Beauty strikes you immediately upon entering Prince of Peace-Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Steelton. Now, with the addition of a new, yet aged Corpus delicately hanging from the ceiling some 100 feet over the altar, the striking placement only adds to the sanctuary’s holy atmosphere.
The Crucifix was placed under the leadership of Father Jonathan Sawicki, who, with the help of several parishioners, began the project and then completed it in mid-June just days before his transfer to pastor of St. Theresa’s in New Cumberland.
The Corpus dates back more than a century, coming originally from Bavaria, Germany, and it once graced the sanctuary of the former St. John the Evangelist Church in Enhaut, which was a parish that was merged into Prince of Peace Parish in the 1990s. The funding for the project came from the bequest of Steelton native Father Andrew Marinak, who was ordained at St. John’s under this Corpus. Father Marinak’s family also helped enable the parish to add the striking Crucifix.
Workers used a pulley-type rig in fascinating fashion from the inside portions of the roof to raise the Corpus after Father Sawicki blessed it with holy water.
“This is really for the parishioners of Prince of Peace as a perpetual reminder that we proclaim the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us each time we enter this sacred church,” Father Sawicki said. “This church has needed a proper Corpus in the sanctuary for sometime and I am so pleased that we as a parish could do it.”
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness
