Reflecting on the Stations of the Cross at St. Francis on the Brazos in Waco
In 1924, Franciscan missionaries from Spain came to Waco to minister to the spiritual needs of the Mexican population of the area. A wooden church was built in 1925, but it was consumed by a fire in 1928. Catholics of the Diocese of Galveston and other dioceses around Texas pitched in to facilitate the building of a more substantial church, which was remarkable since it was in the middle of the Great Depression.
In 1924, Franciscan missionaries from Spain came to Waco to minister to the spiritual needs of the Mexican population of the area. A wooden church was built in 1925, but it was consumed by a fire in 1928. Catholics of the Diocese of Galveston and other dioceses around Texas pitched in to facilitate the building of a more substantial church, which was remarkable since it was in the middle of the Great Depression.
The new church, built in 1931, was inspired by Mission San Jose in San Antonio, built in 1720. Local materials were used where possible, and Spanish tiles for the floor and embossed clay tiles for the wainscot were imported from Seville. A very important feature of the interior are the paintings by Pedro Juan Barcelo of Majorca, Spain, which were painted on canvas and sent to Waco where they were installed on the walls. Some of the paintings are of St. Francis, as well as of Franciscan missionaries who came to Texas in the late 1600s.
Often, Stations of the Cross in churches are small, simple representations, sometimes as minimal as Roman numerals, but in St. Francis, the stations are beautifully detailed paintings with almost life-size figures. They are framed by pilasters with elaborately carved gilded filigree and ornamentation, with some obvious Moorish influence from the 700-year occupation of Spain. The stations have a considerable presence in the church, reminding us of the God-in-the-flesh anointed one.
Sacred art is intended to draw us through the art to something more numinous. While the truth and beauty that first attract our attention are real, they invite us to contemplate their deeper meaning, to access what is beyond them. There is a real humility, if you will, to sacred art.
This Lent I invite you to spend time reflecting on the Stations of the Cross, perhaps using the stations in your parish? It is easy to think that the stations are not particularly beautiful because of what they are depicting, but as 19th century architect Owen Jones observed, “That which is beautiful must be true; that which is true must be beautiful.”
Using the ancient practice of visio divina (“sacred seeing”), gaze carefully at the image and see if you are drawn to anything in particular. Reflect on what stands out for you, what gift is offered to you. How are you called to respond? What do you experience? Can you place yourself in the scene? How does this relate to your life now? Are you being called to any action? Finally, sit with God in silence. Don’t worry about following a formula, just sit with the art and go with what emerges. Perhaps faith exists in the wonder of what we don’t know but somehow sense. Sacred art engages so much more than our minds.
Mark Landers is a parishioner of St. Austin Parish in Austin and a member of the Diocesan Fine Arts Council. He and his wife, Christina, own and operate Landers’ Studio, a woodworking shop and design studio. They design and construct custom furniture and high-quality architectural piecework.
