THE INTERIOR of the HOLY CROSS CHURCH
Many people have contributed, over the years, to the items that make up the interior of Holy Cross Church. The items are listed below with the names of the donors. We have three statues; two were given by the Shaw family of early years.
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The Blessed Virgin Mary Statue was given in memory of Julia Shaw. |
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The Statue of St Joseph does not indicate any specific information or donor. |
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Teresa Shaw Healy, “In Thanksgiving”, gave St. Teresa’s Statue. |
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Aunt Mary Rooney of Valeria gave the Stations of the Cross. |
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The first rows of pews on either side of the aisle were given in memory of William Shaw. |
In recent years, the Statues and the Stations of the Cross began to show wear and fading of color. A parishioner of Holy Cross, Mary (Wagner) Willer, used her wonderful talent to repair and repaint both the Stations and the Statues, restoring their lovely appearance again.
The altar was shipped in from Ireland, as information passed on has it. The Shaw family in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Shaw gave it. The altar was originally in one piece, but sometime after Vatican II, was divided, bringing the main part forward leaving the taller part with the pillars and the Tabernacle behind in its original position. The beautiful multi-colored stained glass windows were another gift of the Shaw family.
ADDITIONS
The back wall of the inner Church displays several items.
1. A large crucifix, sculpted by renowned artist Christian Peterson, is positioned just above the double doors of the inner Church. We at Holy Cross feel privileged to have such a quality piece of art gracing the walls of our little Church. More information regarding Christian Peterson can be found in the section marked “Crucifix”.
2. To the right, or south, of the inner double doors is a painting called, “Sacred Heart of Jesus Pleading”, donated by the Bill Huber family. This lovely piece of art became a valued addition to Holy Cross just this past year. Additional information, including the interesting history surrounding this work, may be found in the section marked “Sacred Heart of Jesus Pleading”.
3. The two pictures on the north side of the back wall were acquired after the Pope’s visit to Des Moines on October 4,1979 through Monsignor Gorman, Pastor of Holy Cross at the time. Some of the Holy Cross parishioners served as ‘guards’ at the Pope’s Mass that day, at Monsignor Gorman’s request. The pictures were placed on the back wall as a memorial of the great event of the Pope’s visit.
4. The gentle picture of, “Jesus’ Praying Hands”, was a gift given to the family of Gertrude Tipton, at the time of her death. Her daughter, Mary Davis and her husband Bill presented it to Holy Cross to be displayed in her mother’s memory. You will find it positioned just above the double doors as you enter the inner Church.
5. There is a smaller crucifix, of a classic design, above the door leading to the outside of the Church. It was placed there as a memorial to the Tynan family.
MORE ADDITIONS
There was no carpeting on the congregation’s part of the Church until Monsignor Gorman was Pastor at Holy Cross. Then the blue carpet that you see now was installed.
There was no instrumental music at Holy Cross until the time Monsignor McIlhon served as our Priest. A second-hand spinet organ was purchased by the Parish and for a time, Holy Cross had a small choir of it’s own numbering five or six members. The organ and the choir providing the music of the Mass were at the back of the Church. Since then, the choir disbanded and the organ was upgraded to a new keyboard with the addition of a synthesizer in approximately 1996.
An extra row of pews were added on either side of the aisle, purchased in the 1980s, during the time Father Bergman was at Holy Cross. They were made in Beatrice, Nebraska and brought back by some of the parishioners by truck.
The fire door in the sacristy was added in the 1990’s to adhere to new fire codes.
The slate roof of the Church is the original one, having had a few missing pieces replaced in September of 2000. The repairmen noted that all the underlay of the roof is still perfect. Doesn’t that say something for the workmanship of those gone before!
Also, at the time the slate pieces were replaced, the chimney was capped with copper; new copper eves were added on the north and the spire had some minor repair work done on it.
THE BANNER
The Holy Cross banner was made especially for the 125th anniversary of Holy Cross. Maggie Dobbins of Minneapolis, Minnesota was the seamstress/artist. Maggie is a professional in this arena, having her own business, called “Magidob”. Her creative talents can be viewed at many fairs in various places across the country, especially in the north central United States.
HAPPENINGS of the PAST
If you look closely at the Tabernacle you will note some scarring on the metal and chipping in the part of the altar surrounding it. Vandals had broken into the Church and tried, unsuccessfully, to open the Tabernacle.
Some of the sections of stained glass windows were replaced due to cracking, and at least one was replaced due to a bullet hole found in it.
The original wooden structure of the Church as you may or may not know was burned to the ground due to unknown circumstances, on October 22, 1927. Tucked away in the basement of the Church are charred pieces of wood believed to be some of the wood left from the original structure.
THE PINK CHURCH
Sometime during Father Jermaine’s time at Holy Cross the interior of the Church was painted pink, including the beams some say. It seems to us now this must have caused quite a “stir”. Those that recall that time period were, as are the current congregation is, very happy that later the walls and beams were changed back to the colors you see now.
SACRED HEART of JESUS PLEADING
Published by: Brother
Felix Antoine, St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
Donated to Holy Cross Church in: May 2000
By: The Huber Family, Bill, Charles (Chuck), Jim and Mary Ann
The picture hung originally in St. Anne’s Catholic Church of Carbon City, Arkansas, just west of Paris, Arkansas on Highway 22. St. Anne’s was an out-mission of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Paris, Arkansas. It was a small Parish but had a parochial school that went through the 8th grade. The livelihood of the area was predominately farming and coal mining. Some of the people worked at both.
One way of raising money in St. Anne’s was pew rent. The parishioners’ pew position was determined by auction. Although most remained the same from year to year, sometimes a family/individual would be outbid of their seat by another, especially if the bidding was for a front row seat.
St. Anne’s School and Mission were closed in 1947. At that time, the picture (Sacred Heart of Jesus Pleading) was given to Addie and Theodore (Tate) Huber (the donators’ grandparents). Tate was a dairy farmer. Addie gave the Sacred Heart of Jesus Pleading to Ann and Frank Huber (the donators’ parents) of rural Paris, Arkansas. Frank made his living as a coal miner.
In 1975, the picture was passed on to their son, Bill Huber of Ankeny, Iowa. Bill and his wife Donna own and operate a land development company there. It was Bill’s wish that the painting went to a small country Parish and offered it to Holy Cross Church. Here it rests now on the east wall of Holy Cross. Except for some minor repairs Bill had done to the frame, the picture remains much the same, as it was when it hung in St. Anne’s Church in Arkansas.
HOLY CROSS-SHAPED BRICK BELL SUPPORT
Built For 125TH Anniversary of Holy Cross Church
Created by Mike Veasman
- Summer 2000
Mike Veasman was the creator and architect for the design. He led the operation and was ably helped in the physical labor of the project by Pat and Mike Phelan, James (Dick) McGill, Larry and Jim Shaw.
The support was made of brick, closely matching that of the structure of the Church. It was built in the shape of a cross, lying on the ground, with the center of the cross remaining open to be used as a flowerbed. At each of the four intersections rises a square brick pillar on which the bell supports are attached, allowing the bell to swing freely, length wise of the cross and between the pillars. When Mike Veasman calculated the number of bricks needed for the project and after it was completed, he had been off by only one more brick than he needed.
