County of statues: St. Charles County
Location of statues: 1235 Church Rd., St. Paul Catholic Church, St. Paul.
A bit about these statues:
"In 1895 preparation was begun to build a new and larger church. The parishioners donated their time and money and hauled 500 wagon loads of sand, rock, 37,000 bricks, lumber and slate to the site.Most of the materials were shipped by railroad to Richfield station, north of Highway 79, and the village by wagon. Acquiring the building materials took nearly two years.
"Notes kept by Father Tintrup dated March 1, 1898, revealed the following: “Upon completion of the building, the high altar, side altars, confessional, organ bells, and other utensils used in the old church were moved to the new one.” It is agreed among senior members of today’s parish that these are the same altars, with some remodeling, present in our church today. ......
". .. Some of our senior parishioners recall that the altars were originally much taller, crowned with a statue of the Sacred Heart and saintly statues in the niches at each side. . . .
" . . Father Bresnahan had a strong devotion to the Infant of Prague and placed a statute of the Infant in the north wall alcove of the church. . . .
" . . . Reverend Henry Kohnen...first undertaking was the remodeling of the church in 1961. . . . Much ornamentation was removed from the altars and the brightly colored statues were repainted in somber hues. The Sacred Heart and St. Elizabeth statues were put in storage. The Sorrowful Mother was placed in the baptistry. The crucifix above the main altar was replaced with one of linden wood imported from Italy.
"Parishioners were nostalgic for the old statues, and the Sorrowful Mother, Sacred Heart, and St. Elizabeth were returned to the church from storage. [1991]" ~ St Paul History
St. Elizabeth:
"What we know of St. Elizabeth comes from the Gospel, the book of Luke, in particular. In Luke, Elizabeth, a daughter of the line of Aaron, and the wife of Zacharias, was "righteous before God" and was "blameless" but childless. Elizabeth is also a cousin to the Virgin Mary.
"Elizabeth became pregnant shortly thereafter and she rejoiced.
"Gabriel then visited the Virgin Mary at Nazareth, telling her that she would conceive of the Holy Spirit and become the mother of Jesus.
"Mary then visited Elizabeth, and her baby leapt in her womb. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth proclaimed to Mary, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!" (Luke 1:41-45).
"Mary visited with Elizabeth for three months, both women pregnant with child. After Mary returned home, Elizabeth gave birth to a son and named him John. This child was chosen by God to be John the Baptist. John would baptize Christ as an example to all, that all must be reborn of water and spirit.
"Although Elizabeth's neighbors assumed the child would be named Zachariah, her husband insisted that John be his name. This astonished the neighbors for there were no men named John in Elizabeth's family, but Zachariah's insistence ended the debate. At the moment Zachariah insisted that they obey the will of God, and name him John, his speech returned.
"After this, there is no more mention in the Bible about Elizabeth.
"There are mentions of Elizabeth in the apocryphal works, but these are not within the cannon of the Bible. In the Apocrypha, it mentions that her husband, Zachariah, was murdered in the temple.
"St. Elizabeth's feast day is celebrated on November 5." ~ Catholic Online
Infant of Prague:
"Special devotion to the Divine Child originated with the Carmelites in the city of Prague, Bohemia, in the beginning of the seventeenth century. Princess Polyxenia of Lobkowitz had received as a wedding gift from her mother a statue of the Divine Child, previously brought from Spain.
"It was a small statue, just nineteen inches tall, made of wood, wax, and cloth. It represented the infant Jesus dressed in royal robes and wearing a king’s crown.
"After the death of her husband, the princess devoted herself to works of charity and was particularly helpful to the Carmelites in Prague. In 1628, when the Carmelite Monastery had been reduced to poverty, owing to the ravages of war, the princess gave her precious statue to the Carmelites, saying, “I give you what I prize most highly in the world; honor and respect the Child Jesus and you shall never be in want.”
"Her gift was placed in the Carmelite oratory. The words of the princess proved prophetic, for as long as the Carmelites kept up their devotion to the Divine Infant of Prague, everything prospered with them.
