Speaker Series
Sunday, October 3rd
7:00 – 8:30 PM
On October 3, 2010, Fr. Richard Banzin spoke to 100+ people in the St. John of the Cross Church. At least five parishioners from the Founders Committee were present and a dozen who raised money for the church building where the first mass was said on Christmas Eve 1976.
Click here or image for photo gallery of artwork.
Evening Highlights
In 1959, the year before the St. John of the Cross Parish was established, Ben-Hur won Oscars, Fidel Castro became Prime Minister of Cuba, Frank Lloyd Wright and Billie Holiday died, The Twilight Zone series premiered and the Mercury Seven astronauts were named. It was a year of big changes.
It was when Pope John XXIII first shared his intention to convene what we know as Vatican II. Vatican II closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. Many changes from Vatican II are evident in the Church building of St. John of the Cross Parish.
Vatican II made way for a new worship space. It changed the purpose of our churches from the “house for the body of Christ …to the house for the people of God to celebrate the moments of [our] lives,” Fr. Banzin explained.
Fr. Bennett, the founding pastor of St. John of the Cross, and Edward Dart had ideas for the church building that would be opened in 1976. Edward Dart wanted it to be a “framework for human activity,” recalled Fr. Banzin. It was a place where “the main space was the space for the worship of God” and the other places were “private areas for prayer.”
As we continue to celebrate our first 50 years, it is in this place that we gather gratefully as the people of God. Our focus is on the Eucharistic celebration and on the Word of God which is proclaimed. In this magnificent yet simple structure, we grow to see the world as sacred and then we are sent forth to love and serve others.
Read more about our artwork in this downloadable file.
1978, Mother and Child, by Mr. Michael E. Price.
1979, Sanctuary Furnishings (altar & baptismal font), Frank Kacmaricik, OSB
1979, The Cross, Local Carpenter
1980, The Stations of the Cross, Mr. Abbott Pattison,
1980, St. John of the Cross, Mr. William J. Thompson
1998, Jesus and the Children, Mary Southard, CSJ
2001, Pipe Organ, Visser & Associates, Inc
2006, Processional Cross & Candle Holders, Mr. Ronald Zawilla
2007, Annunciation, Mr. Nicole Stagetti
2010, The Visitation, Mr. Gianfranco Tassara
Additional Memories from Fr. Banzin
When Fr. Banzin joined the SJC Parish, Fr. Bennett focused him on two causes: the liturgy and the artwork of the parish. Fr. Bennet told him: “….this committee is working on art…I don’t want [the gray macramé hanging], you tell them.” Fr. Banzin was instrumental in guiding several works of art.He recalls the Mother and Child statue delivered in the truck driven by artist, Michael Price. After the ride from Minnesota, several parishners were on hand to help roll the statue into the Mary Chapel where it stands today in a place of prayer and devotion.
The statue in our entrance of St. John of the Cross was evidence of the Holy Spirit that began with Fr. Banzin seeing photos of the Anderson Memorial in Georgia and calling the artist, Mr. William J. Thompson. Mr. Thompson happened to be a Roman Catholic who was a professor at the University of Georgia. He had also studied the life of St. John of the Cross. Mr. Thompson agreed to the project by phone.
Even after moving to another parish, Fr. Banzin was instrumental in helping SJC obtain the Christmas Creche we use each year. He found Lois Palmer Huth, an artist in Cicero, who made clay images from photos. He asked if she would make a crèche. She did. Fr. MacDonald saw the set Fr. Banzin had made for his new parish and contacted Mrs. Huth to make a set for St. John of the Cross.
Questions & Answers
Q. Why are some spaces so open and others so closed?A. Dart’s goal was that the main space was the space for the worship of God. The other areas of the church are private areas for prayer, such as the Blessed Virgin Chapel. It was important to have public space and private space.
Q. Were some of changes by Vatican II were done too exuberantly?
A. There has been a struggle to make change, evaluate change all through church history. We have the opportunity to look at the world today and how we can find balance. “It is not an either or…it is a creative tension,” said Fr. Banzin.
Q. Why isn’t the body of Christ on the Cross?
A. 1) Because we are a people of the risen Lord.
2) Because our parish is named for St. John of the Cross
3) To keep the simplicity of the space. A crucifix would be incredibly large in that space and would overpower the table, the pulpit. The other pieces would lose their importance.