Restoring a Treasured Item
Saving Mother Cabrini’s Bench
In April we wrote about the history of Mother Cabrini’s prayer bench, which is memorialized in the mosaic at the Shrine. The effort to restore the bench so that you can use it as St. Cabrini did is now underway.
The bench as it appears in the Shrine’s mosaic
On a drizzly morning in April a team of restoration experts arrived at the Shrine. Their task: to carefully remove the heavy prayer bench and take it to their workshop where conservation could begin.
Detail beneath layers of paint and plaster
As the bench was disassembled for transport, we got a peek at the gorgeous detail of the original historic material beneath the many layers of paint. The restoration specialist was a wealth of information. He immediately identified the underlying griffins as made of historic concrete. He also said it appears that three attempts were made at repairs, each with different materials and approaches.
Step One: Cleaning Off Debris
The first step in restoration was to remove all non-original material. Paint, portland cement, and even a cinderblock had been added over the years in an attempt to hold the original bench together.
A few weeks after the bench departed we discovered another postcard of Mother Cabrini’s bench. It includes the
Postcard of Mother Cabrini’s bench
wording, “Here often in early morning, lyric Beata Cabrini communed with God.” This told us the photo was taken some time after Mother Cabrini was beatified in 1938 and before she was canonized in 1946.
Two other details emerged: the metalwork on top was original (we’d assumed it was not because it wasn’t depicted in the Shrine’s mosaic nor visible on the other old photo we have), and there were signs of deterioration more than 75 years ago.
Step Two: Stabilization
The stripped griffins being repaired
At this point the original material has begun to lose its binder, so the restoration expert will have to do some consolidation. The broken pieces will need to be reintegrated and a skim coat of a sealant added.
Subsequent steps will stabilize the original structure and replicate the wooden slats and base. The wood has deteriorated too much to incorporate safely into the restored bench other than in a decorative manner. Any wood left over will be preserved as second-class relics. The load-bearing part of the bench will be re-created in a way that is isolated from the griffins, so that the historic parts do not suffer further deterioration when pilgrims use the bench to pray.
Step Three: Re-Installation
Because the restoration work is more complex than originally anticipated, the bench will be re-installed in September rather than July. Plans are underway to construct a new platform at the back of the lawn. Surrounding the base will be space for named bricks to honor loved ones. Major gift options for are also available.
Step Four: How You Can Help
Rather than simply stabilizing Mother Cabrini’s bench so it could be a museum piece, we chose to restore it to its original use as a place of prayer. This is more expensive, but we want you — and future generations — to be able to “commune with God” in our garden as St. Frances Cabrini did. Please help make this possible with your generous donation.
Contact Julia Attaway, Executive Director, for information about major gifts.
