Blessing of New Altar

 

The solemn blessing of the new altar at a Pontifical Mass celebrated by Bishop Joe Vasquez can be founds on our YouTube channel or Facebook page.

The piece made by a local Catholic artist/woodcraftsman is a spectacular addition to our worship space at St. Theresa.

Fifty years ago Pope Paul VI bestowed on the new parish a rare relic of the apostle Saint Jude Thaddeus.  It will be stored, along with relics from other saints, in a specially designated cabinet in the new altar. 

"The Altar is Christ"

The Christian altar is by its very nature a unique table of sacrifice and of the paschal banquet:
- a unique altar on which the Sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated in mystery throughout the ages until Christ comes;
- a table at which the Church's sons and daughters are gathered to give thanks to God and to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.
In every church, then, the altar is "the center of the thanksgiving that is accomplished through the Eucharist" around which the Church's other rites are, in a certain manner, ordered.

Because it is at the altar that the memorial of the Lord is celebrated and his Body and Blood given to the faithful, it came to pass that the Church's writers see in the altar a sign of Christ himself-hence the saying arose: "The altar is Christ."
 

Creating the New Altar

The new altar of sacrifice for St. Theresa Church was crafted over a year's time by Austin wood craftsman and artist Warren Foster. Foster explains what processes went into making the unique piece and shares how it was a labor of love and faith:

“The process of building the altar for St. Theresa Church was a challenge on many levels.  Primarily, how to create an altar that would work inside the existing church and appear as though it had always been there. Secondly, meeting Father Larry's high standards!!

I first decided that the predominant wood was going to be a figured Myrtle. Myrtle wood only grows in the holy land and in northwestern regions of America. In the bible it has a special significance representing fertility and life. 

To my eye, some of the most beautiful altars in the world resemble jewels, so I then developed a technique which produced a cut gem-like appearance on the face of the altar. This technique required making several sets of jigs and many hours of repetitive work on the table saw.

I also tried to create biblical relevance with scale. There are a total of 120 tiles applied to the faces of the altar.  40 on the front and 40 on the back. The sides are anchored by 20 tiles on the left and 20 on the right to signify the year in which it was built, 2020. The black staurogram cross was then cut from a lustrous African ebony board lying in my shop for 30 years waiting for the right project to come along. I think I found it!!”  - Warren Foster

Warren Foster grew up in Houston, attended furniture school in North Carolina, and received a BFA in sculpture in 1983 from the Kansas City Art Institute. He worked in furniture design in Kansas City and then continued in Austin after moving his family here in 1992 when they joined St. Louis parish. 40 years and six shops later, he and his wife Mirt have grown sons and recently became grandparents!