MICHIGAN CITY – “We have the most beautiful statues in place,” said Jan Sypnieski, “I can’t wait for the people of the parish to see them.”
Sypnieski, executive assistant at Queen of All Saints, couldn’t control the excitement in her voice upon seeing two new statues arrive at one of Michigan City’s parishes. She explained it was a nice ending to something very devastating.
Formerly, St. Mary the Immaculate Conception had two sculptures – one of St. Joseph and one of Our Lady, the Blessed Mother. However, on Thanksgiving Day in 2024, the church was vandalized, and the representation of St. Joseph was destroyed beyond repair.
Father David Kime, pastor, looked for months to find a statue to replace the one owned by the parish. He called religious stores and antique shops all over the country looking for a likeness of St. Joseph that would be similar in style to the one of St. Mary, but he was not able to find one that would match the existing statue of Mary.
It quickly became apparent that the parish would have to buy two new sculptures so that they would be the same size and style, matching each other. The original statue of Mary was relocated to the front of the church in the vestibule. The two new statues were placed on either side of the altar and blessed during Masses the weekend of Sept. 20-21.
“The people fully understand that the statues need to match even though they were greatly saddened that our original and beautiful St. Joseph statue was demolished in the vandalism,” said Father Kime.
He added that the new statues are beautiful, hand-carved from Italy. The parish purchased them with the help of Boric Religious Supply.
“I can tell you that many churches view us as the wine, candle and bread option for them and forget that we are able to do much more, like these statues,” said Chris Dorin, owner of the religious store in St. John.
Father Kime explained that those who were involved in the selection process were attracted to what he called the gentle faces of the figures.
“Of course, we believe in the communion of the saints and the intercessory power of all the saints,” he said. “These two statues remind us that we have Our Mother, Mary and St. Joseph, as well as all the saints in heaven, interceding for us here on earth.”
The statues were paid for by the insurance program of the Diocese of Gary. Father Kime hopes that with the new statues now in place, it will create a moment of healing for the parish.
“It was very sad to see the destruction of our parish for the vandalism, but these statues will represent the viability and resilience of the Catholic Church as a beacon of hope and forgiveness for many generations to come,” he said.
Richard Walker has lived in Michigan City for 51 years and has been a parishioner of all three Catholic churches in town. He moved to Northwest Indiana from Hendersonville, Tenn., where his parish was called Lady of the Lake.
“St. Mary the Immaculate Conception is the Queen of the Lake, welcoming and inviting everybody to come and worship Her Son, Jesus Christ Our God and Savior,” he noted.
Walker stated the two new icons remind all those who enter that it is the church of God. He described them as being simple, yet when a person looks at them close up, “they seem to be looking into your eyes when you get in front of them, as if when you are praying before them, they appear to be hearing you.”
