Overnight showers threatened to cast a pall on the unveiling of a new sculpture of St. Michael the Archangel at an outdoor shrine honoring the patron saint of police at St. Mary Mother of God Church in Northwest Washington, D.C.
But the Sept. 28 unveiling and blessing of the shrine on 5th Street and the picnic that followed it all went off without a hitch.
The sculpture, made of fired and glazed clay, can be seen attached to the front of the church, which is located within a mile of many police-associated buildings, including the D.C. and federal court buildings, the National Law Enforcement Museum, the National Police Memorial, and D.C. Metropolitan Police Department headquarters.
Father Vincent De Rosa, the pastor of St. Mary Mother of God Parish, is one of two Catholic chaplains to the Metropolitan Police Department, part of a six-clergy contingent. He joined the chaplaincy in 2022.
The city’s Chinatown section – just a heartbeat away from the church – “was very much affected by Covid in terms of public safety,” Father De Rosa said. “There was an uptick in crime and other problems, and the police were really the only agency to respond in an effective and efficient way. We were grateful for that and wanted to give some semblance of a public sign of their work,” hence the idea for the sculpture.
The sculptor, Bethany Lee, is a St. Mary Mother of God parishioner. She and Father De Rosa began designing the artwork in the summer of 2023.
The intent was to finish the sculpture in July, but the art didn’t always cooperate.
Lee is a stone carver with a studio in Brentwood, Maryland, but acknowledged, “A shrine of that size straight up in stone would have been more expensive and time consuming.” Father De Rosa proposed that the sculpture be done in ceramic instead.
“I’ve never done anything, large in ceramic before. It’s a bit less expensive than stone, and a little bit faster,” she added. “Because he decided to do it in clay, it meant that I needed someone to collaborate with me because I didn’t have that expertise.” Lee said her collaborator asked to remain anonymous.
“I had to find a kiln that was big enough. The reason we didn’t get it done by July was because of the process, including making the schedule around her schedule, and kiln availability,” Lee explained. “With ceramic, you have to have a couple of pieces. Two of them cracked in the firing process; one survived.”
Once those setbacks were overcome, the target date became Sept. 29, the feast of St. Michael, as well as of the other archangels, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael. That date is subsumed in this year’s liturgical calendar by the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, so Sept. 28 became the preferred date.
St. Michael is also looked upon as a defender of God’s people against sin. In Revelation 12:7-9, St. Michael leads angels in casting out Satan and his followers from heaven, and the St. Michael prayer includes the words, “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil…”
In his remarks during the prayer service preceding the unveiling, Msgr. Salvatore Criscuolo, a longtime chaplain of the Metropolitan Police Department, said police officers – not all of them Catholic – have asked him to bless their St. Michael medals.
Msgr. Criscuolo recalled three searing incidents that scarred D.C.’s police: a 1994 shooting inside the police department headquarters building that killed two FBI agents and a detective, during which the assailant was also slain; the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; and the mob’s breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in which police were attacked and overrun by the rioters.
It was after these occasions, Msgr. Criscuolo said, that officers approached him and asked if he would bless their St. Michael medals again. He said he expressed surprise at the request. “Does the intercession of St. Michael cease?” he asked, adding that he researched the issue and found that nothing prohibited once-blessed items from being blessed again. “And it made them (the officers) feel better, so I blessed them again,” the monsignor said.
