ENGELBERG — “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” is one of the most important phrases uttered by John the Baptist and is a phrase that is now the focal point for those who enter St. John the Baptist Church in Engelberg.
The Scripture stenciled in metallic gold over the sanctuary archway was the final phase of a recent refurbishing of the historic church located about 8 miles northeast of Pocahontas.
Father Thomas Marks, pastor of St. John the Baptist and St. Paul the Apostle in Pocahontas, said the arch serves as a reminder of the one true God. Father Marks added that the recent makeover had not only enhanced the beauty of the structure but its symbolic message as well.
“The three arches in the back of the sanctuary reminds us that in that one God is three persons,” Father Marks said.
The restoration project included a new color scheme. Leaders chose sandy beige, the color of the desert where John the Baptist spent his adult life preparing the way of the Lord. The three arches, too, are painted beige and trimmed in gold with the exception of the upper portion of the sanctuary wall, which remained blue.
In the center of the middle arch hangs a crucifix Father Marks said dated back to a 1913 mission. The 8-foot crucifix was restored by local artist Sandy Davis-Baltz. Davis-Baltz said she added detail to the cross to give it the appearance of wood and said the crucifix’s touch up was her favorite part of the project. Davis-Baltz was also responsible for the stenciling above the arch, the addition of gold trim and the descending dove painted above the crucifix, representing the descent of the Holy Spirit following Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist.
Davis-Baltz also restored a pair of antique angels, adding detail to make them appear more realistic, as well as repainting the baptismal font and its statue of Jesus’ baptism by his older cousin.
“It was time,” Father Marks said of the recent project. “There was some water damage — the paint was peeling. There hadn’t been a major makeover since the 80s when Father (John) Hlavacek was pastor.”
Father Marks commended the parish council along with a number of parishioners who had contributed to the project, many of whose ancestors were the German pioneers who established the community of Engelberg (named for a Benedictine monastery in the mountains of Switzerland) in 1880.
Prior to the construction of the community’s first house of worship, a simple frame structure was dedicated to St. John the Baptist in 1887. Masses were held in the home of Anton (Anthony) Weisenbach.
The cornerstone for the current structure was laid in 1925 with Bishop John B. Morris presiding at the dedication Mass.
