GOLDEN — Scaffolding encloses the towering statue of Jesus at Mother Cabrini Shrine as lightning-inflicted wounds are mended.
Six months ago, a bolt blasted the 22-foot- high statue’s left arm, right hand, a foot and the 11-foot-high base into bits.
Repairs on the statue, which can be seen from Interstate 70 next to Lookout Mountain, began in late September.
Hopes are high the work on the “new and improved” statue will be done by Christmas.
“That’s our goal,” said Kent Cottle, project manager for Premier Specialty Contractors.
The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who spread the Gospel and operate the shrine, hadn’t been sure whether the statue could be repaired.
Now they are eager to set a blessing date to rededicate the limestone statue, which was sent from Italy in five stackable sections in 1954.
“It is such a landmark,” said Sister Bernadette Casciano, administrator of the Mother Cabrini Shrine.
Every year, thousands of visitors climb the 373 steps to the statue “in peace, prayer and solitude,” Sister Casciano said.
They pay homage to Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1930s, Mother Cabrini established the shrine as a summer camp for orphaned children.
While the statue and steps leading up to it are closed, Sister Casciano said the rest of the shrine — including the grotto — is open.
Cottle, whose company also repaired lightning damage to Denver’s Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in 1997, promises the Jesus statue “will look much better than it did when it was first installed.”
Workers have reinforced the base with a special nonconducting material. A new right hand made from a mineral-based product that matches the original limestone has been anchored on the statue.
The product also was used to reshape the left arm, with all the features of the original. Cottle said it would have been too difficult to cut limestone for the repairs.
The base has been rebuilt, and the foot has been repaired. The entire statue was cleaned by hand, and the old paint was removed, revealing numerous cracks and 56 areas that needed patching.
“Now we’re putting the coatings on,” Cottle said. A lot of wiring for nighttime lighting needs replacement after being toasted.
Cottle estimates scaffolding will come down next week and major demolition and replacement of concrete around the statue will begin.
The statue also will receive a lightning rod, a feature that it lacked before, Cottle said.
Repairs will cost more than $100,000. Insurance covers a small part. Donations “are dwindling now but still coming in,” Sister Casciano said.
Ann Schrader: 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com
About the statue
Lightning broke off one of the statue’s arms and a hand and damaged a foot and the base during a storm May 19. The nuns who maintain it say the repairs — including the addition of a lightning rod — will cost $100,000. Insurance covers only part of the cost.
Donations may be made to the Sacred Heart Statue Restoration Fund, 20189 Cabrini Blvd., Golden, CO 80401.
