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Tom Runyon, senior construction manager at 涩里番下载 Capital Projects, applies a plaque below the Saint Robert Bellarmine statue.聽
Photos by Lee Pellegrini
Finishing Touches
Six new statues of Jesuit saints bring beauty and meaning to St. Mary鈥檚 Hall.聽
Fall 2021
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More than a century after it was built, St. Mary鈥檚 Hall鈥攈ome to the 涩里番下载 Jesuit community鈥攈as finally been completed. Last fall, six custom statues depicting Jesuit saints were installed in the building鈥檚 first-floor main hallway, placed in elaborately carved wooden alcoves designed by the architect Charles Donagh Maginnis in 1908. The six-foot-high niches, part of the building鈥檚 original construction, have remained empty for more than one hundred years. 鈥淭he spaces were made for this,鈥� said Fr. Cyril Opeil, SJ, superior of the 涩里番下载 Jesuit community. 鈥淚t was time for them to be filled.鈥�
Spaced out along the entirety of the hall, the statues sit atop custom-milled pedestals. New LED spotlights illuminate the intricate details of each carving鈥攆rom the soft folds of Saint Ignatius of Loyola鈥檚 cape to the pointed leaves of the palm frond held by Saint Paul Miki of Japan.
Plans for the statues had been in the works for decades, but got serious during a major renovation of St. Mary's in 2013, said Tom Runyon, the senior construction manager at 涩里番下载 Capital Projects. Whenever administrators stopped by for updates on the project鈥攚hich involved modernizing the Jesuit residences, converting the south wing for academic purposes, and restoring the building鈥檚 Gothic details鈥攖he empty niches would inevitably come up. 鈥淲e鈥檇 walk down the hallway and say, 鈥榃e should really do something with those,鈥欌�� Runyon recalled.
What followed was a years-long partnership between Runyon, a group of 涩里番下载 Jesuits, and the renowned local sculptor Bob Shure, whose work includes the Boston Irish Famine Memorial in downtown Boston. The three parties exchanged feedback on sketches and clay models of each figure. Last fall, the final versions were cast in fiberglass resin and delivered to the Heights.
The newly installed pieces represent diverse aspects of the Society of Jesus鈥� work, as well as different time periods and locations, Fr. Opeil explained. In addition to their stories, the statues bring meaning and beauty to the hallway that he and the thirty-five other Jesuits who reside in St. Mary鈥檚 walk every day. After observing the empty niches for so many years, seeing them filled has brought joy during a difficult year. 鈥淭hey fit and fulfill this part of the house,鈥� Fr. Opeil said. 鈥淭hese saints have done their work and now other Jesuits are laboring here to serve God for his greater glory.鈥�
Here鈥檚 a closer look at the statues in St. Mary鈥檚 Hall, which is open to visitors during business hours.聽
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Saint Ignatius of Loyola聽
Flanking the hall鈥檚 central entryway is Saint Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus. Clad in a cape, he holds open his ten-part composition, the Constitutions of the Society, which illustrate Ignatius鈥檚 extraordinary trust in God鈥檚 charismatic guidance and an awareness of the need for organization in religious life.
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Saint Francis Xavier
A nobleman and a prolific missionary, Saint Francis Xavier holds a crucifix and a scalloped shell, a reference to the thousands of people he baptized in the first half of the 16th century, mostly in India
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Saint Alberto Hurtado
Remembered for his service to the poor in his native Chile, Saint Alberto Hurtado is seen here with his hands聽outstretched. Canonized in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI, he鈥檚 the most modern saint in
the statue gallery.聽
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Saint Robert Bellarmine
As a Doctor of the Church and a cardinal, noted for his brilliance as a teacher and theologian, Saint Robert Bellarmine is shown carrying a book. He was a key figure in the Counter Reformation, a period of Catholic revival during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.聽
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Saint Paul Miki
The first Jesuit to be martyred in Japan, in 1597, Saint Paul Miki is one of two non-European saints included in the Saint Mary鈥檚 Hall display. He鈥檚 depicted with a palm frond,聽representing the victory of spirit over flesh.
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Saint Joseph聽Pignatelli
Less well known is Saint Joseph Pignatelli, a Spanish priest who is credited with re-founding the Society after its suppression in the late 18th century. He died in 1811鈥攖hree years later, Pope Pius VII fully restored the Society of Jesus.
