IF THIS STATUE COULD TALK!

There is a statue of our patron saint, St. Francis de Sales, which had been sitting in a parish office for many years.  Recently he was in the hallway at our school, greeting kids who were on their way to class.  You can tell he's been around for a while, mostly because he's missing part of his fingers.  He has a few dings but has beautiful colors and a kind face.  He's about 4 feet tall and made of plaster.

It recently came to light that this statue of St. Francis de Sales is the only surviving statue from the original altar of St. Francis de Sales parish.  You can see from this vintage photo that this statue was in the middle niche.  He was in that spot for over 50 years until that altar was dismantled and a new one built in the 1950's.  That makes him over 100 years old!

It wasn't in our original Project 2017 budget or plan to have this statue fully restored because we didn't have this information.  So for now we are going to have his hand repaired and get him "touched up".  We're working on the finding the perfect spot for him in our newly renovated church.  St. Francis de Sales was a Bishop of Geneva and is also the patron saint of writers, journalists, and the deaf.  He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God.  He has many famous sayings, one of the most frequently seen is "“Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.”   Now that's good advice!