Engelbert Piccolruaz, with one of his favourite wooden statues he created of his grandson
St Joseph, a wood carver and the power of art to inspire By Selina Hasham, Director, Communications In his workshop in Mascot, wood carver Engelbert Piccolruaz is using his mallet and chisel to shape a statue of St Joseph that will be installed in Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral and blessed by Bishop Anthony Randazzo on the feast of St Joseph on 19 March. Commissioned by Bishop Anthony, the statue is a gift from the Bishop to the Diocese of Broken Bay in memory of his father Colin and mother Caterina who have both recently passed away. When Engelbert began wood carving at the age of 12, there were 40 others in his class in the Northern Italian Alpine town of Ortisei learning the craft. Now, over six decades later in 4/
his second homeland of Australia, he is the only wood sculptor of his kind working in the country. If you have visited churches, cathedrals, cemeteries, or schools, of various denominations, chances are you have seen Engelbert’s work. Life-size crucifixes above altars, trumpeting angels atop mausoleums, statues of saints in church alcoves and figures of patrons for school courtyards are his speciality. He carves in wood for indoor works and for outdoor commissions, his wood carving forms a mould from which a bronze statue is cast. After years of studies and apprenticeships in Italy and Germany under various masters, Engelbert with his wife Isabella migrated to Australia
in 1969 and was able to secure a position as a contractor for Pellegrini’s, a major retailer of religious goods at that time. After ten years he set up his own workshop and has worked independently ever since. Engelbert’s work is prolific in the Catholic Church across many dioceses, but he has also done commissions for the Anglicans, Russian Orthodox and various rites and communities. “I have done a lot of work for the Maronites – the churches in Punchbowl and Lakemba – many, many statues,” he says. Isabella brings her skills of business management and negotiation to the administrative side of Engelbert’s work.
