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. God desires us to understand that things reserved for a sacred purpose are, in fact, sacred. God created the material world and breathed his spirit into it. Creating this holy place was accomplished through the generosity of talents given to community members. We're truly blessed to have many local artisans and craftspeople who have contributed their talents 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. The workshop is known for its fine wood craftsmanship and has provided liturgical statues and corpora for three generations. It was carved from 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.
The reredos were constructed by Peter Ruocchio, who directed Ruocchio Designs Studios. Along with his team, Ruocchio designs and crafts a wide array of religious and commercial art. In 2021, Ruocchio Studios assisted in renovating the Cardinal Gibbons Chapel.
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.I Thirst
"I thirst," the words Christ spoke from the cross appear at the feet of the crucifix. These words inspired Mother Teresa to found the Missionaries of Charity. They're displayed next to the crucifix in all Missionaries' chapels as a constant reminder of their purpose.
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Statues
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The same Italian craftsmen who made our crucifix carved these images. John McGuire, who provided many of our sanctuary's furnishings, made the stands for the statues.
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Blessed Mother & Mother Teresa paintings
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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."Reliquary
The reliquary contains the relics of six saints: St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Maria Goretti, St. Teresa of Jesus, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. John Neuman, and St. Pius X. Inside, the name of St. Vincent de Paul is inscribed, which indicates that the church once held that saint's relics. As in many European churches, the reliquary is visible rather than enclosed.Stations of the Cross
Ed DelCogliano designed and constructed the Stations of the Cross. Ed and his wife, Pat, have been long-time parishioners of Mother Teresa, and Ed has long been a craftsman in woodworking.
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Narthex and hall
- Mother Teresa bronze
- Mother Teresa portrait
- Words of Wisdom
- Gratitude Tree
- Mother Teresa Statue
- Our logo
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Anne Spillane Moher, a New Hampshire 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 and 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, grand uncle of parishioner Vera Koesno, crafted the statute of Mother Teresa standing by our parish office door. The Koesno family donated it to our parish.
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Our church logo is another example of a creative team effort. The design team headed by Matt Young wanted something simple and understated, representative of our patron saint. Marie-Anne Widrig drew the final design. The cross honors the cross Mother Teresa always wore on her habit. The blue stripes represent the stripes on the Missionaries of Charity habits and our dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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Designing our worship centermodest, strong, simple
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The architects
Architectural project designer Joel Dabrowski’s experience viewing the early Christian churches in and around Rome inspired his design. Built in the Romanesque style, these churches are simple structures constructed in a park-like setting.
That fits very well into the location of our church, rising on a 20-plus acre wooded lot.
Those early churches have what he called “locally symmetrical” elements, but the overall design is not symmetrical. This kept the building simple and humble, as a reminder that the church is not the center of the universal church.
This concept appears in several parts of our worship space, including the sanctuary, the narthex, and the Memorial Garden. For example, the narthex interior doors are not centered on the seating area. When you go through them, your focus is on the altar.
The curved roof form recalls the stripes on the sisters of the Missionary of Charity saris, Joel explained. This form also raises the roof to bring in light and differentiates our church building profile from the commonly used arch of schools.
While the contractor used traditional building materials, Joel’s design called for using them in an unconventional way.
“I didn’t want it to feel like the same kind of stone and brick you see everywhere else,” he said. The stone pattern of the walls is an example.
“Each stone represents one person, a reminder of our place in the world. In my mind, each stone represents one person’s small existence that builds up to a community of people, even the destitute, poor, or sick.”
He used the same principle in the ceiling. The bright glulam (wood) arches are each a single piece. The connecting pieces are a different color. The builders had the option to paint the connecting pieces to match the wood but chose not to because “we wanted to celebrate every single piece that made up the whole,” explained Joel.
Another reason for using the simple and rough-hewn materials is that the building represents a new foundation for the congregation, he added.
“The building is a multi-functional space and isn’t intended to be the final sanctuary. So, it was designed to serve that purpose and not compete with the liturgical development of the future sanctuary,” Joel noted.
As the architectural project designer, Joel worked with project manager Anne Lebo, interior designer Hannah Viparina, project architect Wil Stewart and architect in training Diego Gomez Gallindo, who helped “deliver the design.”
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Santa Sabina in Rome is one of the Romanesque-style churches which inspired the design of our new worship center. -
The curved roof form recalls the stripes on the Missionaries of Charity habits. -
De-centered doors keep the focus on the sanctuary. -
Traditional building materials are used in unconventional ways.
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The sanctuary
When Michelle Eckhart was asked to design the sanctuary and reredos, she admitted, “Even after 12 years of Catholic education, I had to Google what a reredos was.” (A reredos is an ornamental screen or wall behind the altar.)
As Father Dan observed, no church has an original design but uses ideas from other churches and the priest’s experience. So he brought many of his ideas to the first design team brainstorming session.
“Father Dan came very well prepared,” the Mother Teresa parishioner recalls. “He had plenty of images and ideas for us to discuss.”
Three concepts drove the design. One was to include a Gothic element and give a nod to arches that “raised to heaven” The second point was to feature three elements on the reredos, a crucifix, and images of Mother Teresa and Mother Mary. And finally, the detailing.
The simple, almost subtle ornateness the team arrived at eventually became the trademark in other parts of the building, on the altar furniture and the reredos, on the furnishings, and in the Memorial Garden.The open altar allows viewing the reliquary, something not common in American churches, an idea Father Daniel got from the altar over St. John XXII’s tomb in the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican.
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Gothic arches are formed in simple, subtle ornateness. -
The sanctuary’s color dark color scheme “was a big risk,” Father Daniel admitted. The team debated back and forth about it. But it worked out incredibly well, he said.
“The priests I’ve brought through here have commented how wonderfully the sanctuary pops. Why is that important; because our eyes should be drawn to the sanctuary, first and foremost, before anywhere else.
“This (the sanctuary) really is Father Dan’s vision in storytelling,” Michelle concluded. “I just had to read his mind, put it on paper, and bring it to fruition.
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The artist: Neilson Carlin
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After years of working in commercial and gallery art markets, a conversion to Catholicism prompted Neilson Carlin to commit his talents and career to serving the Catholic Church. He specializes in sacred and devotional art for new and renovated parishes.
He said it’s important for him to be in the hands of the client. “Father Daniel had a clear vision of what he wanted for the parish,” he said. “My purpose was to bring that vision to reality.
The artist employs two techniques to create his works: high-intensity color and light and shade.
“I love high-intensity color,” Neilson said. He often uses stained glass images as references because of the vibrant colors.
“It’s as important for the man or woman that maybe cannot see as well, sitting in the back pew, to experience the artwork as much as the person sitting in the front pew.”
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He says this is akin to the choir singing too low or the reader not speaking into the microphone, which makes it difficult for the congregation to participate in Mass.
Neilson uses the manipulation of light and shade to make an image look natural. He never sets out to be photographic.
“What I do is use light and shade to turn the form in a convincing enough way that the painting has a sense of presence. I want someone to feel like the person depicted is present … so you can feel like you are communing with them.”
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