Mary Mother of God

The Church of St. Mary in Chardon, Ohio approached Henninger's for a custom statue of the Virgin Mary in June of 2011.  Fr. Tim Kalista, along with a committee dedicated to "Making Mary Matter" in their church had some definite ideas about the statue.

Mary should be pregnant, and joyful as the birth of Jesus was getting closer.  She should be standing on a pedestal, behind the tabernacle, her open arms presenting Jesus, her Son, to the church, as well as watching over the church.  They wanted it to fit into the theme of the church, carved in wood, stained in different shades of brown.  Mary should have a blue sash with gold stars and gold trim throughout her garments.  With this direction, Henninger's artists designed several options for the statue.  The drawing displayed was chosen. Her title was to be "Mary Mother of God."

Henninger's commissioned Demetz Art Studio in Italy to fabricate this statue, designed with love and adoration of the Blessed Virgin.  Demetz's talented artists first designed a small scale clay model - a Bozzetto - for approval.  With a couple of edits, the Bozzetto was given the go-ahead. 

Next, Demetz moved on to carving the linden wood statue.  They made sure that it was apparent that Mary is about seven months pregnant.  The Demetz family has been carving statues for generations, so this custom statue is the type they truly enjoy making.

 

Demetz photographed progress pictures of their work and emailed back and forth for approval.  The face had to be changed to give Mary a more "joyful expression".  Once the carving was complete, the statue was stained in different shades of brown.  Mary's white garment was painted in softed white, and the sash painted blue.  Finally the gold trim was added to complete the statue.  

Mary Mother of God was crated and shipped overseas, and delivered to St. Mary Church in Chardon on Friday, December 9.  It was dedicated by Fr. Dan Redmond that weekend, for Gaudete Sunday.  This was an appropriate time for dedication, since we recognize the joy and gladness of Jesus' coming birth.  The Mary Mother of God statue clearly displays the Virgin Mother, with child, and a joyful expression as she anticipates the birth of her Son.

The statue is situated on a pedestal, with Mary's arms open to the tabernacle, presenting her Son to the Church.  The parishioners of the Church of St. Mary in Chardon will celebrate a joyful Christmas with this new statue to accompany their prayer.

Henninger's New Location

Effective Jan. 1, 2012, Henninger's is moving its main location to its warehouse in Brook Park.  The showroom, offices, used church goods, stained glass studio, wood shop, marble shop, and statue restoration studio will all be under one roof.  All of the craftsmen, sales staff, bookkeepers, and artists will be working together for the first time ever.  We are very excited about this move, since it is a much larger location - 40,000 square feet - than our current store in Parma.  Please call us at (800) 362-0217 or email us with any questions.  Please change your records as of the new year, our address is:
Henninger's Religious Goods
5227 West 137th Street
Brook Park, OH 44142

A Return for An Altar of Repose

Earlier this year, Fr. John Retar of the newly-formed St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church in Lorain, Ohio approached Henninger’s about moving his Altar of Repose and Tabernacle from the side chapel in the Church back to the main Sanctuary.  The Altar of Repose and Tabernacle had originally existed in the Sanctuary at the church that was previously known as St. John the Baptist until it was moved at some point in the 1980s.  Fr. Retar wanted to re-install the Altar of Repose and Tabernacle to its original location and asked Henninger’s to assist him in this endeavor.

Here is the Sanctuary as it existed prior to the move, with the chairs in place at the top of the platform under the crucifix:

The Altar of Repose (which matched the Ambo, the Altar Rail, and Baptismal Font furniture in the main Sanctuary) can be seen here, in place in the Side Chapel:

While considering this move, Fr. Retar also found the original Tabernacle in a closet that once stood atop the Altar of Repose in the man Sanctuary prior to its removal:

Upon arrival, Henninger’s crew went to work disassembling the Altar of Repose in the Chapel and readying the Sanctuary to move the two pieces of marble (900 lbs. and 1,500 lbs.) atop the platform beneath the crucifix:

After removing the Altar of Repose from the Chapel and transporting the marble pieces up to the Sanctuary, Henninger’s replaced the Altar of Repose in the Chapel with a wood Altar of Repose that Fr. Retar wanted to use in the Chapel, continuing to utilize the Tabernacle that was in place in the Chapel:

The marble was moved into place atop the platform and the carpet on the top of the platform was cut as the scaffolding, I-beam, and chain fall allowed the crew to place the Altar of Repose back to its original location:

After securing the top of the Altar of Repose once more and adhering the Altar of Repose to the floor, the original Tabernacle was placed and secured on the Altar of Repose, just beneath the crucifix:

After the final clean-up, the movement was complete and the Altar of Repose and original Tabernacle were returned to the main Sanctuary, looking as if they had never left at all:

Sanctuary Renovation UP in Michigan

Henninger's recently finished an installation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula at Guardian Angels Church in Crystal Falls.  Fr. Jeffrey Kurtz made a trip to Cleveland on March 14th to visit Henninger's warehouse to brainstorm for his upcoming renovation.  What he found were two marble panels that inspired him.
These panels featured a crown of thorns and crosses in an inlaid mosaic.  With a little creativity and conversation, a concept for the new sanctuary began to take shape.  A simple design for a new altar of sacrifice and ambo made of Bottacino marble with these panels as centerpieces.

Fr. Kurtz headed back to Michigan feeling optimistic.  Next a few designs were made and sent back and forth and altar rails were added to the plan.  Upon approval of the design, cutting and polishing of marble began.  New slabs of Italian marble were used for the facing on the sanctuary furniture.

Henninger's crew went to work in the marble shop with plenty of heavy lifting and precise cuts.  A truck was loaded and headed up north for installation at the end of September. After a long drive, a week followed filled with placing marble and cutting and even more polishing.

The following pictures display the sanctuary at Guardian Angels before the new altar of sacrifice, ambo, and altar rails, then after the installation.  Fr. Kurtz was very pleased with the result and Henninger's crew was happy to serve such a friendly community in the Upper Peninsula.







 "We are very happy with it but it is incomplete... now we need side altars for Mary and St. Joseph." - Rev. Jeffrey Kurtz
Henninger's crew may be headed back to Michigan soon...

Additional photos can be seen here.

Beginning Anew

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