St. Ladislaus church's Stations of the Cross moves to Most Blessed Sacrament

A piece of history from the now-demolished 120-year-old St. Ladislaus Roman Catholic Church in the Natrona section of Harrison has found a new home not far away.

Fourteen Stations of the Cross, plucked from the walls of the old Polish church, were installed Tuesday at Most Blessed Sacrament Church, also in Harrison.

“They have new life, which is much the same of what we look to the church to provide,” said the Rev. Andrew Fischer, senior parochial vicar at Guardian Angels Parish, which includes Most Blessed Sacrament.

“Even more than a reminder of the old church, the Stations are significant in that they represent the immensity of God’s love.”

Workers from A.T. Merhaut Inc., a church supply and restoration company in Hampton, were charged with the painstaking upgrade. It was four months ago that the angel-adorned plaster statues were taken from St. Lad’s.

Owner Tom Merhaut said the project took many hours of sanding, repairing and painting before the Stations could be returned “like new.”

An anonymous donor paid to have them restored, according to Tom Babinsack, business manager of Guardian Angels. The parish did not reveal the cost of the work.

Harrison painter Dan Thimons donated his labor to patch the walls and put on a fresh coat of paint before the Stations arrived.

On Tuesday, Merhaut’s crew worked to install brackets to hold the ornate bases of each Station in their new home.

With each base more than 3 feet long, Merhaut said proper time was needed to make sure they were stable. He planned to return Friday to rest the 100-pound Stations on top.

St. Lad’s was among five parish churches that closed last year amid financial struggles and dwindling enrollment.

Since then, leaders found new homes for many of the statues, pews and baptismal.

The Stations, as far as anyone knows, are original to the church, which was built on Spruce Street in 1903.

Most Blessed Sacrament is one of the two remaining Guardian Angels churches. Its former Stations were placed in storage with a hope to reuse them elsewhere.

Fischer said the new Stations will be in place before the start of Lent on Feb. 13. He believes their visual representation is important for parishioners to feel connected to their heritage.

“In any Catholic church, you find Stations of the Cross,” Fischer said. “These depictions are really beautiful. To see them hanging on the walls is artistic, but to envision what they represent is the real beauty.”