by Bishop Raymond A. Lucker
Diocese of New Ulm

After nearly ten years of planning, hard work and difficult decisions, the chapel of the Way of the Cross has been renovated. I rededicated the chapel on Sunday, October 10, 1999, at 3:30 p.m.

It was a special day for the Way of the Cross Committee consisting of Mr. Ralph Reinhart, Dr. James Seifert, and Ms. Jane Hanson of New Ulm, Reverend Bernard Steiner of Green Isle, Reverend Gene Hackert of Gibbon, and myself. Reverend Darold Lehman had been an active member of the committee until his recent death. The committee has meticulously researched and discussed every step of the renovation project, including the restoration of the grotto, cleaning and tuckpointing of the structures of each station, renovation of the statues, locating and installing stained glass windows, and decoration of the chapel. The committee strove to be faithful to every detail in preserving the historical nature of the chapel.

The Way of the Cross, a shrine of the Diocese of New Ulm, was built in 1903 to 1904 by the Sisters of the Order of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, led by Sister Flavia. The Poor Handmaids had been invited to New Ulm and encouraged in their work at the hospital by Father Alexander Berghold, pioneer Catholic priest. The shrine consists of fourteen brick and concrete stations, two other small brick structures containing statues of the Agony of Jesus in the Garden and St. Francis, a stone grotto midway up the Loretto hill honoring Our Lady of Lourdes and the brick chapel at the summit of the hill dedicated to the Sorrowful Mother.

The chapel was part of St. Alexander Hospital and Home for the Aged, later renamed Loretto Hospital. Father Berghold was responsible for bringing the Poor Handmaids to the city and encouraging them in 1883 to build the Hospital and Home which was named after him. When the Sisters turned over Loretto Hospital to the New Ulm Medical Center, they entrusted the Way of the Cross to the care of the Diocese of New Ulm.

Construction began in 1903. The Sisters were responsible for excavating and preparing much of the construction site. The Lourdes Grotto was finished and blessed on August 15, 1903.

By the end of September 1904 the great work was completed. The Stations of the Cross were solemnly blessed by the Franciscans; Fathers Edmund, Liborius, and Raymund. The chapel of the Sorrowful Mother and the bell were blessed on September 27, 1904, by Father Bernard H. Sandmeyer, assisted by Father Frank Schalk, C.PP.S., hospital chaplain, and Father Anthony Scholzen, assistant pastor of the parish.

The interior of the chapel was decorated twice during its one hundred year history. The original painting was done at the time the chapel was completed in 1904. It was noted for the stencil work around the walls and arches, and the stars painted in the curved portion of the apse over the altar. The chapel was redecorated in 1927 when the stencil work was painted over and a mural of the City of Jerusalem replaced the stars in the apse as a backdrop for the crucifixion scene on the altar.

The Way of the Cross Committee was faced with the dilemma of how to restore the painting of the chapel since there were two historically significant decorative plans. At first the committee resolved to be true to the original painting done in 1904. There is some evidence that the famous artist Anton Gag of New Ulm was interested in the Way of the Cross and may have been involved in the original decoration with the stencil work and stars. Anton Gag did some of the same kind of stencil work in his own house. Notes given by his daughter, Wanda Gag, to her biographer say, "1904 -Way of Cross finished." That could refer simply to the historical fact or that Anton Gag finished painting the chapel. The committee was not able to prove, however, that the original decoration was done by him or the firm of Schwendinger, Heller and Gag, noted New Ulm church decorators at the time.

The committee has a picture of the chapel as it originally looked on a dated postcard of 1909. Painting the chapel according to that postcard would probably be the most historically accurate way of restoring the chapel, respecting the work of the original artists.

The chapel mural painted in 1927 on the apse wall depicts a scene of the City of Jerusalem at the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross when darkness covered the earth and lightning and thunder appeared. In this concept the mural forms a backdrop to the statue group over the altar, of Jesus on the cross, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. The stars of the original apse decoration still show through the 1927 mural. Some believe that the painting of the City of Jerusalem was done by the Schwendinger firm, perhaps by Schwendinger himself. What is clear is that Gag could not have painted the mural since he died in 1908. In any case, the painting is historically significant and the committee wanted to respect that.

The committee, therefore, was presented with the dilemma of what to do with the mural of the City of Jerusalem since it was clearly added some twenty-five years after the original decoration of the chapel. The committee believed that the mural has historical significance and it would be a shame to cover it over given the historical character of the artist’s work if further evidence shows that it was indeed Schwendinger’s.

The committee decided then to keep the best of both decoration plans; that is to keep the mural that was painted in 1927 with some necessary cleaning, plaster repair and retouching and to decorate the rest of the chapel according to the original 1904 plan as much as possible, adding a stenciled frame around the mural.

The grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes was restored in 1992. The roof was redone and the wood and glass front was replaced with wrought iron. The one hundred year old stained glass window in the grotto was restored by Mike Mason of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.

The individual stations were tuckpointed in 1993 by Finney Brothers from Wauzeka, Wisconsin. The same mortar color was used as in the original. A new cross was installed above each station. Replicas were made by American Artstone from a salvaged cross replacing the crosses that were broken or missing. After extensive historical research, the original German inscriptions along with English translations were engraved on each station in 1994 by Bloedel Monument Company. New protective glass covers and frames were fabricated and installed in 1996. All of this work on the station structures was coordinated by Heymann Construction Company of New Ulm. The statues were beautifully restored and repainted in 1998 according to original color schemes by Erick Eisenschenk of Cold Spring, Minnesota.

The original stained glass windows were stolen in 1978. Appropriate replacements were found from the old Church of St. Mary in St. Peter, Minnesota and reconstructed and installed by Warren Smith of Minneapolis Art and Stained Glass. The redecoration of the chapel was also done by Eisenschenk Decorating of Cold Spring, Minnesota in 1999. This included not only the repainting of the chapel with original designs of 1904 and restoration of the 1927 mural, but also the cleaning and varnishing of the altar, pews and woodwork, and regilding of the altar and candle holders with yellow and white gold leaf.

The structural historical appearance of the shrine of the Way of the Cross is still very much as it was one hundred years ago. For the future, the committee plans to continue its work on landscaping, making the chapel handicapped accessible, rebuilding the retaining walls, clearing undergrowth, and building an appropriate memorial to the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ and Father Alexander Berghold. The memorial will incorporate a life-size bronze plaque of Father Berghold taken from the chapel of the old Alexander Home before it was demolished. It will also highlight a magnificent bronze bell which was part of the Alexander Home and has important historical inscriptions. The memorial will also contain a brief history of the Way of the Cross linking the shrine, the Sisters, Father Berghold and the Alexander Home and Hospital. It is hoped that all of this can be accomplished before the year 2004.

The Knights of Columbus Council 1076, a fraternal insurance organization, is committed to helping the diocese maintain the shrine and helping to organize fundraising efforts. Restoration of the shrine has been dependent on voluntary contributions of over $75,000 from individuals and organizations from across the state of Minnesota and beyond.

November, 1999