Our art and architecture
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Architects, designers, and artists are responsible for determining the message communicated to the people of God by God, who desires us to understand that things reserved for a sacred purpose are, in fact, sacred. God created the material world and breathes his spirit into it. Creating this holy place was accomplished through the generosity of talents given to members of this community. We're truly blessed to have many local artisans and craftspeople who have contributed their talent to building our worship space.
- Father Daniel Oschwald
Pastor
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Sanctuary and worship space
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Crucifix
The corpus on the cross in the main reredos comes from the Demetz woodcarving workshop in Italy's northern Val Gardena region, known for its fine wood craftsmanship. Demetz has provided liturgical statues and corpora for three generations. The wood is Lindenwood, a lightweight species grown in Europe.
Dixon Studio in Staunton, Virginia, assisted in procuring the cross featuring other European workshops and creating custom liturgical artworks. Ruocchio Design Studios constructed the cross itself.
Ruocchio Designs Studios constructed the reredos under the direction of Peter Ruocchio, who, along with his team, designs, and crafts a wide array of religious and commercial art. Ruocchio Studios assisted in the renovation of the Cardinal Gibbons Chapel in 2021.
The Ruocchio family calls St. Raphael in Raleigh their parish home. From corporate interiors to intricate sculptures, Ruocchio has earned a reputation for quality design and seemingly limitless versatility.
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Tabernacle
After 22 years of wandering in the desert, we finally have an anchor point —the Tabernacle, where Jesus will reside and where we can come to pray anytime.
Our Tabernacle is a donation from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in north Raleigh.
Inside is the inscription "Adoro te devote latens Deitas," Latin for "We adore you oh wonderful sacrament of the presence of the one who loved his own to the end."
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Narthex and hall
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Mother Teresa bronze
Anne Spillane Moher, a New York artist, crafted the bronze bust of Mother Teresa. This is a second casting.
The original bronze was presented to Mother Teresa at her convent in Calcutta (which Mother Teresa acknowledged in a letter now in our archives.) The work won two prizes in a juried exhibition in New York.
The artist did a second cast of the same bust, then passed it to her daughter Mary Gabriel. Mary and her husband, Deacon Pius Gabriel, gifted the statue to our community, commemorating our dedication day. They are parishioners of St. Anthony in Southern Pines.
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Bill Gurecki painted the reversed glass portrait of Mother Teresa.
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The Klausner family donated the wood carving of Mother Teresa's words of wisdom to live by as devotees of our patroness.
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Dan Fuccella, assisted by Ashley Steinlage, designed and constructed our Gratitude Tree. Both call Mother Teresa their parish home.
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Tan Brata Halim of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, crafted the stature of Mother Teresa standing by our parish office door. He's the grand uncle of parishioner Vera Koesno. The Koesno family donated it to our parish, and it's been in use on our property since the first days we began meeting outside, in parking lots, and on the land where our worship space now stands.
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Our church logo is another example of a creative team effort. Father Daniel assembled a team to design one when we were given our mission name. "We wanted something simple and understated, like Mother Teresa, and more representative of our patron saint," said team leader Matt Young.The final design was drawn by Marie-Anne Widrig. The cross honors the cross Mother Teresa always wore on her habit. The stripes represent the stripes on the Missionaries of Charity habits. And the blue color represents the Missionaries and our dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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