175th Anniversary Mass
Stage design for Mass combines history and holiness
Father Aaron Jenkins works on art and environment details for the stage on May 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in preparation for the archdiocese’s 175th anniversary Mass there on May 3. He is the associate pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Beech Grove and the chaplain of Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School in Indianapolis. A group of Scecina Memorial students helped him move the liturgical furniture onto the stage. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)
By Mary Ann Wyand
Simple yet spiritual was the focus for the stage design for the archdiocese’s 175th anniversary Mass on May 3 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The anniversary year theme is “We Have Seen the Lord: Come and See.”
Five symmetrical pillars at the back of the five-foot-tall stage were draped in cloth in the archdiocesan colors of blue and gold.
The huge corpus, on loan from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis, was mounted on a cross built by Brandt Construction in Indianapolis.
The ambo, altar and embroidered altar cloth were borrowed from the Benedictine monks at Saint Meinrad Archabbey.
Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein’s cathedra, or bishop’s chair, was transported from SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis.
The historic gold chalice, which is used for the Easter and Christmas liturgies at the cathedral, dates back to the 19th century and bears the pontifical arms of Pope Gregory XVI, whose papacy lasted from 1831 until 1846. Pope Gregory established the Diocese of Vincennes—now the Archdiocese of Indianapolis—on May 6, 1834.
And the historic gold crosier carried by Archbishop Buechlein during the liturgy belonged to the late Cardinal Joseph E. Ritter, the first archbishop of Indianapolis and former archbishop of St. Louis, who was a native of New Albany.
A large paschal candle, framed pictures of St. Theodora Guérin and the Servant of God Bishop Simon Bruté, and arrangements of ferns and flowers completed the stage design.
Benedictine Father Julian Peters of Saint Meinrad, interim director of liturgy for the archdiocese, coordinated the art and environment for the historic Mass and was assisted by Father Aaron Jenkins, associate pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Beech Grove and chaplain of Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School in Indianapolis.
While Father Jenkins helped plan the stage design and furnishings for the anniversary Mass, he also prayed for the confirmation candidates from Holy Name Parish and Scecina Memorial High School.
It was a big assignment for the first-year priest, who was ordained by Archbishop Buechlein on June 7, 2008, at the cathedral.
“The archbishop asked me to serve on the [art and environment] committee while I was still in seminary [at Saint Meinrad School of Theology],” Father Jenkins said. “I drew the initial stage designs, and I’ve helped any time we needed to modify it.”
Art is an avocation for Father Jenkins, who wasn’t even a member of the Catholic Church when the Archdiocese of Indianapolis marked two millenia of faith with its “Celebration In the Spirit of Hope: The Great Jubilee” on Sept. 16, 2000, at the former RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
The dome was demolished last year to make room for expansion of the Indiana Convention Center so the archdiocesan Mass was held at the new football stadium, which is the home field for the Indianapolis Colts.
“The challenge was to try to make Lucas Oil Stadium look somewhat like a church,” Father Jenkins explained, “to create a sacred space inside this huge complex that’s normally used for sporting events.”
He said the center pillar was 32 feet tall and held the large crucifix, which is 17 feet tall and weighs about 600 pounds.
“We wanted to keep the [stage] design fairly simple and straightforward,” Father Jenkins said. “We were trying to work with budget constraints so we didn’t want to go overboard with decorations. But we wanted to do something that was nice and that would look more like a sacred space.”
He said it took two days of work on May 1 and May 2 to build and dress the stage.
“I’ve been praying especially for the kids that I am teaching [at Scecina] and that I know at Holy Name [who were confirmed],” Father Jenkins said, “and then a prayer for our archdiocese that in the future we can continue to grow stronger and stay close to the Lord.” †
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