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The Dominican Foundation of the Province of St. Joseph has graciously offered to donate a statue of St. Joseph to our parish, in order to honor our mutual patron saint.
Our pastor, Fr. John McGuire, O.P., has consulted with the Pastoral Council about the best placement for this new shrine within our historic church. After reviewing several options and discussing the matter at two meetings, the Pastoral Council has recommended moving the Blessed Sacrament to the wall behind the altar. The shrine to St. Joseph will be placed in the Blessed Sacrement's current location. The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be similarly placed to the right of the sanctuary, where the piano is currently kept when not used during Mass. The piano will then be placed in front of the first pew in the place currently occupied by the statue of Mary.
Architectural elements from the previous major renovation will be encorporated into these changes. Specifically, the design of the frame around the mural of the Transfiguration will be incorporated into the designs for both statue's shrines and for the placement of the Blessed Sacrament.
We encourage you to look at the before/after architectural renderings of these changes in the photos below, which have also been on display in the vestibule.
Note that the statue of St. Joseph is not the one being carved for our church, but the rendering will give you the idea of the placement. Commissioned from an artist in the Phillippines, the actual statue will feature both St. Joseph and Jesus as an older child, focusing on St. Joseph's fatherhood. The artist has been sent photographs of a number of fathers and sons from our own parish to use as inspiration for the statue.
Small replicas of the statues will be available for parishioners and to raise funds for the Dominican Foundation, which will pay for all costs of this renovation, as well as give our parish an annual "rent" for hosting this shrine.
These changes will occur in June, with the hope of being able to dedicate the statue on Father's Day. -
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