The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which arrived at St. John Center in the late 1980s, has long been missing thumbs and a pinky finger. Michele Bowman, owner of Restorations Plus in St. Louis, Mo., worked on restoring the statues on campus from Oct. 11-14. (Aprille Hanson photo)

Knights of Columbus member Bob Honzik (left) and grand knight Tom Donnelly, from Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Hot Springs Village, discuss the damage to the Virgin Mary statue Oct. 11. (Aprille Hanson photo)

Our Lady of Guadalupe came from Mexico in 1978 and to St. John Center in 1996. The statue, made of concrete, had several cracks and chips, making it Michele Bowman’s toughest statue restoration at St. John Center.

Michele Bowman brushes cleaner onto the Virgin Mary statue. While she did not have the exact cleaning supplies needed for carrara marble on hand, she was able to make the marble shine brighter than before. (Aprille Hanson photo)

On most of the statues, including John the Baptist, Michele Bowman added two coats of primer, two coats of finishing paint and two coats of all-weather sealant to protect the statues from future damage. (Aprille Hanson photo)

Michele Bowman molded new thumbs and a pinky finger from a manmade stone for the Virgin Mary statue and attached them with pins. She cleaned and repaired the statue for free. (Aprille Hanson photo)

The chips, cracks on St. John the Baptist’s arm and elsewhere on the statue are now covered and the statue is restored. A new weather-resistant cross re-placed the deteriorating wooden cross. (Aprille Hanson photo)

Restoration work took four days to complete because of rain delays. Our Lady of Guadalupe required the most intense work to repair many chips and large cracks. All the statues now have two coats of weather sealant to protect from weather damage. (Aprille Hanson photo)

The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue was primed, painted and sealed after Michele Bowman saw it and agreed to repair it at no additional charge after she arrived on campus. (Aprille Hanson photo)

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Restoration of St. John Center statues courtesy of Knights of Columbus

Published: October 22, 2016

By Aprille Hanson
Associate Editor

Aprille Hanson

Knights of Columbus member Bob Honzik (left) and grand knight Tom Donnelly, from Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Hot Springs Village, discuss the damage on the Our Lady of Guadalupe statue at St. John Center in Little Rock.

Aprille Hanson

Saints of the center

• St. John the Baptist: The seven-foot statue prominently displayed in front of Morris Hall was erected in 1943. According to a 1961 article in The Guardian (now called Arkansas Catholic) the statue was donated in memory of Thomas Lafferty of Little Rock, the father of Father Claiborne Lafferty, who was a professor at St. John Seminary. The seminary closed in 1967 and became St. John Center. It was designed for the seminary by Caletta, a statue company in St. Louis, which closed in the 1960s.

St. John appears in camel-hair garments with a lamb, representing Christ as the Lamb of God.

“One hand extends upward to the heavens indicating the Way of the Lord, which St. John was sent to show mankind,” the article stated. “The left hand holds a staff topped by a cross indicating Calvary.”

While the 1961 article indicated the statue to be “white stone,” Michele Bowman said the statue is actually made from terracotta. The wood cross was replaced with a new cross sturdy enough to withstand the weather, Bowman said.

• Blessed Virgin Mary: Standing between Morris and Fletcher halls is a shrine to the Virgin Mary. From June 7, 1987 to Aug. 15, 1988, Pope John Paul II instituted a Marian Year. In recognition, Bishop Andrew J. McDonald and diocesan priests and religious donated the statue. The statue, made of carrara marble from Italy, was crafted for St. John Center. On Aug. 14, 1988, Bishop McDonald celebrated Mass for a crowd of about 800 and dedicated the Marian shrine, according to Arkansas Catholic. A plaque denotes the statue as the “Queen of Clergy.”

Bowman molded new thumbs and a pinky finger for Our Lady from manmade stone, pinning them into the marble.

• Our Lady of Guadalupe: Visitors can see a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the left as they enter St. John Center. On April 20, 1996, Bishop McDonald blessed the statue. The bilingual ceremony was attended by more than 250 people and included music and a procession, according to Arkansas Catholic.

The statue came from Mexico in 1978 to Morris School for Boys in Searcy, operated by the Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis. The school closed in 1993 and the statue was brought to St. John Center in the fall of 1995.

The statue is concrete and required the most restoration work, Bowman said.

• Sacred Heart of Jesus: Standing between Fitzgerald Hall and the dining hall is a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was originally located in a small garden behind Byrne Hall. The Olivetan Benedictine sisters cared for the garden while living in Byrne Hall when St. John Seminary was open. It is not known when the statue was installed, but it was moved to its current location when Byrne Hall was renovated in the 1990s. Bowman said it is made of concrete.

Members of the Knights of Columbus council in Hot Springs Village wanted to give back to St. John Center in Little Rock for all it has offered Catholics around the state and found a fitting tribute by giving a fresh look to the campus’ four outdoor statues.

Grand knight Tom Donnelly and other knights who visited the center earlier this year felt the statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. John the Baptist, Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Virgin Mary needed some attention.

“With all the kids and the people that use the facility of St. John Center, somebody should do something about that,” Donnelly said.

Within the past two months, Council 10208 raised $6,000, with councils in New Dixie and Morrilton and the state council chipping in another $1,000 to restore the statues to pristine condition, which was completed Oct. 11-14.

“I think it’s great that the knights have stepped up to take on this project. We have kind of a laundry list of things we’d like to have done on our campus here,” said Jim Driedric, diocesan property service manager, who has helped facilitate the project for the diocese.

He said while the diocese plans on making several improvements to the 100-year-old buildings on campus, there is a priority list and only so many funds.

“It’s a broader ownership of the diocese with churches and organizations out there that take pride and want things to look good (on campus).”

While the knights are known for parish involvement, charitable contributions and support of seminarian education, restoring the statues is another way to connect members to the diocese.

“To partner with other councils shows strength of the knights in Arkansas,” on this project, said Bob Honzik, a former grand knight in Hot Springs Village who has helped lead the charge for the restoration. “… I have a great deal of pride in this diocese and it’s the first time in my life that I’ve had the time to become involved in a parish and a diocese, and the leadership of this diocese is, I hate to use the word awesome, but they are definitely an inspiration.”

2 Boyz Blasting from Marion, Ill., came Oct. 11 to sandblast the statues, allowing Michele Bowman, owner of Restorations Plus in St. Louis for the past 23 years, to work her magic on “every crack, every seam, every chip and put the surfaces back into a pristine nature,” Donnelly said. Restorations Plus was chosen for their reputation and their work at dioceses throughout the Midwest.

“I told her when she was done I wanted the statues to look like new,” Donnelly said. “This climate with the mold and the mildew and the rain and heat is very tough on outdoor statues.”

The work required low-pressure sandblasting of St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of Guadalupe without damaging the detail, adding two coats of primer, two coats of finishing paint and two coats of all-weather sealant to protect against deterioration.

Bowman also cleaned, repaired and sealed the marble Virgin Mary statue, which was missing thumbs and a pinky finger, for free and after arriving on campus Oct. 11, also agreed to clean, repair, paint and seal the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue next to Fitzgerald Hall.

“I still love it and have a passion for this,” said Bowman, who is Catholic and got into this line of work after asking herself, “What can I do with art and make an impact … make people feel closer to their faith.”

Donnelly said he hopes in December to have a plaque that denotes the K of C contribution to the restoration.

While there are more improvements that can be done on the St. John Center campus, including updated landscaping around Our Lady of Guadalupe and restoring the entrance gate, Donnelly said he hopes this first step encourages other councils to get involved.

“We’re trying to lead by example, set an example for others to emulate,” he said.