The Stations of the Cross at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul

Project Name

Stations Of The Cross at The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul

Location

18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103

His Eminence, Cardinal Justin Rigali

Scope of Work

To restore and refinish Stations of the Cross from the closed
St. Boniface Church in Philadelphia and to fabricate new marble/mosaic wall pedestals to match and to functionally hold these beautifully ornate and heavy Stations of the Cross.

New Marble pedestal with refurbished station

Part of the challenge with the Stations which, at the time, were not present in the Cathedral, were to have the Stations feel and look as if they were always there and always intended to be there. Often when old items from closed churches are gifted to another church, the look and the feel is not quite perfect.

In this case, however, St Jude Liturgical recognized that the Stations were a natural fit for the beautiful interior of the Cathedral in Philadelphia. The Stations were approximately four feet in height (standing figures) and had four to five figures per Station. Each one was a classic sculpture piece, hand casted by J.Sibel at the turn of the century. These pieces were neglected over the years and needed to be refurbished. Some small pieces were lost and needed to be recreated and then they were properly glazed and antiqued to show the beauty of the folds of the garments and the details and expressions of the figures.

Another challenge was to mount each Station into the wall. To do that,
St. Jude Liturgical Arts Studio designed marble mosaic wall pedestals to support the Stations. Each of these pedestals needed to be drilled and supported into the thick masonry walls of the Cathedral and designed to match the other marbles, as well as the other architectural designs of the Cathedral.

The best compliment we have received is that worshippers always thought that they were there and did not realize that these Stations and pedestals were actually new additions to the Cathedral. For that, we feel that our job has been a successful one!