"The Carmelites were later forced to flee from the city, and in the confusion of the war, they were unable to take with them their miraculous statue. The invaders seized it and threw it into a pile of rubbish.
"In 1635, peace came to Prague and the Carmelites returned. One of them, Father Cyril, who had previously received great spiritual help through his devotion to the Infant of Prague, sought the statue and found it amidst the rubbish.
"Overjoyed, he again placed the statue in the oratory. Father Cyril knelt in prayer before the small statue. Gazing upon the simple statue of the Child Jesus, he contemplated the most marvelous even in the history of the world, the Incarnation. He was filled with awe and wonder has he prayed to the God who became a child because of his love for us.
"Suddenly, the statue spoke to him. Father Cyril was stunned as he heard these words of promise:
" HAVE MERCY ON ME AND I WILL HAVE MERCY ON YOU.
GIVE ME HANDS AND I WILL GIVE YOU PEACE.
"THE MORE YOU HONOR ME, THE MORE I WILL BLESS YOU.
Startled by these words, Father Cyril examined the statue, and upon drawing aside the mantle covering it, he found that both hands of the statue were broken off. The hands were later restored to the statue through the generosity of a devotee of the Divine Child.
"St. Therese, the Little Flower, was also a most fervent venerator. For more than three centuries, this promise has inspired a worldwide devotion to the Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague. The original statue is still preserved in the church of St. Mary of Victory in Prague.
"Today, replicas and models of the small statue are honored in every part of the world. The list of blessings attributed by devotees of the Infant Jesus is endless: health restored, financial problems solved, gifts of peace of mind and soul, and innumerable healings, both physical and spiritual. God has been astonishingly generous in blessing those who have been devoted to his Infant Son." ~ League of the Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague
St. Anthony of Padua
"St. Anthony of Padua is one of the Catholic Church’s most popular saints. Saint Anthony of Padua, patron saint of lost and stolen articles, was a powerful Franciscan preacher and teacher. He’s typically portrayed holding the child Jesus—or a lily—or a book—or all three—in his arms. Many people give alms to St. Anthony Bread in thanksgiving to God for blessings received through the prayers of St. Anthony.
"St. Anthony of Padua’s life is what every Christian’s life is meant to be; a steady courage to face the ups and downs of life, the call to love and forgive, to be concerned for the needs of others, to deal with crisis great and small, and to have our feet solidly on the ground of total trusting love and dependence on God.
"Legends about Anthony abound. But let’s turn to the known facts about him.
"Anthony was born in 1195 (13 years after St. Francis) in Lisbon, Portugal and given the name of Fernando at Baptism. His parents, Martin and Mary Bulhom, apparently belonged to one of the prominent families of the city.
"At the age of 15 he entered the religious order of St. Augustine. Monastery life was hardly peaceful for young Fernando, nor conducive to prayer and study, as his old friends came to visit frequently and engaged in vehement political discussions.
"After two years he was sent to Coimbra. There he began nine years of intense study, learning the Augustinian theology that he would later combine with the Franciscan vision. Fernando was probably ordained a priest during this time.
"The life of the young priest took a crucial turn when the bodies of the first five Franciscan martyrs were returned from Morocco. They had preached in the mosque in Seville, almost being martyred at the outset, but the sultan allowed them to pass on to Morocco, where, after continuing to preach Christ despite repeated warnings, they were tortured and beheaded. Now, in the presence of the queen and a huge crowd, their remains were carried in solemn procession to Fernando’s monastery
"He was overjoyed and inspired to a momentous decision. He went to the little friary in Coimbra and said, “Brother, I would gladly put on the habit of your Order if you would promise to send me as soon as possible to the land of the Saracens, that I may gain the crown of the holy martyrs.” After some challenges from the prior of the Augustinians, he was allowed to leave that priory and receive the Franciscan habit, taking the name Anthony." ~ Franciscan Friars of the Province of St. John the Baptist