10-foot, 240-pound sculpture donated by Shelby Township-based sculptor, painter to contribute to ‘Cathedral of the Arts’ project
DETROIT — At the conclusion of Mass for the feast of Christ the King on Nov. 22, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron blessed a new life-size crucifix outside the parish offices at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
The 10-foot-tall, 240-pound sculpture was donated by Simeon Simeonov, a Shelby Township-based sculptor, and his wife, Lidia Simeonova, a painter, in 2018 and installed this summer with the help of volunteers from MHT Housing, KemTech and M & N General Contracting.
“The crucifix is a beautiful addition to the landscape and a place (especially on warmer days) where the community and parish can pray,” Dawn Dorsch, a supporter of the project, told Detroit Catholic. “We expect in the spring to have some landscaping improvements.”
The corpus on the crucifix was made using Forton VF-812, a durable indoor/outdoor material, and mounted to a treated wooden cross built to withstand the elements.
The new crucifix is part of the cathedral's ongoing “Cathedral of the Arts” initiative, which seeks to transform Detroit's mother church into an “apostolic center for the arts and culture” with a renewed emphasis on sacred art, music and pilgrimage opportunities.
Christine Broses, cathedral pastoral associate, said the new crucifix was installed free of charge with the help of Van Fox from MHT Housing, which is building a new residential complex across the street from the Woodward Avenue cathedral, as well as Mel Joseph of KemTech and Nino Cutraro of M & N General Contracting.
