Chapel History 1 - Father Bressani Catholic High School

The shells which serve as holy water fonts were chosen by Fr.Vito; shells are a symbol of the pilgrim. FatherBressani
ChapelHistory
The pain ng of St. Joseph and Jesus is an original work of art by Canadian ar st Mi‐
chael O’Brien and was created especially for Father Bressani Catholic High School. It was commissioned by Fr. Vito Marziliano in 1987. He requested an image of St. Joseph because the school chapel is dedicated to St. Joseph and because St. Joseph is also the patron saint of Canada and of the Jesuits. Wri en in the fall of 2015 by Mary Laurella,
former teacher and Chaplaincy Team
member
at Father Bressani, 1984‐88;
1991‐95; 1999‐2014
The four totem poles in the chapel garden were created by Canadian ar st Ted Re g with the collabora on of senior art students from the school during the school year 1987‐88. This project was undertaken through a program called Ontario Arts Council for Ar sts in the Schools. The students chose and did research on the four individuals depicted on the totems, one of them being Father Bressani. Four students modelled the figures in clay or wax and did the ini al carving of the niches at the top of the totems. The students also did research on the texts and then wrote and decorated the aluminum pieces, which were acid etched and anodized to look like bronze or brass. The images were cast in bronze at Art Cast in Georgetown. Mr. Re g completed the carving of the niches and fastened the images to each totem. Dan Di Rocco, the first principal of Father Bressani, decided to have the chapel at the centre of the school to symbolize that the chapel should be the heart of the school community. The chapel is dedicated to St. Joseph, who is the patron saint of Canada and the patron saint of the Jesuits, the religious order to which Father Bressani belonged. At the beginning of the 1984‐85 school year, using furniture that was available at the school (school chairs and a table) the first chaplain, Fr. Vito Marziliano, started celebra ng Mass in the chapel. The cross, altar, tabernacle, ambo, presiden al chair and the stand for the statue of Our Lady were designed by Joanne Mau . These items were constructed and donated by Arcese Brothers; they were placed in the chapel in 1985. The pain ng of Jesus and the 12 Apostles is an original work of art by Hungarian ar st Paul Szentkuthy who, in the last years of his life lived in Toronto. It was chosen by Fr. Vito Marziliano. Sr. Angelica Ballan, Sister of the Disciples of the Divine Master, created the statue of Mary. It was placed in the chapel in 1986. It was Fr Vito’s decision to have the tabernacle in the centre of the cross, similar to the tabernacle of the Adora on Chapel in St. Peter’s Church, Woodbridge. The chairs were commissioned in 1986 and were also made and donated by Arcese Brothers. Fr. Herman Falke, SCJ made the Sta ons of the Cross. They were installed in 1988. They were commissioned by Fr. Vito from Fr. Falke. Before that, there were temporary sta ons of the cross, pain ngs made by the students. The chapel windows were designed by Fr. Vito Marzili‐
ano. Installed in 2004, the windows were a gi of the gradua ng class of that year. The windows depict the theme of the journey: the journey of St. Joseph, Mary and Jesus into Egypt; the missionary journey of Father Bressani into New France; the life journeys of Father Bressani stu‐
dents in their school neighbour‐
hood; and the human jour‐
ney into the world beyond earth.