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New wall murals at Spalding Pastoral Center trace 150 years
Sister Lea Stefancova, FSJB, diocesan archivist, surveys a section of the new 150th Anniversary wall murals at Spalding Pastoral Center. The murals depict milestones in the life of the Diocese of Peoria. (Sonia Nelson/Diocese of Peoria)
There’s yet another reason to visit the Spalding Pastoral Center in Peoria besides conducting diocesan business or visiting the Sheen Museum.
Sister Stefancova strived to be as representative as possible, choosing milestones “from the beginning, when we were made a diocese . . . highlights from different eras.”
It’s a row new wall murals tracing the 150-year story of the Diocese of Peoria from Feb. 12, 1875 to Feb. 12, 2025.
Installed as part of 150th anniversary celebrations, the murals contain 54 stations with photos (or illustrations) and descriptive captions.
COMBING THROUGH RECORDS, CATHOLIC POST
Sister Lea Stefancova, FSJB, diocesan archivist and vice postulator to the Sheen Foundation, combed through diocesan records, assisted by Tom Dermody, former editor of The Catholic Post, who reviewed issues of the paper.
Sister Stefancova then selected the visual materials, wrote the captions, and worked with Technicraft of Peoria, who produced and mounted the murals.
Although it was impossible to include every milestone from a large diocese covering a period of a century-and-a-half, Sister Stefancova strived to be as representative as possible, choosing milestones “from the beginning, when we were made a diocese . . . highlights from different eras.”
She came upon stories which might be somewhat less known to people today, such as the 1909 mine fire in Cherry IL that claimed 260 lives of men and boys.
“One of the biggest mining accidents in the country’s history.”
The new mural installation occupies almost the entire length of the hall by the entrances to the conference rooms at the rear of the Spalding Pastoral Center, across from the Sheen Museum.
LIGHTING UP THE PAST
With a bank of tall windows across the aisle, the murals are bathed in natural light.
The murals recount the true tales of saints (a younger-looking Mother Teresa), and saints-in-waiting (Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen), hospitals and schools.
There’s even the saga of Bishop O’Rourke, who helped to bring a plane hijacking to a peaceful conclusion in 1979.
The 150th Anniversary wall murals can be viewed during regular business hours at the Spalding Pastoral Center, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
