Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
11 Jan 2013
11 Jan 2013
A statue of St Paul created by Spain's renowned Talleres de Arte sacred art workshops
The High Altar at St Mary's Cathedral and the ornate limestone reredos (decorative screen or part of the wall) behind it were completed in 1880. Now 132 years later, Cathedral architect William Wardell's vision for the reredos is about to be realised. Today 16 specially-commissioned handcrafted statues to fill the niches arrived from Spain.
The day has been spent carefully-unpacking the statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, St John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene and the two great Prophets Elijah and Moses and for the next two weeks they will be on display in the Lady Chapel at the Cathedral. Then at the end of the month the all-important installation will take place with each of the statues installed in the reredos above the High Altar.
"The 17 niches on the reredos behind the High Altar were always meant to be filled with statues," says Father Paul Hilder, Dean of the Cathedral. "But the central niche, which contains a statue of Our Lady Help of Christians and dates back to the time of Archbishop Polding and William Wardell, was the only one ever filled."
Fr Paul says under Wardell's original plan the niches on either side of the central niche were to contain the 12 Apostles plus St Paul, John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene, with the larger niches at either end to contain the Prophets, Moses and Elijah.
The Cathedral's main altar and reredos with its empty niches
"No one is sure why other than Our Lady Help of Christians, the empty niches were never filled but one unconfirmed story has it that the statues to go in the empty niches were on their way to Australia but were lost at sea," he says adding that in all probability this story is nothing more than an entertaining tall tale with no foundation in fact.
Last year, determined to see William Wardell's original vision realised, the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell commissioned 16 statues to fill the vacant niches in the reredos from the renowned century-old Talleres de Arte Granda, Spain's renowned ecclesiastical studios.
Made possible by the generosity of the Friends of St Mary's Cathedral as well as the Australian Catholic University and a member of the Cathedral staff who each sponsored one of the statues, all 16 were created by the team of carvers, wooden sculptors and skilled artisans at Talleres de Arte Granda's workshops. Then shortly after Christmas they were packed and shipped to Australia.
Since his arrival in Sydney in 2001, Cardinal Pell has done much to help realise Wardell and Polding's original vision for the Cathedral as well as restore and add to St Mary's broad collection of artworks and treasures.
Renowned for his appreciation of art, the Cardinal was responsible for instigating the ongoing conservation, repair, cleaning and restoration of both the exterior and interior stonework of the Cathedral as well as renovations and repairs to its artefacts, paintings and sculptures.
A wood sculpture of St Peter from the Spanish sacred art workshops
All the Cathedral doors both internal and external have also been completely restored together with the dormers on the Cathedral roof.
Down in the Cathedral Crypt, new burial sites have been created and the much loved Pieta has been cleaned, restored and re-installed.
The Baptistry boasts a new-look thanks to the massive 44 kg solid silver hood that was taken out of storage. Given a new tracking system for smooth and easy removal during baptisms, the hood has now resumed its place over the baptismal font.
Other statues and artworks that had languished in storage were also restored and to celebrate the canonisation of Australia's first Saint, the Cardinal commissioned the superb bronze statue of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop and two of her young pupils which now stands outside the Cathedral facing College Street.
But of all the work carried out in the past few years, perhaps the most outstanding and moving are the Cathedral's altar triptych comprising the altar which is carved from a solid block of marble mined in North
ern Italy and statues of the Risen Christ and Mary Magdalene. Created by British master sculptor, Nigel Boonham, the altar with its horizontal relief of an entombed Christ was blessed by Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Australia for World Youth Day in 2008.
The companion sculptures, also created by Nigel Boonham of the Risen Christ and Mary Magdalene, at the exact moment she realises it is the Risen Christ who is not dead but standing before her, were completed and installed in 2010, and are outstanding artworks that are both uplifting and inspiring.
The marble altar and statues of the Risen Christ and Mary Magdalene are among the Cathedral's newest treasures
Now thanks to the Cardinal's determination and the generosity of the Friends of St Mary's Cathedral, the reredos and Wardell's original vision will be realised.
"After 132 years to see the reredos finally completed and the niches filled with the statues as envisaged by Wardell will be a very special moment," says Fr Hilder.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
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