On either side of the sanctuary at the Oratory are two beautiful angel statues. These were the gift to the Oratory of Bob and Alice Umphress. "I acquired these statues in 1988 when St. Mary Hospital on Main Street overlooking the Union Station was closed," said Bob Umphress. "They were in the hospital chapel and were given to me by the sisters with the understanding that I would find them a permanent home in a church. For many years they were in the chapel at the home of Msgr. Vincent Kearney until he passed away and since then, I have kept them safe in the hope that the Latin Mass would someday have its own church. A dream now realized."Bob says that the statues, which weigh over 150 pounds each, are of alabaster and were sculptured approximately at the time of the construction and dedication of St. Mary Hospital in 1907. So that makes them just a little over 100 years old...fitting for our 133 year old Oratory building.
6 comments:
Nice angels!
Now, just MY humble opinion, but they might just look a little nicer up on the altar?
I'm just askin'...?
What a nice and thoughtful gift to the parish.
Thank you Umphress family!
Jack in KC
Jack in KC --
We followed your link to your web pages and photos of some of your beautiful liturgical possessions. If you are a registered member of the Oratory and would like to share some information about your collection with photos, we love to put the story on this blog. Just contact us at: latin_mass@att.net
Alas, I am not a registered member of any parish. Its my own version of "spreading the wealth" around. :-) I assist and support ALL venues where the TLM is available. Right now I am concentrating a bit more on the Oratory, as it experiences the natural growing pains.
As far as my collection, many articles have edified the sanctuary of OLS over the years, not to mention outfitting the Cathedral altar for our beloved bishop's first TLM.
Of interest to the history of the Oratory, might be the beautiful, and WELL worn, gold chasuble and cincture known to have been a favorite of Bishop Lillis. It was rescued, literally as it was being tossed, from the sacristy of Old St. Pats some thirty years ago. I lent it to Fr. Karels for a Holy Day at OLS and the gold still sparkled all the way to the back of the church!
In the everlasting motto of my blood relative:
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!
Jack in KC
JACK - Is there a photo of this chasuble being worn by Fr. Karels?
We have some very nice photos of the Pontifical Low Mass a year ago with good snaps of the altar. Did you provide the reliquaries?
New angels for our new Church. They're perfect. I thought someone must have missed the ones at OLS and sent us these. These are so beautiful and perfect in our new home.
No photo of Fr. Karels with that chasuble.
Yes, the reliquaries, as well as the crucifix on the Cathedral altar were mine.
Bishop Finn used Bishop Lillis' gold cincture. Under his pontifical vestments he wore an amice that belonged to St. John Vianney. His Excellency remarked to me how special it felt to wear something used by the Cure of Ars at his first public TLM.
I also lent that amice to Msgr. Wach for the Corpus Christi Mass at OLS.
In case there was any interest in seeing the Lillis chasuble, sans the saintly Fr. Karels, I've uploaded a couple pics.
Jack in KC
<<<Lillis Chasuble 1>>>
<<<Lillis Chasuble 2>>>
Post a Comment