St. Edward Parish has a new protector looking over them. The parish blessed and dedicated a new marble statue of St. Michael the Archangel just outside the front door of the church on Sunday, Jan. 24.
“There is the spiritual perspective that we’re entrusting ourselves to St. Michael,” said Father Andrew Bulso, St. Edward’s pastor. “It helps bolster confidence and hope.”
The idea to commission a statue of St. Michael came from St. Edward’s former pastor, Father Dan Reehil, currently the pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Columbia.
Father Reehil decided to have the parish recite the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel at the end of Masses, Father Bulso explained. That led to the idea for a statue, which serves as a “visual reminder right outside our door that St. Michael has our back,” he added. The statue was sculpted in China. “It was a bit of a feat getting it here,” Father Bulso said.
After it was delivered in November, the parish had a concrete slab poured to place the statue upon, and parish volunteers worked to put it in place.
The 5,000-pound marble statue stands 9 feet tall – the statue is 6 feet and the pedestal is 3 feet. Engraved on the pedestal are the words, “St. Michael the Archangel, Guardian of St. Edward Church.”
The statue serves as a witness to the parish’s hope in God, Father Bulso said.
“We do need hope right now,” Father Bulso said. “That’s one of my favorite virtues. … It’s not based on us. … It’s based on God’s goodness and his power.”
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
