January 6, 2012
Hand-crafted cathedra blessed at St. Benedict Cathedral Jan. 1
Bishop Charles C. Thompson incenses the cathedra as Deacons Kevin Bach and David Cook stand by. (Message photo by Paul R. Leingang) Click for a larger version.
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
“It is a chair worthy of the cathedral,” said Bishop Charles C. Thompson about the new cathedra — the bishop’s chair that he blessed Jan. 1. “The question is” he said with typical modesty, “Is the bishop worthy of the chair?”
The chair is an original and unique piece of furniture from Kimball International in Jasper, designed with elements of an historic sedilia — the bench dating from the early years of the church building. The new cathedra was given as a gift to the diocese, along with restoration work performed on the original seats for the priests and other ministers at Mass.
Bishop Thompson, ordained and installed as the fifth Bishop of Evansville on June 29, 2011, has not had an official cathedra — until Jan. 1 when he blessed the chair at the beginning of the 10:30 a.m. Mass.
He first saw the chair at the end of a tour of Kimball International Dec. 22. Bishop Thompson, along with Benedic-tine Father Gregory Chamberlin and Tim McGuire toured the plant and met with some of the workers. Father Cham-berlin is rector of the cathedral; McGuire is chief operating officer of the diocese.
Jim Thyen, president and chief executive officer for Kimball International, accompanied the tour group led by Stan Epple, program manager of the Jasper Eleventh Avenue seating plant.
The chair was designed by Derek Schweikarth, one of Kimball’s internal staff designers, who visited St. Benedict Cathedral and examined the presider’s chair at St. Joseph Church in Jasper.
“It’s rare when an office furniture designer gets the opportunity to create such a powerful, one-of-a-kind piece,” Schwei-karth was quoted as saying in background information provided by the company.
Joe Hasenour, an expert craftsman at Kimball, was eager to build the chair. “Especially enjoyable were the carvings, detail work, the joinery,” Hasenour said. He used white oak solids and veneers to build the chair, constructed with all mortise and tenon joinery.
Keith Metcalf, a Kimball technician, used machine tools with computer controls to make a precision carving of the diocesan coat of arms in wood, which Hasenour installed on the chair back.
From 1989, when St. Benedict Church was consecrated as the diocesan cathedral, until 2011, the cathedra was a simple, antique chair given by a friend to Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger — who took the chair with him into retirement.
The new cathedra is a gift to the diocese, one that Bishop Thompson said would remain with the diocese.
“Knowing this piece of furniture will be around a long, long time gives me a sense of pride in my work,” Hasenour said.
Others who had a role to play in arranging for the chair to be designed and produced include Father Gary Kaiser, pastor of Precious Blood Church in Jasper, and Angie Schuch, the sister of Father Tony Ernst who is the product development coordinator for National Office Furniture.
Father Raymond Brenner, dean of the Jasper Deanery, Father Kaiser and several priests of the deanery joined the tour group and attended the blessing of employees as the chair was unveiled and presented to the bishop.
Those who gathered around the chair for the presentation included Schweikart, Hasenour and Metcalf; Gary Knust the upholsterer, Jill Jones, Marilyn Satkamp, Mark Bramlet, Kurt Vonderheide and John Knust, all from National Office Furniture. Martin Vaught, director of public relations for Kimball International, provided facts and background material for media.
“We take special pride in providing our new bishop with a special example of our craftsmanship,” said CEO Jim Thyen. “It’s no coincidence that Jasper’s patron saint is St. Joseph, the wood worker!”
Thyen went on to say that the chair “will become an heirloom of sorts to the diocese” and that it is “a significant contribution from the faithful to the Church.”