Mural of Saint Francis of Assisi dedicated

IC photo by Christine Young

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Saint Vincent de Paul School students process to have their dogs, cats and birds blessed by Msgr. M. Francis Mannion. Jesse DeOllos assisted by holding the holy water. DeOllos also was thanked for his assistance in hanging the mural.

SALT LAKE CITY – Saint Vincent de Paul School unveiled and dedicated a 10x13 foot tile mural in celebration of Saint Francis of Assisi on his feast day, Oct. 4. The mural is hung on the outside pavilion area next to Holy Family Hall between St. Vincent Church and the school.

“We are here today to bless and commemorate this very special mural behind me,” said Mark Longe, St. Vincent principal. “It came to be because we were wondering what we should do with this blank space. A few years ago we had smaller murals of the seasons made for the other walls of the school. For this mural, I worked with Carol Barman and Jody Palmer to come up with an idea and we commissioned the artist.”

The artist was asked to incorporate into the mural the Great Salt Lake, the Wasatch Mountains and animals unique to Salt Lake, said Carol Barman, St. Vincent de Paul advancement director.

Sharon Wheeler, the Utah artist who painted the depiction used to make the mural, said she loves the interpretation of her work. “I’m impressed with what they have done,” she said. “The mural was enlarged and transferred onto the tiles and the process took three months. They had to paint each tile and kiln dry it three or four times to get the brilliant colors. They had to paint it exactly the same way each time and that is so difficult to do.”

Longe took Wheeler’s painting to Tlaquepaque, Mexico, during the spring exchange program in which St. Vincent participates each year with John F. Kennedy School in Guadalajara, Mexico. Elaine Torres and her son, Paul Guenther, principal of the school, helped coordinate the mural while it was in Mexico.

Three families donated money in honor of a loved one to help pay for the mural, Barman said.

One of the families is the Garlinghouses, parishioners for nearly 20 years. Their mother, Peggy Rowe, used to attend many St. Vincent events, Longe said.

The Porter family donated money in memory of their daughter, Ellie, Longe said. “So we, in a very special way, feel Ellie’s presence here with us today, and she is probably looking down on us now and smiling and celebrating with you children today as we bless this special mural,” he said.

Catalina and Tony Salazar (deceased), founding members of St. Vincent School, also contributed to the mural. Their children, David and Felix Salazar, are both St. Vincent graduates.

A framed copy of the mural was given to each of the three families to hang in their home.

Monsignor M. Francis Mannion, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, blessed the mural.

Because St. Francis is known as the patron saint of animals, Msgr. Mannion then blessed a long line of animals from dogs and cats to birds and a fish.