The Viatorian Community dedicated a new of statue of the Venerable Louis Querbes on Saturday. It has been installed in the new portion of our community plot in the Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Hillside, IL, in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Viatorians gathered at the new statue for the prayer service and dedication.
As part of the graveside prayer service with Viatorians of the Arlington Heights-Chicago and Bourbonnais-Kankakee regions, Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, Provincial, and Fr. Richard Rinn, CSV, Assistant Provincial, blessed the statue.
“When we look upon this statue, may we remember that, as we struggle along with earthly cares, we can be mindful of our saints, who are our brothers and sisters and our special benefactors, near to us and joined to us,” Fr. Mark said. “May we follow in the footsteps of the Lord, keeping in mind the example of our founder.”
Across the path from our large community burial section, which has a statue of St. Viator, this newer section now has a sacred Viatorian marker. “I thought it’d be appropriate to add a statue for the new section, and I felt our founder was the person to turn to,” Fr. Richard said. “On behalf of St. Viator Parish, I had gotten a statue of St. Viator for Cristo Rey St. Viator from a company out in New York. The staff there was very attentive and helpful. With any project, there’s a ton of details, and Julia was an amazing help in all of this.”
Fr. Mark and Fr. Richard led the service and blessed the statue.
Julia Carens, administrative assistant to the Provincial, coordinated the plans and orders with the community’s chosen vendors. Gregory Cave, the third-generation owner of Cave Company of New York, led creation of the statue for Cristo Rey St. Viator as well as this new statue of Fr. Querbes. Maurice Moore, the fourth-generation owner of Maurice Moore Memorials of Chicago, made the base for the statue.
“We spent a lot of time trying to carefully consider the disposition of our men here, and I’m very grateful for how nicely this has turned out,” Fr. Mark said. “So, let us continue to consider the prayerful example of these holy brothers.”
The new section with the newly dedicated statue is the burial place for the last nine brothers who have died and been laid to rest in Hillside: Br. John Dodd, CSV, Fr. John Eck, CSV, Fr. Donald Fitzsimmons, CSV, Fr. Larry Lentz, CSV, Fr. Daniel Mirabelli, CSV, Fr. Daniel Nolan, CSV, Fr. John Palmer, CSV, Fr. Arnold Perham, CSV, and Fr. Alan Syslo, CSV.
On this anniversary of the death of the Venerable Louis Querbes, may his example and the example of these dear departed Viatorians inspire us to serve the holy altar and teach the Christian faith.
Here are some additional views of the new statue – click to enlarge:
