The 0E6E 20
MWMP
N0U33TI03
March
Volume
1 1
1,
t
atholic NEWS HERALD
3N
&
2002
Number
24
Serving Catholics
in
Western North Carolina
in
the Diocese of Charlotte
Fresco falls, fragments form puzzle
Inside
By
JOANN
S.
KEANE
Editor
Strengthen the children,
CHARLOTTE — On the morning of
strengthen the parish
20, one hour shy of midday Mass, the central portion of a fresco in
Feb.
...Page
4
Hundreds gather for rite of election ...Page
5
St.
Peter Church
ish
community
fell,
in
leaving the par-
mourning. Though
saddened by the accident, the parish has been quick to rally and begin to pick up the pieces. "We have lost our fresco," said Jesuit Father Joseph Sobierajski, pastor of the uptown parish of ap-
proximately 750 families. "It's like an old friend that you see every time you come to church, and we are going to truly miss its presence." Completed in 1989, the fresco has
News
Local
I
1
i
MOS1IH
*
become known well beyond its parish walls and is considered by many as
Black History Month projects teach youth unity,
togetherness .Page
7
an integral artistic contribution to the Charlotte community. "As far as the greater Charlotte community goes, it has become a landmark on the southern end of Tryon Street for visitors," said Father Sobierajski.
A
little
over a year from prepara-
tion to unveiling, the fresco
up
Understanding of pedophilia remains
incomplete .Page
8
Quilting for a cause ...Page
14
in triptych
fashion.
was
set
With scenes
depicting Jesus' Agony in the Garden, the Resurrection of Christ and Pentecost, the parish with its fresco provided a place of solace against the backdrop of the vibrant city streets. Individual parts of the triptych took about a month each to complete. While the work was done on site, the preparatory work was done in the artist's Paris studio. In France, individual pieces were created and transferred to a thin paper, and pictures were perforated. The patterns were then transferred to the walls with a dry substance and painted into
Photos by Joann S. Keane
Pictured above, the central portion of a fresco at St. Peter Church in uptown Charlotte lay in pieces on Feb. 20. Nearly a third of the fresco fell
to the floor on Feb. 20.
fresh plaster.
Every Week
The
classic art of fresco dates to
left, a piece of the fresco Peter Church in Charlotte is saved from the fallen work of art. Cleanup efforts have started to preserve some of the larger images.
Pictured
the earliest forms of cave wall draw-
from
ings. In the traditional process, paint
Entertainment ...Pages
Editorials
10-11
& Columns
me
living
ery day, with the surface just damp enough for the pigmented mixture to actually become a part of the wall. Cleanup started with painstaking efforts to preserve some of the larger images. Hopes are high to recover faces encased in the fallen
may never
thirst
plaster.
...Pages
12-13
Lord, you are truly the Savior of
the world; give
water, that
I
is applied upon damp plaster. "Fresco" is the Italian word for "fresh," indicating that a lime and sand mixture must be made fresh ev-
again,
— John 4:42, 15
A
team was assembled on Feb. 26 to begin moving pieces of the downed fresco, carefully placing fresco fragments on makeshift tables
—
special boarding placed over the tops of the church pews.
The
fallen fresco,
may
hold
many
secrets
on the cause of
the diocese
is
its
demise, and
in the throes of an inves-
what caused the fresco to break from the back altar wall. The diocese continues to operate in a "factfinding mode," pulling in experts to help crack the mystery with specialists from structural engineers to tigation into
architects.
"We
need to
let
the experts find
St.
the facts and
come
to
their best
conclusions," said Father Sobierajski.
we are still a community of men, women and children who love our parish and will continue "In the meantime,
to give
it life."
Contact Editor Joann S. Keane by calling (704) 370-3336 or e-mail jskea ne@cha rlottediocese.org.