The Furnishings in the Saint Joseph Cupertino Friary Chapel

The Furnishings in the Saint Joseph Cupertino Friary Chapel

Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland (see descriptions below . . .)

For many years, the altar, the ambo, and the tabernacle now found in the friary’s second floor “private chapel” (or “oratory”), were used in the main chapel located on the first floor of the St. Joseph Cupertino Friary (now the primary worship space used by the Shrine of Saint Anthony, and open to the public).  

These furnishings in the friars’ chapel are entirely hand-carved from wood, and were imported from Italy.  They were originally placed in the main chapel after an extensive renovation was done there following the Second Vatican Council.   (continued below . . .)

 

They depict friars carrying large stones, a reference to St. Francis and his first friar-followers efforts to literally rebuild churches with stones and mortar.  This was a response to what the saint believed was the early friars calling to “rebuild the church,” a commission he believed he received in a vision while praying before the San Damiano Cross, and in which Jesus said to him “Francis, rebuild my church.”  

The altar, also employing the same stone theme, is engraved with a gold medallion, representing the Eucharistic bread, and is superimposed with a Tau Cross, a symbol often used by the Saint as a “signature” in his writings (and for centuries since used and worn by Franciscans as a sign of their Franciscan spirituality).  

The tabernacle is fashioned as a stone carried by the friars.  It suggests their more significant role as Christ-bearers, taking Jesus into the world, and in that way giving new life and truly “rebuilding” the church.  The loaves and fishes on the face of the tabernacle recall the Gospel account in which Jesus had pity on the 5000 gathered to hear his preaching — the “multiplication of the loaves and fishes” reminds us of Jesus’ passion to serve the poor and the needy, and it is a foreshadowing of the miraculous gift of the Eucharist, the Sacrament which never ends in giving life and the grace of God to the faithful.  

The Ambo is engraved with the words “This is the Rule and Life of the Friars Minor.”  This is a reference to the Rule of St. Francis in which the friars are mandated to follow the Gospel way of life.  The Gospel and other Scripture readings are proclaimed from the Ambo!   (continued below . . .)

Each piece is discretely stamped with a metal seal stating they are “Entirely Hand Carved” by their Italian artisans. 

The friars of the St. Joseph Cupertino Friary community gather each day in their oratory chapel for Morning Prayer, Office of Readings, Common Meditation, Evening Prayer, and Compline (night prayer).  The friars also use the chapel for their Conventual Masses.   (continued below . . .)

**The Shrine chapel downstairs now houses altar furnishings originally used at the now closed St. Hyacinth College and Seminary, Granby, Massachusetts. 

For more information about the Shrine of St. Anthony, see the following web site: https://www.shrineofstanthony.org/ 

For more information about the Conventual Franciscan Friars of the Our Lady of the Angels Province (OFM Conv.), see the following web site:  https://www.olaprovince.org/