Your family legacy permanently at St. Paul the Apostle
October28,2015
Your family legacy permanently at St. Paul the Apostle Purchase your own engraved bricks to be placed in the Peace Garden next to our beloved Mary. This is a beautiful way to memorialize or honor a loved one or a special family event. Lifeteen’s Junior Class is managing this effort as their contribution to helping with our current building loan crisis. All monies earned will be used towards the mortgage loan of our Spiritual Home. Sales of the bricks began Saturday, October 24th at the Festival and continues after all Weekend Masses.
PEACE GARDEN HISTORY SUMMARY The Peace Garden was designed jointly by Rich May and members of the statue committee: Ken Bates, Mike Downey & Tom Brzustowicz. Final Architectural design was completed by Doug Calmelet with assistance from other members of the committee.
The Peace Garden site was blessed with holy water on August 5, 1988. Ground breaking date was approximately September 18, 1989. The construction was done by Joe Koch, Inc., a parishioner of St. Bernadette Church. The construction was completed in November 1989.
The statue of Mary is carved of Carrara Marble by the Padrini Family Sculptors of Italy. It was purchased through Forest Park Memorials for $2,500. The statue arrived on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12, 1989 at approximately 11 a.m. Snowflakes fell throughout the Houston-Clear Lake area during the early morning hours of that day. It was to snow again a week later, covering the site with one half inch of snow.
The garden was constructed in mid-January 1990. There were 14 rose bushes planted behind the statue, one for each station of the cross and 12 dwarf rose bushes to each side, one for each star in Mary’s crown.
The statue was blessed on June 23, 1990, on the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and on the eve of the feast of St. John the Baptist.