The staff and administration of the Gardens of St. Francis, a CHI Living Communities facility located at 930 S. Wynn Road in Oregon, Ohio, continually strive to make the healing presence of God known to residents and their loved ones. Among the many ways they work to achieve this goal is by making the campus a beautiful place to visit and live.
The Gardens of St. Francis recently reaffirmed this commitment to providing a beautiful, welcoming environment with the unveiling of a new mural depicting the Holy Family, which adorns the exterior wall of the facility’s Holy Family Center where a wooden sculpture of the same subject formerly stood. In this prominent location, the mural is the first thing visitors see upon entering the building.
Brandon Webb, Administrator at The Gardens of St. Francis, explains why the Holy Family image was chosen for the mural: “In the Church, it is the sacred duty of parents to raise children in love and provide them their physical and spiritual needs. The virtues of the Holy Family are adoration, joy, and thanksgiving. We believe the Holy Family is a great symbol for this space because it is a space to be enjoyed by families and residents alike, and is a reminder of those virtues.”
Beyond symbolizing the virtues of the Holy Family, the new mural seems to evoke a powerful emotional response in viewers. “Emotionally, the image conveys wonder and adoration of the mysteries of God and the purpose that each one of us has for Him on this earth. It is a reminder that the family is sacred and taking care of our loved ones is the work of God,” Webb comments.
The mural, which is approximately five feet high and ten feet wide and consists of 222 individual tiles, was created by Sister Jane Mary Sorosiak, OSF, Director of Alverno Studio at Lourdes University. Sister Jane Mary also taught Art and English at Cardinal Stritch High School from 1961 to 1976 and was formerly Assistant Professor of Art at Lourdes. She has been producing murals for 35 years and has her work on display around the nation.
According to Heidi Hoffman, Director of Mission Integration and Spiritual Care at The Gardens of St. Francis, the idea of having one of Sister Jane Mary’s murals created for the facility germinated when she and her coworkers were on retreat at the motherhouse of the Sylvania Franciscans and had the opportunity to tour Alverno Studio and meet Sister Jane Mary. Following that encounter, Sister Jane Mary and Sister Magdala Davlin, OSF, came to The Gardens of St. Francis to determine where the mural would be installed and the subject it would convey.
Sister Jane Mary installed the mural on August 1 with the assistance of Sister Magdala, along with Hans Klink and his granddaughter Bridgette Klink. To commemorate the project’s completion, a special ceremony was held on August 10, with Gardens of St. Francis resident Father Ken Lill providing the blessing, followed by a reception for residents in the Holy Family Center. Expressing the mutual enthusiasm that staff, residents, and visitors all seem to feel upon viewing the Holy Family mural, Webb states, “We were so excited to have this mural brought to our campus. It symbolizes our connection to not only the Sisters of the Poor, but also the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania and their sponsorship of our facility. It is our mission to ensure that their legacy lives on through the care that we provide to our residents at our facility, and this mural helps us keep that connection alive and well.” ✲
