Diocese of Cleveland bishop visits Elyria, blesses new statues at St. Jude Church

ELYRIA — Bishop Edward Malesic of The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland visited Elyria on Sunday, celebrating Mass and blessing a pair of new statues at St. Jude Church. Malesic, who was installed as bishop in September, said that visiting different places helps him learn more about the diocese, which includes eight counties, more than 180 parishes and about 670,000 Catholics. Toward the end of Mass on Sunday morning, he told congregants at St. Jude their parish has a lot of life in it. "The worship we had this morning was incredible and lifted my spirits up," he said as a word of encouragement to attendees. Malesic's visit was given little publicity ahead of time to avoid drawing crowds that would exceed St. Jude's capacity, with social distancing taken into account. The hand-carved statues Malesic blessed during Mass depict Mary and Joseph, the earthly parents of Jesus. Located on either side of the sanctuary, they are imported from the small Italian town of Ortisei, where woodcarving has been passed down for generations. Artists with the Ferdinando Perathoner sculptors laboratory in Ortisei completed the 5.25-foot-tall carvings. The statues are valued for more than their aesthetics, said Father Joe Scalco, of St. Jude. He wrote in a leaflet for the Mass that "statues in Catholic worship are visual reminders of a certain saint — in this case, of Mary and Joseph. For Catholics, all prayers are directed to God, and saints are powerful intercessors that can help us obtain blessings and to foster holiness through imitation of their virtues." The statues were acquired following an offer from a benefactor. The donors asked to remain anonymous but said the statues were given in honor of their parents Shirley and James H. Scalco said they were "sculpted and produced in the same town" as existing sculptures in the church that depict the Holy Family and St. Jude. He visited Ortisei once and left with a positive impression. "It's a small town. It's a beautiful place," he said. "They are all artisans and they are all artists." While the sculptors were working on the pieces, Scalco expressed a desire for the statue of Mary to inspire "love and closeness while maintaining the dignity of the Queen of Heaven" and the statue of Joseph to inspire "peace, confidence, and serenity," according to the leaflet. Scalco said he extended an invitation for Malesic to visit the church for Mass and the unveiling of the statues, but he was pleasantly surprised when the bishop accepted the offer due to the similar invitations he receives regularly. Although he now enjoys travelling around the diocese when possible, Malesic recalled with humor his days as a priest, when he would have an occasion to invite the bishop to visit his parish. "I always would write the bishop and invite him and hope he would say no, because when the bishop comes it takes more work. It's more people," Malesic joked. During his visit to St. Jude, he also discussed topics with parishioners including vocational callings and urged them to proclaim the good within the church outside of its walls. He prayed a Mother's Day blessing over the women in attendance. A Pennsylvania native, Malesic was ordained as a priest at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg in 1987 and had been appointed the Bishop of Greensburg before being appointed to the same role in Cleveland last year. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.