Local artist breathes life into new crucifix for St. Steven Parish

By Andrew Junker | July 1, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

SUN LAKES — Things are starting to change at St. Steven Parish. For one thing, the parish — located in a retirement community southeast of Phoenix — has seen an influx of younger members.

They have families coming from cities like Chandler and Queen Creek, and the parish has responded by offering sacrament preparation and children’s catechism classes.

But there’s another change that may be even more apparent to longtime parishioners: the large, freestanding, bronze crucifix located behind the church’s altar.

Fr. Pierre Hissey, pastor of the parish, said the new crucifix was five years in the acquiring. The parish used to have a smaller cross based on the San Damiano crucifix made famous by St. Francis of Assisi.

“But a lot of people wanted a crucifix with a corpus,” Fr. Hissey said. “They said if you can put one up with a corpus, we’ll pay for it. So, I began to investigate it.”

Soon, Fr. Hissey wrote to Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, asking if he could raise funds for a new crucifix. He also consulted with Fr. Kieran Kleczewski, executive director of the diocesan Office of Worship.

Fr. Hissey then put together a committee to interview artists and come to a consensus on the style of the new crucifix. Dee West, a parishioner, headed the committee.

“We wanted a cross that did not look like it came from a furniture store,” she said.

Their search led them to Carlos Ayala, a local artist who sculpts and paints. They commissioned him to make a life-size bronze crucifix. The committee and Fr. Hissey both wanted a life-like representation of the crucified Christ.

“When you look at it and you see the agony that He went through you can’t help but appreciate the work that the artist put into it,” West said. “When I look at it I know that we are in the house of God.”

Fr. Hissey agreed.

“The life-size aspect of it will let people go in and they’re attracted to the crucifix,” he said. “It leads down to the tabernacle and the altar and it hits you that this is why we’re here. It all leads to the Eucharist.”

The crucifix cost about $42,000, nearly all of which has been raised via individual donations and a couple of fundraisers. Fr. Hissey was happy the commission went to a local artist.

“I know that Carlos Ayala is a man of prayer,” the priest said. “He’s a family man and I deeply respect him.”

Ayala grew up an orphan in Cuernavaca, Mexico. His artistic talent was recognized when he was 13-years-old and he began to study art. Eventually, he moved to Yarnell, Ariz. Now, he paints and sculpts in a studio near Anthem, though much of his work ends up out of state.

“I do sculptures for all over, but in Arizona, it’s just a few,” he said. “Everything I’ve gotten has been from word of mouth.”

If West’s reaction to the new crucifix is any indication, Ayala might find himself with more local commissions.

“If you go up to the sanctuary and look at the face,” she said, “you just can’t help but think this is our Lord.”