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After Jesus statue hit by lightning, ascension of sorts

What hath God wrought? Climb 373 steps and see

David Montero, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 22, 2007 at midnight

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First, little Trinity showed up Monday at the top of the hill where the broken Jesus stood. Later, young Faith arrived. Sure, it's a spiritual place, but come on, right?

"How appropriate she'd be here," Linda Barton said with a laugh and tousled the hair of Trinity, her friend's 3-year-old girl named after a foundational belief of Catholicism - the Holy Trinity.

They looked up at the 22-foot-tall statue and allowed their gazes to drift to the crumbled pieces of marble not far from Jesus' feet. On Saturday afternoon, a bolt of lightning struck, shattering the once outstretched arms of Jesus. Since then, people have been climbing the 373 steps to the top of the hill to see what God hath wrought.

Answers weren't plentiful, but theories, well, those weren't in short supply at all.

The favorite? That God did it to draw attention to the Mother Cabrini Shrine just off Interstate 70 outside Golden.

There is little doubt what the area means to the faithful. The place oozes faith, including the presence of a spring that the brochure says Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini found on the hilltop. The Stations of the Cross - which chronicle Jesus' crucifixion - are displayed prominently along the path leading to the statue.

Sister Bernadette Casciano, who has been with the shrine for 17 years, said she has faith it will be repaired.

Also, as it turns out, Jesus was insured.

"Today was the first day we were able to start working on this," Casciano said. "We're still waiting to hear about the cost and when it will be repaired. We just don't know right now."

The most important piece of information she wanted people to know, however, was that the shrine and statue will remain open despite the damage to Jesus.

And on Monday, dozens of people climbed the steps to marvel at the statue, which was made in Italy and erected in 1954. It cost $15,000 back then.

"You can imagine what it is now with inflation," Casciano said.

But the value was more than monetary to those visiting.

Steven Farrell, 35,of Estes Park, made his first trip to the Cabrini Shrine and the statue in 1994. He said a miracle - albeit a small one - happened to him then.

As he tells it, he put 50 cents into a vending machine. "It ate it," he said. So Farrell went to one of the sisters and told her what happened. She gave him his soda. As he was walking up the steps, he felt in his pocket and discovered 50 cents there.

"I didn't have any more money on me," he said Monday, pushing aside some of his long, brown hair that the wind was toying with. "There's no other way it could've gotten there."

Farrell isn't Catholic but said he believes the place "changes lives" and is incredibly spiritual. He even took a few small chunks of the broken arms of Jesus and stuffed them into his pocket. A few others throughout the day did the same - something Casciano is pragmatic about.

"It's not like we can stop them," she said with a bemused smile.

For now, the statue has yellow caution tape around it. The tape also surrounds the clear Plexiglass cover where Cabrini made a heart using quartz stones she hauled up the hill while in her 70s. That sits at the 11-foot base of the statue.

Casciano said it's a miracle no one was hurt and that the cover wasn't shattered by the falling marble. She also had a thought on what the lightning strike means.

"It's the hands and foot that were struck," she said. "Maybe God wants us to be the hands and feet for his service."

About the shrine

• Named for Sister Frances Xavier Cabrini, who was made a saint by Pope Pius XII in 1946. She is the first American citizen to be canonized.

• It is run by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

• The Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is made of marble.

• The statue was imported from Italy in five pieces and erected in 1954. It was valued at $15,000 at the time.

• Cabrini established the property in 1909 as the Queen of Heaven Orphanage.

• The stone heart at the base of the statue was done by Cabrini in 1912.Source: Mother Cabrini Shrine

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