The Dedication of Holy Cross Chapel at Jesuit High School in Tampa

This past Tuesday, His Excellency Michael Barber S.J., Bishop of Oakland, California, dedicated a new chapel for Jesuit High School in Tampa Bay, Florida. The school’s president, Fr Richard Hermes, S.J., chose August 7th as the date of the dedication because it was the 204th anniversary of the restoration of the Society of Jesus after a 41-year suppression. He and Bishop Barber spoke of the chapel as an instrument of the restoration of souls to the mercy of God, and a restoration of the Society of Jesus in America as great patrons of art and architecture. The new building was designed by architect Duncan Stroik, and replaces a previous chapel built in the early 60s, (shown below); I am sure our readers will agree that the new one is vast improvement.

The new church’s façade. (Courtesy of Jesuit High School of Tampa)

Statue of St Ignatius of Loyola by Cody Swanson, who also did the Stations of the Cross inside. (Courtesy of Duncan Stroik)

The high altar; here the bishop is kneeling before placing the relics of Saints into the altar during the dedication ceremony. The paintings over the several altars are by Raul Berzosa. (Courtesy of Duncan Stroik)

The dedication booklet also contains Fr Hermes’ statement of vision and description of the chapel. “The new chapel, named in honor of the Holy Cross, draws from the spirit that animated the origin of the Society of Jesus. In the Formula of the Institute, the founding document of the Jesuit Order (1540), St Ignatius refers to those wishing to be members of this new Order as soldiers of God ‘under the banner of the cross’, serving the Lord alone and the Church, his spouse, under the Roman Pontiff. Thus, St Ignatius puts the whole Jesuit mission under the standard of the cross. These words from the Formula can be seen inscribed on the statue of St Ignatius that adorns the façade of Holy Cross Chapel. In addition, the central interior image that confronts the visitor to our new chapel, the painting placed above the high altar, is the famous image of St. Ignatius’s vision at La Storta. In this vision, St. Ignatius is placed by God the Father beneath Christ who carries the cross. From that moment, St. Ignatius knows that he and his companions will be linked intimately in name and mission with the Lord Jesus and His holy cross.

The altar of St Isaac Jogues. (Courtesy of Duncan Stroik)

The altar of St Paul Miki. (Courtesy of Duncan Stroik)

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Wonderful New Sculpture of Archangel Michael by Cody Swanson

Shortly after posting images of the work of Cody Swanson for the first time just a few weeks ago, NLM reader Robert Ramirez sent me photos of another newly commissioned work, unveiled in time for the vigil of the Feast of St Michael on September 28th. Again, I see in this the strongly emphasized, deep cut lines in the drapery (in the manner of Bernini) which give it strength and vigor, and sufficient idealization in the facial features to stop it from looking like a portrait of one of the neighbor’s children dressed up in theatrical clothing. (This is something that is difficult to avoid, incidentally.) What is particularly heartwarming about this project is that it was paid for entirely by the voluntary subscriptions of a considerable number of interested parishioners and friends.

More information about Cody Swanson and his work is available at codyswansonsculpture.com/.

Robert describes the sculpture as follows: “The statue, commissioned together with its plinth by members and friends of a parish in the southern United States, represents the Archangel as an eschatological figure, standing atop the serpent – a reminder of primeval victory vouchsafed to Michael, which prefigured the definitive victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Archangel appears as an actor in the Eucharistic liturgy, bearing to the heavenly altar the Victim present upon all the altars of this world.

In his right hand he holds a standard with the Trisagion, the  ‘Holy Holy Holy’ eternally repeated by the Angels surrounding the heavenly throne. In his left hand he presents a paten bearing the image of the Holy Face of Manopello, unveiled for presentation to the Father. It is the Holy Face that serves as the hinge and focus of the entire composition, presented before the unseen heavenly altar where Michael’s attention and devotion are focused.”

I have been asked for various reasons not name the parish publicly at this point, but any who is interested in more information can contact Mr Robert Ramirez at bobbyr@1st-lake.com.   

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Photos of a Italian Sculpture of the Mother of God and Our Lord as a Child by Cody Swanson

Thanks to reader Ciro Lamonte in Italy for bringing to our notice the sculpture of Cody Swanson. I know little of him, but it seems from his commissions he is well known to others and I am guessing many NLM readers will already know more of his work than I do! Reading through his website, here, he is based in Florence and teaches at the Florence Academy.

I like this very much. Clearly Cody has great skill as a sculptor. Beyond this I offer just a couple of personal thoughts on what I like so much about it: first, I see first an idealised face of Our Lady that seems to me to draw on the classical ideal. I would rather see this than something that is so individualized that it looks like a portrait of the girl nextdoor dressed up in old-fashioned costume. I always feel that even in the naturalistic styles sacred art must have some idealization so that it emphasizes the common humanity - those aspects of Our Lady to which we can hope to emulate. Second, I see strong angular  folds in the drapery as one might have seen in 17th century sculpture and which gives the form vigour and acts against sentimentality.

I took the following photos from Cody’s Facebook page. We see drawings, the development of the model in clay in which, as I understand the process the creative work of the artist takes place. And then finally the translation of the clay model into the final medium, which is more of a mechanical process.