Dear Friends,
Our new baptismal font is being created! Local artist, John Lajba, is doing the work of preparing the bronze images and other local artists are working on the marble pieces. If you have ever gone to an Omaha baseball game then you have seen John Lajba’s work because he is the one who did the bronze statues of the “Road to Omaha” that sit outside the stadium.
The font design of Mr. Lajba is taken from our beautiful back altar. It will be made of a similar white marble with bronze inserts and some wooden pieces to tie all of the elements of our sanctuary space together in the font. The font will look like it has always been in the church and will be a piece of great dignity. It will be placed at the foot of the large crucifix that hangs on the north wall of the sanctuary area. That placement will help people understand in baptism we die with Christ and rise with him to new life. The bronze inserts on the font will have images of water taken from scenes in both the New and Old Testaments.
I am sure you will find the new font to be stunning. Mr. Lajba’s work is always outstanding and will be treasured in our parish for hundreds of years into the future. Just as we treasure the back altar, which was carved in Italy and brought to Omaha shortly after the Civil War. That altar was donated by Mary Creighton to the old Cathedral at a cost of $5,000 dollars in 1867. The U.S. Bishops teach that: “The rites of baptism, the first of the sacraments of initiation, require a prominent place for celebration. Initiation into the Church is entrance into a Eucharistic community united in Jesus Christ. Because the rites of initiation of the Church begin with baptism and are completed by the reception of the Eucharist, the baptismal font and its location reflect the Christian’s journey through the waters of baptism to the altar. This integral relationship between the baptismal font and the altar can be demonstrated in a variety of ways, such as placing the font and altar on the same architectural axis, using natural or artificial lighting, using the same floor patterns, and using common or similar materials and elements of design.”
I remember that shortly after Pope John Paul was elected pope, he returned to Poland and to the parish where he was baptized and grew up. He went to the font where he was baptized, knelt there and prayed. He was letting the world know that the most important sacrament that he had received was baptism. Baptism had made him a child of God. Baptism introduced him to a relationship with God and showered upon him the graces that would make everything else possible. Through that font all else became possible.
We will need to make a couple of other changes in the sanctuary to accommodate the placement of the font. New candle stands to replace our present stands in the sanctuary will be placed directly in front of the two side altars. They will be narrower and lower than the stands that are presently in the sanctuary space. The communion rail will either be greatly reduced or removed to allow for placement of the font and for artistic balance in the sanctuary area. We may need to replace the carpet in the sanctuary because there are not sufficient remnants to cover the areas where the changes will take place. Even though that carpet is not that old, the company no longer makes this particular design.
Here is a bit more about baptismal font design from the U.S. Bishops: “Water is the key symbol of baptism and the focal point of the font. In this water believers die to sin and are reborn to new life in Christ. In designing the font and the iconography in the baptismal area, the parish will want to consider the traditional symbolism that has been the inspiration for the font’s design throughout history. The font is a symbol of both tomb and womb; its power is the power of the triumphant cross; and baptism sets the Christian on the path to the life that will never end, the ‘eighth day’ of eternity where Christ’s reign of peace and justice is celebrated.”
We hope to install the font in May. When it is in its place, you will see how all these teachings of the church are made real in our new font.
Peace,
Fr. Damian