Statue stands tall at Clifton church

CLIFTON  A new white-marble statue of Mary Queen of Heaven stands tall in the recently constructed Marian Shrine next to St. Andrew the Apostle Church here. While holding the Christ Child and wearing a crown, the Blessed Virgin Mary greets visitors to the parish campus and passersby out front on busy Mount Prospect Avenue.

The casual visitor, motorist or pedestrian may not realize that the statue marks the first public appearance of the Blessed Mother — or any permanent devotional — near the front of the property. Standing on a pedestal ringed by vases with many colors of mums and roses, the 7.2-foot-tall, 2,500-pound figure enhances the Catholic identity of St. Andrew’s. It also symbolizes something causal observers cannot see: the spiritual conversation of the 81-year-old parish under the patronage of the Mother of God. This summer, 14 parishioners became consecrated to Mary — part of a process of changing their lives — while Father Jeider Barraza, pastor, also has dedicated St. Andrew’s to her.

“The statue is beautiful. The gorgeous expression of Our Lady’s face touches me. One afternoon, it was windy and cold at the shrine but it was soothing as I sat and prayed,” said Terri Lewandoswki, a St. Andrew’s parishioner for the past four years. She joined 13 other parishioners in completing a 33-day program in the book, “Prepara­tion for the Total Consecration to Jesus Christ to Mary According to St. Louis de Montfort” by Father Hugh Gillespie, a Missionary of the Company of Mary. “It brought me closer to Mary. Everyday, I say the rosary, which I found uninspiring before,” she said.

On a sunny Oct. 3 afternoon, Father Barraza blessed the statue of Mary Queen of Heaven, which honors her being crowned “Queen of Heaven,” because she is the Mother of Jesus, “King of the Universe.” He also dedicated the shrine, which sits on a small patch of land between one side of St. Andrew Church and the driveway that leads up to the parish office. As its focal point, the statue stands on a pad of gray paving stones, bounded on two sides by a short, L-shaped wall, which welcomes visitors to sit and pray, Father Barraza said.

“Now we have our little garden to the Blessed Mother. All day, I see people walking up to the church or driving in their cars to pray — some sitting on the wall and others staying in their cars,” said Father Barraza, St. Andrew’s pastor for a year and a half, who devised the idea of dedicating the parish to Mary. “The shrine has become an evangelization tool. We have seen people visit the statue — or attend the dedication — we have never seen before,” he said.

After coming up with the idea of the shrine, Father Barraza hired contractors to assemble the pad and wall. He sifted through images of thousands of avocations of Mary on the internet, settling on Mary Queen of Heaven because it is “beautiful and prayerful.” The worldwide COVID-19 lockdown delayed the arrival of the $3,000 statue by ship from China by more than a month and, in turn, delayed the Marian Shrine’s dedication, the pastor said.

When the statue arrived in mid-September, Father Barraza noticed that it was 1,000 pounds heavier and seven inches taller than the artists originally promised, prompting him to quip, “Mary ate too much on the way over here.” In no time, workers installed the Mary Queen of Heaven statue in its rightful place in the shrine, he said.

Meanwhile over the summer, a group of 14 parishioners prepared for the arrival of the statue by coming together to prepare to become consecrated to the Blessed Mother: allowing her to shape and mold them in bringing them closer to her son, Jesus. They completed the program in the book, which inspired them to deepen their faith through praying, fasting, reading and reflecting on Scripture, receiving Penance and engaging “in mercy and self-sacrifice,” Father Barraza said.

Participants formally became consecrated to Mary in a ceremony Aug. 22 — the Feast of Mary Queen of Heaven — in front of another statue of the Blessed Mother behind the former convent. They each gave personal public testimony and received a blessing from Father Barraza who also presented them with certificates of completion. Afterward, they shared a meal together, the pastor said.

At home, participants read short chapters of the book that contained Scripture passages, reflection questions, prayers and suggested activities. On Monday nights, they gathered sitting behind the parish office for weekly meetings, while wearing face masks and social distancing. Led by Sergio Armijos, St. Andrew’s faith-formation director, the faithful “shared their experiences of the program, often sharing personal things” and became closer as a small faith community, said Father Barraza who noted that many of them are involved in weekly Bible study at the parish.

“The dedication of St. Andrew’s to the Blessed Mother has revitalized the spiritual life of the parish. She is always with her arms open to receive her children in her mantle of love and protection. When Jesus was alive, who showed him how to walk? Mary did! So in this journey we will learn how to walk with Mary. She will guide us, speak to us and soften even the hardest of hearts,” Father Barraza said. “This has been a process of conversation: people changing their lives,” he said.

One participant, Paul Marositz, a parishioner since 1986, spent 90 minutes per day reading the book and praying. He told The Beacon, “I never felt closer to Mary and I say the rosary everyday — not just lip service.”

The book examines the teachings of St. Louis de Montfort (1673–1716), a French missionary, preacher and founder of the Missionaries of the Company of Mary “who believed that the “secret of authentic living of the Gospel is Mary.” He said this is achieved through “true devotion”: “a path of radical self-surrender to the Almighty that he calls Total Consecration,” Father Gillespie writes.

“I have seen changes in the people who participated in being consecrated: a dedication and consistency in their prayer life, in attending daily Mass and in going over the readings before Mass,” Armijos said. “They gave up something — detaching themselves from their comfort zones and uniting themselves with Jesus’ suffering on Calvary. The main focus is Salvation through Christ,” he said.