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One of the biggest challenges that the team faced in resurfacing the Altar top was the removal and preservation of the relic stone embedded in the oak surface.
(Pictured in its original position)
This stone is the place on which the consecration takes place. Although covered with the altar cloth and then the corporeal, the priest is careful to position the bread and wine over the stone as he begins the liturgy of the Eucharist. (If you look closely, you will see 5 small crosses carved into the stone which represent the five wounds of Christ.) Celebrating the liturgy over the relic stone is a traditional practice described by Nikolaus Gihr in his book the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as follows: “The ordinance of Pope Felix I. (about 270), to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass “over the tombs of the martyrs,” merely confirmed a long existing custom. Later on the remains of the saints were transferred from their place of burial and placed in the interior of newly erected altars. The place in which the martyrs were interred, that is, the altar built over their tomb and also the church which enclosed it, were usually called confessio tuapripuiv, (place of confession) or memoria (memorial)*. *(Aleteia, Philip Kosloski – published on 01/29/20)
Our relic stone was cemented in place, and we were not quite sure how to go about getting it out without damaging it. Ultimately, we decided to carefully cut out the entire block of wood that it was attached to and remove it as a complete section. Once it was removed, we were able to pry it away from the wood base it was attached to. As we were working on it, there was a loud pop that scared the heck out of us, but it turned out to be just the first section of cement releasing. You can see the round cement sections pictured on the left.
There was a mini-celebration with prayers of gratitude when the stone finally came free. Although hard to see in this picture, written on the back of the stone were the names of the two saints whose relics it contained: St Fructuosus of Braga and St. Blandina. Their feast days are April 16 th and June 2nd respectively. The relics are contained in the small black square section visible in the upper image. You might enjoy looking up their biographies online for more information about them. Using a clever leveling concept developed by our Master Furniture Maker, Mike Maxwell, we were able to make the relic stone perfectly flush with the top of the Altar once more. What is more, we realized after the fact that the relic stone and our new altar top, were made of the same marble, a bonus!
Just as with the smaller relic stone, our marble top is decorated with 5 crosses. (You can see the center one in the picture.) The new engraved crosses are the exact size and style of, and positioned directly over, the original wood inlaid crosses in the corners.
(If you look closely, you will see 5 small crosses carved into the stone which represent the five wounds of Christ.)
One of the biggest challenges that the team faced in resurfacing the Altar top was the removal and preservation of the relic stone embedded in the oak surface.
(Pictured in its original position)
This stone is the place on which the consecration takes place. Although covered with the altar cloth and then the corporeal, the priest is careful to position the bread and wine over the stone as he begins the liturgy of the Eucharist.
(If you look closely, you will see 5 small crosses carved into the stone which represent the five wounds of Christ.)
Celebrating the liturgy over the relic stone is a traditional practice described by Nikolaus Gihr in his book the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as follows:
“The ordinance of Pope Felix I. (about 270), to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass “over the tombs of the martyrs,” merely confirmed a long existing custom. Later on the remains of the saints were transferred from their place of burial and placed in the interior of newly erected altars. The place in which the martyrs were interred, that is, the altar built over their tomb and also the church which enclosed it, were usually called confessio tuapripuiv, (place of confession) or memoria (memorial)*. *(Aleteia, Philip Kosloski – published on 01/29/20) 7:00 PM
The outline which surrounds the Chi Rho symbol on the altar was first inspired by the shape of our baptismal font, although we didn’t know there was a name for it.
Dan Criste, a former parishioner, had suggested the idea. But we needed to make sure it was appropriate to be used in this context. What we discovered, confirmed that it was very appropriate.
We learned that the shape is called a “barbed quatrefoil.” It is a design that features an invisible square centered within a basic quatrefoil shape, which creates the illusion of barbs. What was very cool, was that the first known use of the barbed quatrefoil motif was on the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris around 1260.
A picture from the original steeple shows the symbol to the left. That meant that through this symbol, we had a direct link between Holy Name of Mary and the Cathedral of Our Lady (Notre Dame). (Note: These decisions took place before the fire destroyed the steeple which only solidified our desire to use this symbol.)
Many months afterwards, while looking closely at our tabernacle, I noticed something extraordinary. The door of the tabernacle also featured a barbed quatrefoil design. What is more, the initials on the door are a reminder of the message of the Chi Rho on the altar. God never ceases to amaze!
There is a beautiful symmetry of design elements now as you enter our church. Moving from the baptismal font to the altar and to the tabernacle. This was not intentional. We weren’t that clever. Rather these facts revealed themselves over time, confirming the choices that we’d made at the beginning. What is more, we continue to discover this symmetry in new places. After all the work was done, I happened to glance up at the ceiling and noticed something interesting. Looking at the outline in red, see if it strikes you the same way.
We’ll discuss this shape again, in a future article about the statue niches. In the meantime, we hope this gives you a new appreciation for the beautiful design elements of our Sanctuary.
Now that the main scope of our Sanctuary Renovation has been completed, we thought it might be helpful to share with you some of the facts related to the work and those who did it. Each week, over the next several weeks, we will cover a different aspect.
The Ambo Mosaic – Did you know that this design is referred to as the Jerusalem Cross? The Jerusalem Cross is a type of heraldic cross. It was popular in medieval times to include a stylized image of a cross in heraldic crests. The Jerusalem Cross was the symbol of the Kingdom of Jerusalem that was established after the 1st Crusade.
This type of cross with perpendicular bars at the ends is referred to as a crutch cross or cross potent. The 4 crosslets in each quadrant have various meanings including the 4 quarters or cardinal directions of the world or the wounds of Christ. They also symbolize the 4 Evangelists, which is why we chose it as appropriate for our ambo from which their Gospels are preached. It is also the symbol of our sister Parish of Holy Cross and before we had our own Church in Bedford, we were served by the priest of that parish. We still share the same Dean, in Fr. Sal.
If you look closely under the cross, you will see a small, checkered pattern. This represents the coat of arms for Croatia. That is the home country of the artist, Stephen Braillo, who created this mosaic. We’ll share more about him in a future update.