A newly commissioned artwork of Australia’s first saint was recently unveiled and blessed at the Catholic Parish of St Mary of the Cross, Mordialloc and Aspendale.
With the help of the parish livestreaming team, parish priest Fr Andrew Jekot hosted the blessing online with the community unable to attend due to Melbourne’s continued lockdown restrictions.
‘The plans were to have a blessing of the artwork after every Mass on the weekend of Mary’s feast day,’ said Fr Jekot. ‘But COVID doesn’t follow my rules! So, our next attempt was to bring the blessing to parishioners online so they could view this absolutely gorgeous image of St Mary of the Cross.’
The parish is home to two churches – St Brigid’s and St Louis de Montfort – and the same artwork has been installed at each.
‘For the last 18 months, a team of parishioners has been researching and discerning the best sort of image of our patron saint,’ Fr Jekot explained. ‘We wanted to have a common artwork at both churches, and to have Mary welcome us into our churches as people arrived.’
The depiction of Mary was important too, adds parishioner Berna Wake.
‘We wanted to acknowledge Mary’s pioneering work in education, so the choice of children depicted with Mary – the new Australian girl and the Indigenous boy – recognises Mary’s passion to provide education for all.’
The artwork was created by a local business called Entanglements, which specialises in metal art and is spearheaded by award-winning designer Helen Neyland.
‘Helen has close connections with St Brigid’s and was very honoured that we commissioned this original design,’ Fr Jekot said. ‘She and her team have done an incredible job.’
There are three layers to the artwork: the two outer layers are made of rusted metal, followed by a central layer of stainless steel. Fr Jekot says part of its allure is the way the artwork changes depending on the time of day and the angle at which it is viewed.
‘The shadows determine the actual image and how Mary and the other children look. I’d encourage visitors when they come and have a look to walk around the artwork to maximise its appearance.’
As part of the blessing, Fr Jekot presented a third-class relic of St Mary MacKillop, which belongs to local parishioner Alan Dinon. The relic had been gifted to him by a Sister of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the congregation co-founded by St Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison-Woods.
‘St Mary of the Cross constantly brought hope and encouragement to those who were disheartened, lonely or needy,’ Fr Jekot said. ‘We pray that this artwork becomes a symbol of our own oneness with Mary and a reminder that we too might live with the same courage, trust, and openness, especially during these difficult days.’
