Joyful, cold, and art. These are the three words that former Regis Jesuit High School President Father Steele chose to describe the St. John Francis Regis statue ceremony. The ceremony took place on the cold night of December fourth after the President’s reception. A multitude of alumni, staff, donors, and guests from the reception filled the Blessed Rupert Myer chapel.

“It was very simple. We had mass over in the Rupert Myer chapel for those who wanted to come to it from the reception. Then actually outside the chapel we had a small version of the statue,” said Father Steele, “The donors of the statue asked if I would bless the small version and I blessed it outside of the Rupert Myer chapel. So everyone gathered around the couple who donated and I blessed the statue and I blessed them.”

As the night came to an end and the final blessing approached, the number of people attending the ceremony increased. A large crowd of people bundled in scarves and coats shuffled to the McGreen field to participate in the blessing of the St. John Francis Regis statue Seeking shelter form the overwhelming, cold atmosphere, most of the guests to retreat into the warm and comfortable Steele Center to watch the blessing from the large glass windows and listen through the speakers set up hours before. Surprisingly, a bigger number of people remained outside to freeze in the bitter cold on the McGreen field. While they surrounded Father Steele and the St. John Francis Regis statue waiting in anticipation for the blessing to begin, they still managed to have big, cheerful smiles spread across their faces.

“I did a very simple blessing prayer and then I sprinkled the statue with holy water and then I sprinkled the people,” says Father Steele.

To those at the ceremony, the blessing not only blessed the statue and the people there, but it also blessed the community of Regis Jesuit High School now and in the future.

“I believe when you are blessing something like a statue, you are really blessing the people who are going to see it and hoping that they are inspired by it,” Father Steele said.

According to freshman Molly Braun, the statue has influenced the Regis Jesuit community.

“In the beginning, I don’t think many people took the statue seriously,” Molly says, ” We all called St. John Francis Regis Gandolf because of his staff and floppy hat, but I think we have all developed an appreciation for the art and history that it and all the art on campus reflects.”

While the guests believe that Father Steele’s blessing on the McGreen field was the highlight of the evening, Father Steele thinks otherwise. In his opinion, finally seeing the statue installed after six years of preparation was the greatest part of the experience.

“I think that for me it was the first time I saw the statue installed. I saw it in many stages,” explains Father Steele,  “I saw it in the sculpture’s studio in  when they were working on it with clay. I saw it when we were up in Loveland where the foundry was when it was in a bunch of pieces on the floor. Then I saw it when it was almost together in the foundry. They cast all the pieces in bronze and then they put it together. It was like a big puzzle. Being able to see the finished product in the place I dreamed it would be was a real thrill for me.”

For both Father Steele and the students, staff, and other participants in the Regis Jesuit community, The St. John Francis Regis statue was different than their expectations.

“The smaller version that was about two feet high was how I was imagining it. When the sculptor blows it up it is about ten feet high. It is larger than life. You are looking at it from down below, but with small statue you are looking at it from above,” Father Steele says, “Your perspective changes a lot. So it was kind of suprising at first, but whenever I see pictures of it, I love it a lot.”

Whether you helped with the preparation for the statue or didn’t know about the placement of the statue until the day it was installed, I think everyone can agree that the St.John Francis Regis statue has exceeded any expectations and is the best result that could have been given.

Photos by Jeff Harpham

Gallery • 5 Photos