Outdoor Stations of Cross erected at Madrid St. Malachy

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

A memorial gift to the Catholic community in Madrid has resulted in an outdoor Stations of the Cross display at St. Malachy Church, which is part of Ascension Parish of Boone County.

It was Deacon Verne Burke’s sister-in-law Becky who entrusted him with selecting a memorial for the church in memory of her husband and his brother, David Burke who died in 2022 after a battle with cancer. While he resided in eastern Iowa in later years, he was a native of Madrid.

Having seen outdoor stations in other places, he thought they would be a nice addition to St. Malachy.

“It is my hope that the community will utilize these icons to remember the price that was paid for our salvation,” said Deacon Burke.

The deacon was quick to point out that having the outdoor stations come to fruition was a group effort.

After he had the stations printed on metal – a material to withstand the outside elements - he enlisted other members of the Knights of Columbus, Msgr. Louis Kollasch Council No. 13393, to frame the images, attach them to posts and set up the outdoor display.

Dean Tranel, a KC, was among the men to help organize the effort and determine that the stations would be placed along the main entrance drive to the church.

“I think they look great,” he said. “The design matches the interior and style of the church.”Tranel mentioned that Jim Fath did the lion’s share of preparing the stations. The Knights had asked Fath, a fellow Knight who previously had a remodeling/contractor business with years of woodworking experience, to frame the images and attach them to posts.
“Of course, I wanted them to last so I used some marine-grade spur varnish on them. Sanded them down and put two or three coats on the posts and the frames,” said Fath. “It’s a really good outdoor varnish made originally for boats so I knew it would hold up better than most regular exterior grade varnishes.”

This was not Fath’s first time lending his woodworking skills to the church. For instance, he installed the banisters and railings in St. Malachy. Having been a woodworker since he was 16 years old, he willingly assists with these types of projects as well as other Knights activities such as the fish fries.

Tranel pointed out that it was Holy Saturday when he, Deacon Burke and Tom Atkinson installed the stations along the main drive to the church. Another member delivered gravel for the project.

All of the men are pleased with how the stations turned out and like the outdoor aspect of the memorial.

“It’s nice to have an outdoor display – even if the church is closed, someone can go through and see the Stations of the Cross,” said Fath, who spoke of the high quality of the images Burke purchased.

In addition to the benefit of having a visible sign of the faith outside of the church, Tranel said the stations helped to spruce up the church grounds.

The deacon is thankful for the help of the Knights and is confident the Stations of the Cross was the right selection.

“To me, the stations show the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, which is paramount to our faith,” said Deacon Burke.