Notes & Insights (2)

The Stations of the Cross, with origins dating back to the early christians who prayerfully visited the places of Christ's final days, is a devotion that has continued in the Church through the centuries in various ways. Obviously, in the time of Christ there were no such thing as photographers on the Via Dolorosa. The events of the first Triduum were not recorded on video. Only the oral, and later, written tradition of the Church were the means by which the telling of these events passed from one generation of the faithful to the next. Many who heard the sacred stories and teachings would never be able to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Many were also without formal education.

As time progressed and the Church grew, artists created depictions of the time-honored key points in the life of our Lord as well as images of various people and moments in christian history. These images were not only works of art to the honor and glory of God, but also tools to spiritually inspire the viewer and teach the story of salvation, especially to those unable to read. As for scenes of Christ's passion presented in art, they were also a way for people, unable to travel to far off lands, to make a spiritual pilgrimage in which they could prayerfully recall the Savior's greatest acts of love that made possible the salvation of all.

In actuality, a station is not the artistic depiction. It is the small cross that indicates one should stop and meditate on a specific event that occurred as Jesus travelled the Way of the Cross to Calvary.

Today, most every Catholic church and chapel has a set of Stations and our own parish church is no exception. However, a very special Stations of the Cross set also resides in the Pastoral Center main entrance staircase/hallway. They are ornamented bas relief style plaques cast in metal that once hung in the parish convent chapel. But their own 'way' did not begin in the sister's chapel on the corner of 15th Street and Virginia Avenue in the late 1950s. This beautiful set of Stations was also the same set that hung on the walls of our parish's second church.

St. John the Baptist Parish Lyceum, the parish social hall from 1910 to 1913 located where the Pastoral Center now stands, was converted for use as the parish church in 1913, replacing the previous smaller church, and remained as such up to and throughout most of 1930. At some point, once the third and current church was completed, these Stations were sent to the diocesan archive for storage or possible use by another church in need as was the custom. The story of their return to our parish community is recounted here in a remembrance by Mrs. Anna Antoline.

"The first St. John’s Church [building] that I remember was the small brick church at Virginia Avenue & 15th Street, where the school now stands. The wooden altar was at the front of the church, and Fr. Canova had his back to us during Mass. In the spring we had Strawberry Festivals in the backlot behind the church. I made my first holy communion and confirmation in that church. 

When the current church was built, the small brick church was torn down. My husband, Albert, and I had our marriage blessed in the new church with Fr. Canova officiating. His secretary, Emery Cain, and his housekeeper, Victoria, were witnesses. When Fr. Farri became the pastor (He wasn’t a monsignor just yet.), my husband Albert, told him that we wanted to buy the old church’s Stations of the Cross [relief panels] that had been sent to the diocese for storage. They went to Pittsburgh and purchased them for $3 each and put them in the convent. They are now in the school. I have many good memories of St. John’s — my children’s baptisms, holy communions, confirmations and marriages."

It is not known if this set of Stations dates farther back than the parish's second church or if they were even initially used for a time in our present church. It is likely that only interior photographs of each building taken throughout each one's history would help complete the story.

When next you visit the Pastoral Center, take a few minutes to look at this set of Stations. They are not only symbols of Christ's love recalled, but also a beautiful link to past parishioners who joined in prayerful meditation before them; a devotion that unites all parishioners, past, present and future, as we travel the Way of Christ.

Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi, quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

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In 2023, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd.

What are your memories of the faith community of St. John the Baptist?  Please share them by way of the Recollections page.