Replica of the Cross of the Stigmata installed
SALT LAKE CITY — From the crucifix Christ looks out with open eyes, head raised, halo bright, his wounds visible but inconsequential against his serene visage. This is Christus triumphans, the divine Christ triumphant over death, the image before which St. Catherine of Siena prayed while on a mission in 1357 to Pisa, sent there by Pope Gregory XI to urge the city leaders to remain faithful rather than join the anti-papal movement. From this image emanated the rays that gave St. Catherine the stigmata. Because of this the image came to known as the Cross of the Stigmata, and it was moved in 1623 from Santa Christina Catholic Church in Pisa to St. Catherine’s house in Siena, where it can be seen today.
A replica of this cross was installed Aug. 7 at St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center in Salt Lake City. Like the original, the replica has side panels that depict the Virgin Mary, the beloved disciple and two other sorrowful figures, as well as the thieves who were crucified alongside Christ. Angels bearing balls of incense stand beside Christ’s outstretched hands.
At 9.5 feet tall and 6.5 feet wide, the replica is about twice the size of the original. It is the only known replica of the Cross of the Stigmata in the world to have been painted as St. Catherine saw it and installed as the main cross of a church, said Dominican Father Jacek Buda, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center.
The parish council commissioned the replica because the community wanted a closer identity to their patron saint, Fr. Jacek said. When they learned about the Cross of the Stigmata, “We thought, ‘That would be fantastic if we could find a way to have it,’” he said. “Our idea was to see Christ the way St. Catherine saw him. … This is an important moment for the Church around the world, when we must go deeper into our faith in the face of infidelities and corruption. We are blessed with a patron saint who was a beacon of light and faith during a similar time of upheaval in the mid-1300s, and this cross connects us to her and Christ in a meaningful way.”
The original cross, as it exists now, is missing two portions: one over Christ’s halo and the other beneath his feet. The replica adds those portions. On the bottom piece is a white rooster atop a cave that contains a skull. The upper piece has the traditional inscription above Christ’s head as well as an icon of Christ Pantocreator.
Similar images can be seen on crosses of the same era as the original, Fr. Jacek said.
“Whatever is missing from the [damaged] original was borrowed from crosses from the same period and the same [geographical] area, so nothing on this cross is made up,” he said.
When St. Catherine saw the original cross, it was about 200 years old. To simulate the aged appearance, the replica’s finish is finely cracked. Achieving the required look came about by mistake, said the artist, Nadiya Savka, who spent months researching and creating the piece, which included placing canvas between eight layers of gesso. Wanting to make the cross look old, she tried a number of techniques and materials but was unable to produce the proper result. Then, while working on the sample board, she accidentally switched the product she was using, “and it gave me the perfect crackles,” she said.
She calls that mistake something of a miracle, one of several that occurred while she was working on the cross, she said. Another “miracle” occurred when she was attempting to make the gold paint on Christ’s halo shine. She tried a variety of materials, but only when she was looking for a product for another client did she come across one that was right for the cross.
A Catholic, Savka said she prayed before every painting session, asking God to help her do the work. Her prayers were answered, she said; another “miracle” occurred one day when, after unsuccessfully trying two different techniques to achieve the look she wanted, she took a nap in the middle of the day, and when she returned to the cross she found a technique that worked.
Tears welled in Savka’s eyes she stood at the back of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, looking at the cross that moments before had been hung in place behind the altar.
“I didn’t think it was going to look that way, that beautiful,” she said. “The gold looks the way I wanted to see it.”
The cross “transforms the chapel,” said Michael Mozdy, a member of the parish council. “It feels like it belongs there. … I think we all feel like we now need to live up to the sort of faith that the cross is calling us to, everything from the prayerfulness of our liturgy to the music to the rest of the art and environment – it’s really transformative in a huge way.”
The image of the resurrected Christ that had been behind the altar will be moved to a niche in the parish’s gathering space, where it had been years ago, before the chapel was renovated, Fr. Jacek said.
Bishop Oscar A. Solis will bless the new cross during a 6:30 p.m. Mass on Sept. 15.
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