The canvas paintings of the Twelve Apostles date back to the pastorate of Rev. Fr. Alphonse Bergener, OFM, (1902-1915). The canvases were painted along with the frescoeing of the church interior by George Hoepfinger of Chicago, Illinois during Fr. Bergener's major early 1900's renovation.
The summer of 2020 saw the major church ceiling renovation begin. The Autenrieb Company was hired to performed the time-consuming task. Their work on the murals have made our beautiful Church even more beautiful. They first took all of the Apostles down and preserved them. After that they removed the canvas covering over the plaster ceiling. Once the plaster was uncovered, the workers repaired any plaster that needed it, then a primer was applied to the plaster, followed by a new canvas material. After that was primed, then the painting was started. It was quite a process - and all done on scaffolding about 50 feet high! The design of the ceiling incorporates symbolism and figures from the windows to better tie the ceiling into the rest of the Church. The Apostle figures have been refreshed - those paintings are over 100 years old! As part of the ceiling renovation, the names of the Apostles were added.
Taken from Father Mike Boehm's bulletin article on October 11, 2020 -- "It is so good to have the scaffolding down and the beautiful, new ceiling unveiled in full. As I mentioned before, we were able to incorporate some of the patterns and colors from the windows to bring some consistency to the designs in church. The names of the Apostles have been added below their images. The seal of the Archdiocese and the symbol of the Jesuit Order were also added which speak to our identity as a parish of the Archdiocese and honor our Patron Saint who was a member of the early Jesuits. Take some time and reflect on these images which draw our attention to the Apostles and their mission of being sent to spread God’s word, the mission which we are all called to share."
On the piano side of church from the altar to the choir loft the apostles are:
- Saint Paul with sword
- Saint James the Great with staff and gourd
- Saint Thomas with a carpenter's square
- Saint Phillip with cat of nine tails
- Saint James the Lesser in bishop's robe
- Saint Simon the Zealot with saw
On the baptismal font side of church from the altar to the choir loft the apostles are:
- Saint Peter with keys
- Saint Andrew with the altered cross
- Saint John with a chalice and no beard
- Saint Bartholomew/Nathaniel with a filet knife
- Saint Matthew with a bag of money and halberd
- Saint Jude Thaddeus with fuller's club