For more than 80 years, local Catholics have transformed ordinary parking lots into vibrant works of art, creating elaborate religious images from colored sawdust to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi.<\/p>\n
The tradition continues Sunday, June 7, when volunteers gather at Our Lady of Victory Church in Springdale Township to build the intricate sawdust carpets that have become a hallmark of the annual celebration.<\/p>\n
Work begins at 8 a.m. in the church parking lot, with participants using dyed sawdust to create large-scale designs depicting religious symbols, biblical scenes and messages of faith.<\/p>\n
A Corpus Christi Mass will be celebrated at 4 p.m., followed by a community dinner. Food and drinks will be available throughout the day for volunteers.<\/p>\n
The event is open to the public, and organizers say no artistic experience is necessary.<\/p>\n
This year, organizers expect between 15 and 20 sawdust carpets to be created by more than 100 volunteers from across the Alle-Kiski Valley and beyond.<\/p>\n
The colorful carpets are created using wooden frames and carefully dyed sawdust. Volunteers use concrete dye mixed with sawdust powder inside a concrete mixer to create the materials used in the designs, according to Tom Babinsack, the church\u2019s business manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, a concrete mixer was donated by Home Depot, and the sawdust used in the process was donated by Artcraft Wood Products on (Pittsburgh\u2019s) North Side,\u201d Babinsack said.<\/p>\n
Scott Stalter of Artcraft Wood Products said the company has donated sawdust for the event for roughly 25 years. When the tradition first began, organizers would use between 80 and 100 bags of sawdust. In recent years, that number has dropped to about 15 bags as the process has become more efficient.<\/p>\n
Stalter said he enjoys seeing how an everyday byproduct of the lumber industry is transformed into something meaningful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s super, super cool that they make art out of it,\u201d Stalter said.<\/p>\n
Volunteers create 19 colors of sawdust in the days leading up to the event. Because the concrete dye used to color the sawdust is expensive, costing hundreds of dollars per pound, organizers use it carefully while producing the vibrant shades that have become a hallmark of the celebration.<\/p>\n
Families, church groups and volunteers often spend hours completing the designs before they are blessed and viewed during the afternoon celebration.<\/p>\n
The tradition honors the Feast of Corpus Christi, a Christian holy day that celebrates the belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The observance, formally known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is marked in many countries through public processions, floral displays and artistic expressions of faith.<\/p>\n
Local organizers trace the sawdust carpet tradition to customs practiced in parts of Europe and Latin America, where temporary religious artworks are created along procession routes.<\/p>\n
In the Alle-Kiski Valley, generations of parishioners have continued the practice, making it one of the region\u2019s most distinctive religious celebrations.<\/p>\n
The annual event has changed locations over the years as the Diocese of Pittsburgh reorganized and merged parishes, but the tradition has remained largely unchanged. Previous celebrations were held at churches, including Holy Martyrs Parish in Tarentum.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1944, Our Lady of Victory began when local Catholics met with clergy from St. Mary of Czestochowa in New Kensington to establish a parish serving the Harwick area. The first Mass was celebrated in an abandoned school building before the congregation raised funds to construct its current church, which was dedicated in 1957.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing this since before World War II,\u201d Babinsack said.<\/p>\n
While the finished artwork often appears delicate, organizers have developed ways to deal with unpredictable Western Pennsylvania weather. Depending on conditions, volunteers might cover portions of the carpets or adjust plans to protect the artwork from rain.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s celebration will also feature the return of the Rev. John D. Brennan, a retired priest who formerly served at Guardian Angels Parish. Brennan will celebrate the 4 p.m. Mass before attendees gather for a community dinner.<\/p>\n
Brennan said he is most looking forward to reconnecting with former parishioners.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to see former parishioners I served with for 4\u00bd years,\u201d Brennan said.<\/p>\n
Events like the annual sawdust carpet celebration strengthen the congregation by giving parishioners a public way to express their faith and reflect on the meaning of Corpus Christi, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe congregation puts on display our belief in Jesus\u2019 presence in the Eucharist,\u201d Brennan said. \u201cIt is remaking us as we remember Jesus and are challenged to share ourselves, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brennan also reflected on the symbolism of creating religious artwork from sawdust, connecting the material to the biblical creation story.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt reminds us of going from dust to resurrected bodies someday,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As for whether the event might attract newcomers, Brennan hopes the creativity and beauty of the tradition will inspire both participants and visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m praying that the Father would use our creativity to draw others, as well as ourselves, closer to Jesus,\u201d Brennan said.<\/p>\n
For many participants, however, the event is about more than the finished product. Organizers say the day combines faith, fellowship and creativity, bringing together multiple generations to preserve a tradition.<\/p>\n
Residents interested in participating can reserve carpet space by contacting the parish office at 724-226-4900. Organizers encourage anyone interested to attend, whether they want to help create a design or simply view the finished works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For more than 80 years, local Catholics have transformed ordinary parking lots into vibrant works of art, creating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-322676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}