Sculpture of Saint Joseph brings new awareness to campus

Sam Henry ’19

Assistant News Editor

A new grotto of Saint Joseph has been constructed behind the Chapel of Saint Joseph at Saint Joseph’s University.

The grotto will encourage a new awareness of Saint Joseph, a devotion that is common at Jesuit colleges and universities.

“The idea of this was not to put up a monument to Saint Joseph,” said Brendan Lally, S.J. “It was to develop a devotion to Saint Joseph and you need a focal point of the devotion, so a grotto to Saint Joseph outside—within easy access of the chapel and from the street—[is] very accessible. [This will help] develop an awareness that Saint Joseph is a very powerful intercessor with God.”

The grotto was largely paid for in donations; however, the sculpture itself dates back to 1927 when Saint Joseph’s moved its campus to its current location from 17th and Stiles.

The hand-carved sculpture was given to the university as a gift by Hugh Lavery, who was likely a member of the Gesú parish.

Though the sculpture is up, the grotto is not completely finished yet.

“On one side they are going to put up a lantern with a bulb in it that will always be on as kind of a votive light in honor of Saint Joseph and to remind people that this is a place of prayer. On the other side of the grotto is going to be a bronze plaque with an ancient prayer to Saint Joseph that is believed to go back to 52 A.D.,” Lally said.

Next to the plaque, there will also be seven common titles of Saint Joseph. These titles include: Patron of the sick; Comfort of the dying; Patron of the universal church; Model of workers—St. Joseph the worker; Patron of families; Model of purity; and Patron of Saint Joseph’s University.

“I am supportive of creating a place, just a different kind of a place where students might want to come to know that they can have moments of quiet reflection and prayer and if they don’t feel inclined to go inside the chapel building,” said Thomas Sheibley, director of Campus Ministry. “This is a place that can be used for personal retreat and prayer and reflection.”

The project is anticipated to be completely finished sometime in October.

“I personally am very supportive of and desiring of having ways that St. Joe’s promotes our Catholic identity. One of the ways of promoting that is with visual reminders around campus,” Sheibley said.

The idea for a grotto at St. Joe’s has been in university discussions for a long time. “The interesting thing—it was a dream from the ’50s, really, to have an outside grotto to Saint Joseph,” said Carmen Croce, director of Saint Joseph’s University Press and curator of University Art Collection.

An entry form dated Nov. 3, 1954 holds record of the president at the time, Father Jacklin, S.J., suggesting the erection of an outdoor statue to Saint Joseph to be placed in some prominent place on the grounds.

“It’s been wanted since the ’50s and we finally have that now,” Croce said.

In addition to the grotto of Saint Joseph, a statue of the sleeping Saint Joseph has been placed inside the chapel. The statue is a replica of the statue Pope Francis keeps in his room.

“The Pope places his intentions on a piece of paper under the statue. So we put one in the chapel, and underneath it is a little place where you can put your intentions for Saint Joseph,” Lally explained.

Both of these sculptures serve as visual reminders for the community to grow in awareness of Saint Joseph.

“I think we need all the faith and inspiration we can get,” Lally said. “There are a lot of challenges in life, a lot of burdens that people carry on their shoulders and sometimes they don’t know where to go with them. So this is one place where someone can go and sit down and open their heart to God.”