned we were for the safe arrival of each station to the Dominican Republic. No one wanted anything to happen to them; they were stunning indeed and we wanted them to arrive without damage! And so, after checking with American Airlines about the dimensions of the overhead compartment on our plane, Marcelle O’Hara purchased some vinyl fabric and subsequently made, by hand, 7 carry-on bags for the flight. Red-and-white stripped vinyl bags slung over the shoulders of our group made us stand out in the crowd for sure! In fact, as we boarded the plane, the stewardess asked politely how many pizzas we brought onboard, as the bags resembled a delivery! As we showed her the stations and talked about the restoration project in St. Joseph Chapel, it was amazing to witness her genuine delight in what we were doing in our sister parish.

Suddenly, we realized that this journey was going to be memorable and remain forever in our hearts!Truly the restoration of these stations was a labor of love….from our parish to each person in the community of St. Joseph chapel.

We feel blessed to have been a part of it all.

Written by Pat Adam, St. Joseph chapel restoration project co-chairperson.