Father Griesbach hand crafts cross for jubilee celebration

“A nice little project.”

That is how Father Seamus Griesbach described the simple, yet beautiful wooden cross he handcrafted for the celebration of the opening of the Jubilee Year of Hope.

“The jubilee liturgy asks for an unadorned cross, not a crucifix, to be processed in when you're opening the Jubilee year. I thought it would be nice to make a new one,” he said.

It stands close to six-feet tall, is made out of maple, and rests in a base comprising four upside-down corbels, which can be removed.

Father Griesbach said it only took a few days for him to make the cross. He didn’t start the project until after Christmas, and it was ready for the Sunday, December 29 Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, during which Bishop James Ruggieri formally opened the diocese’s celebration of the jubilee.

“The biggest thing was staining it and then the polyurethane. You have to wait between coats so that's what takes the most time,” he said.

Father Griesbach learned how to carve wood from his father, who is a carpenter. He said he likes to do it as a hobby from time to time because of the concrete results that are visible when a project is finished.

“I enjoy it,” he said. “I think sometimes those kind of practical hobbies or little things that we do as priests that kind of can be a nice counterpoint to the ministry that we're doing each day.”

The cross currently stands in the millennial entranceway. Although he said the cross itself will remain unadorned as intended, he plans to put information near it about the jubilee and about the plenary indulgence available during the coming holy year.