New artwork honors hero of Cumberland

CUMBERLAND – Wayman Scott IV didn’t know anything about Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos when some Catholics in Western Maryland contacted him about creating a statue of the German Redemptorist priest for an outdoor shrine in his honor.

As he delved into the life of the heroic 19th-century missionary, however, Scott became a huge fan.

“He was so giving and he wanted to support those who were in need,” said Scott, a parishioner of Church of the Nativity in Timonium and a sculptor based at Baltimore Clayworks in Mount Washington.

Scott, himself a Black Catholic, noted that in addition to serving German immigrants, Blessed Seelos ministered to enslaved Black people and free Blacks over the course of a ministry that included assignments in Baltimore, Annapolis and Cumberland.

Blessed Seelos ultimately gave his life for his people in 1867 when he contracted yellow fever and died while caring for those afflicted with the disease in New Orleans.

“He ministered to people who were marginalized,” Scott said. “I work in hospice care and we do work in health, equity and access to care. His story just resonated with me on so many levels, so I really jumped at the opportunity to work on this statue.”

It took Scott a full year to design and sculpt the nearly three-foot statue of Blessed Seelos, which was erected in March at the Shrine of Ss. Peter in Paul. Blessed Seelos walked the very grounds where his likeness now stands, when he served as pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul and prefect of students at a Redemptorist seminary in Cumberland from 1857 to 1862.

The statue is made of an extremely high-grit ceramic, depicting Blessed Seelos with a slight step forward.

“So many statues of him show him standing still, stationary or sitting down,” Scott said. “I tried to convey this idea of going forward to meet the need – that there’s more work to do.”

Scott noted that he sculpted the artwork during the coronavirus pandemic.

“That step forward is almost like an homage to the healthcare workers and healthcare chaplains who are out there doing the work,” he explained. “This piece is to remember him and who he was, but the step forward is considering people who are in some ways stepping into his shoes by serving during a pandemic.”

Scott received the commission for the Seelos project after Joseph and Magdalene Sank of the Shrine of Ss. Peter and Paul read a profile of the artist in the Catholic Review. They contacted leaders of the Friends of the Shrine, a nonprofit organization that supports the shrine’s upkeep and operation, about hiring him for the job.

Paula Schoenadel and David Schoenadel, board members of Friends of the Shrine, worked to build the Seelos shrine, placing the statue inside a stone alcove. Joe George, president of the board, was also supportive. 

“It’s beautiful,” Paula Schoenadel said. “When visitors can’t come inside to pray, it’s a nice location to sit outdoors, pray and meditate.”

The Shrine of Ss. Peter and Paul is part of Our Lady of the Mountains Parish, operated by the Capuchin Franciscans. Parish leaders are planning to bless and dedicate the Seelos shrine Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. The shrine will also host an 8 a.m. healing Mass Oct. 5, Blessed Seelos’ feast day.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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