LINCOLN PARK The freezing 30-degree temperatures and cloudy skies over St. Joseph Church here on the morning of April 2, Good Friday, didn’t discourage a large crowd of parishioners from gathering — all socially distanced — at the edge of the parish’s “prayer park” for the dedication of a new outdoor Stations of the Cross.
The sizable group of about 70 people attested to the great anticipation that the powerful new devotional has generated at St. Joseph’s Parish — three days before the glorious Resurrection of Our Savior. Alexander Weiss, 16, a new St. Joseph’s parishioner and member of Boy Scout Troop 74 in Montville, built the outdoor Stations for his Eagle Scout service project. It gives people a safe place to meditate and pray on the last moments of Jesus’ earthly life and unite themselves with his suffering on the Cross during this COVID-19 pandemic — and for years in the future.
“It [the Stations of the Cross] is so beautiful and impressive. It is a great idea,” Lillian Manser, a St. Joseph’s parishioner of 54 years, told The Beacon, after the 11 a.m. dedication and unveiling ceremony on Good Friday by Father Dominik Bakowski, pastor. Assisting him was Sister Ellen Byrnes, a Sister of St. Francis of Peace, who serves the parish as a pastoral associate and director of religious education. “This will inspire more people to pray the Stations of the Cross,” Manser said.
Against a chilly breeze, the crowd, which included some non-Catholics, gathered at one edge of the church parking lot near a small patch of land, where the Stations of the Cross stands tall in two long rows 15 feet apart. They are bookended by two park benches, where penitents can contemplate and pray. Each station consists of a traditional image of a scene from the Passion, such as “Christ takes up his Cross” and “Christ is crucified,” sheltered in a small shrine alcove with an awning above it and attached to a sturdy pressure-treated wood post below, buried in the ground. Roman numerals identify each corresponding station without any further description, said Weiss, who helped push for the project to be completed in November before the winter.
The Stations are located in a wooded area behind the former St. Joseph’s rectory on Comly Road and joins two other devotionals as part of what forms a “prayer park” on the campus. They are: a rosary garden, another Eagle Scout service project, behind it and a stand-alone shrine of Christ on the Cross at the back of the church parking lot, said Sister Ellen, who read prayers and Scripture readings and made remarks during the ceremony.
“The Stations of the Cross came out wonderfully,” said Father Bakowski, who asked Weiss to finish the project in time for Good Friday this year. The devotional, he said, also arrives at St. Joseph’s in time for the Year of St. Joseph, now being observed by the universal Church, and the 100th anniversary of the parish next year. “A group of parishioners, which prays the Stations on Friday nights, will use it, as well as people coming over to pray after the Masses in church. They can share with their kids the way of Christ on the Cross,” the pastor said.
In December 2019, Weiss met with Father Bakowski and Sister Ellen to ask them about ideas for a service project that would benefit St. Joseph’s. Sister Ellen suggested the outdoor Stations, inspired by one that she saw during a retreat. Major planning for the project started last summer. Weiss researched Stations designs, drew up a plan that was approved by the parish, his Boy Scout troop and the Boy Scout council and then raised funds from friends, family, and parishioners. He spoke at all Masses on All Saints weekend last November and received a flood of donations from generous parishioners. He raised $1,500 — $300 more than he needed, so he donated the surplus to St. Joseph’s, Weiss said.
Weiss ordered the supplies from a local homeimprovement store and a maker of religious devotionals and led a group of 25 people, including Scouts, friends and family, in tackling the project over two weekends in mid-November. They dug 14 holes three feet deep for the 4-by-4-by-8-foot posts, which they cemented into the holes. Then, they assembled the alcove “shrine” part of each station with the images and attached them to the posts. Then, they surrounded each post with decorative colored rocks, said Weiss, a sophomore at Montville High School.
“This project helps beautify the grounds and gives parishioners, especially those who are fearful of coming to church right now, a safe place to pray outside, during Lent and Easter and in this pandemic — and later for years after,” said Weiss, who thanked Father Bakowski, Sister Ellen, the Knights of Columbus, parishioners and this troop for their support. “One day, I hope that I can bring my kids to see it,” he said.
Weiss came to St. Joseph’s recently through his connection with Father Bakowski, when he was serving as a parochial vicar at St. Pius X Parish in Montville. The Scout met the priest there, while attending the parish school until it closed in 2018. Afterward, he went to All Saints Academy in Parsippany for eighth grade. Two years ago, Father Bakowski came to St. Joseph’s from St. Pius. Weiss followed in the footsteps of his brother, Nicholas, 19, who built a prayer garden and repaired a fence at St. Pius X for his Eagle Scout service project, he said.
Admiring the new Stations of the Cross after the ceremony, Sister Ellen called it “a lovely and useful project,” which has “excited people of the parish and the community.”
“At the Stations of the Cross, people can walk prayerfully with Jesus in his final hours all year round. They can see Jesus as the Lamb of God, suffering for the entire world in each act [of the Passion] so we can be free. This depiction of his public suffering makes the Resurrection come alive,” said Sister Ellen, who praised Weiss for his hard work.