Look at these beautiful new statues of the Twelve Apostles that adorn the narthex of Holy Family Parish in Grand Blanc. They were installed in recent weeks by a merry band of workers, including the pastor, Father Joe Krupp. The church was reordered in 2020 so that the building faced east rather than west. The structure pictured here previously housed the pipes of the pipe organ in the former sanctuary. Father Joe now explains the story behind the new statues:
“The statues come from a valley in northern Italy, near Germany. It’s basically a whole valley of carvers. Everyone in that valley carves, and they’ve been working together for over a thousand years. There’s no competition — they just divide up the work. When we looked at their standard images, I asked for something more realistic. These apostles were hard men, so we wanted scars, calluses, and skin tones appropriate to the region. They did an amazing job. We also requested the traditional symbols — Peter with the keys, Thomas with the square — and they delivered perfectly.”
“I belong to the generation where beauty was, more or less, taken out of the churches. I don’t think it was done with evil intent — people thought they were being obedient — but we are body-and-soul unities. We need to see and touch beauty; God made us that way.”
“When I explain the statues to people — for example, that Matthew is holding a hatchet because he was martyred with one — most have no idea. It blew me away how few people knew these details. These men were just ordinary dudes — fishermen, tax collectors — minding their own business. Then the Lord called them and turned them into something extraordinary. He can do the same for us.”
“My favorite is probably Bartholomew, the one with the filet knife. We know almost nothing about him except the most important things: he followed Jesus, spread the Gospel, and gave his life for Christ. I love that. Honestly, I love them all. What would we do without them?”
“If I could, I would fill the whole church with statues. It’s such a beautiful part of our Catholic faith. Aren’t we so very blessed?"