Saint Francis Xavier to celebrate Lent with new Stations of the Cross

Intermountain Catholic

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Three of the images of the Stations of the Cross wait to be hung on the walls of Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church. IC photo/Jennifer Sparks

KEARNS – Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Kearns will celebrate Lent with new Stations of the Cross.

The stations, which were painted in China, are very detailed and reflect very well the Passion of Christ.

"I spent many hours looking for images that could be used for the Stations of the Cross because it’s hard to find nice Stations of the Cross that would be big enough for here," said Father Robert T. Moriarty, St. Francis Xavier pastor.

On the Internet, Fr.Moriarty found an island in China called the City of Art. "They paint anything you want," he said, so he sent his request for Stations of the Cross that reflect classical Renaissance paintings, each by a different artist.

The new Stations arrived at St. Francis Xavier Parish as rolled canvases, "so I took them to the frame shop and they stretched them and they put the fancy frame around the edge," said the priest.

All of the reproduction paintings were placed in 32 x 50 inch golden frames by Evergreen Framing Co.

Each station was sponsored by a member or group of the parish: the Moriarty family, Doug and Ginni Biediger, Angie Krebs, Joyce Lay, Joyce Griggs, Marie Bertot, the Masse family, Michaela Jaques, Debbi and Andrew Archuletta, the Calishaw family, Jo and Eddie Springer, Tilly and Ernie Cordova, Jacquie and Steve Bergstrom, and the Craft Ladies.

The paintings arrived before Christmas but were not ready to be installed until last week.

Each one was hand painted in oil. They were installed on the walls of the church with the help of Deacon Rubel J. Salazar.

"History is here," said Deacon Salazar, referring to the images. "For me there’s a lot of meaning here. Take, for instance, the one [image] of the Mother of Jesus. I have meditated and I looked at that. The way I see her expression is that her son is suffering, he is being tormented; she is sitting there, and the way that I see that expression is that, ‘Look what they are doing to my son!’ She carried all these things is her heart. It’s just touching."

Fr. Moriarty said he is looking forward to celebrating Lent this year with the parish.

"I am excited because we have about 150 people come to the stations every Friday during Lent in English and in Spanish, and the wall over there was so inadequate," said Fr. Moriarty, referring to the past wall with the Stations. "This gives us a better sense of the procession around the church and we are really excited about giving more art to our church something big and colorful and interesting."