As a member of the Conventual Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of the Angels in the USA (OLA), Bishop Friar Michael T. MARTIN, OFM Conv., considers community to be very important. On November 14, 2024, that was on full display at the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, Maryland, USA, when Bishop MARTIN was presented with a crozier designed and crafted by two of his brother friars. The crozier was presented at the beginning of a Mass celebrating jubilarians from the Province of Our Lady of the Angels.
Friar Joseph DORNIAK, OFM Conv., designed the crozier, which resembles a shepherd’s crook and symbolizes the bishop’s role as shepherd of his diocese. Friar Peter TREMBLAY, OFM Conv., a self-taught wood worker, said he spent about one hundred and twenty hours on the project. Friar Joseph is assigned to the St. Francis of Assisi Friary (novitiate house) in Arroyo Grande, California, USA. Friar Peter is a Catholic Campus Minister at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, USA.
“This crozier is a gracious gift, not just from the hands and creativity of two of our friars, it is a gift from the heart from all of our friars that I will treasure for a lifetime,” said Bishop MARTIN. “A sincere thank you to Peter and Joe for designing and crafting such a wonderful gift that is such a powerful symbol of the episcopacy that I am coming to better understand each and every day.”
Friar Peter commented: “This was the most meaningful thing that I have ever made in my workshop. Michael is a friend, a brother, and a huge mentor of mine. I have always wanted to use my hobby to make sacred objects and the opportunity to craft a crozier has been incredibly exciting and rewarding.”
The staff of the crozier is made from black walnut. The central medallion is made of hard maple with 24-carat gold leaf gilding filling in the Crucifix of San Damiano. The cord and knots were carved from the finest synthetic ivory. The solid brass connecting hardware had to be custom-made by me for this project. Friar Peter TREMBLAY said he could not source the hardware that he wanted so he fabricated it himself. He also built a carrying case made of black walnut with hand-cut dovetails and a custom made, fitted and satin-lined interior to store the crozier.
“I carry you with me wherever I go,” Bishop MARTIN told the friars.” I hope you know I don’t need a crozier to do that, that you are carved into my life, into my heart, into the way I think, and hopefully into the way I live my life as a friar. This outward expression of that means a tremendous amount to me.”
Kevin A. KEENAN, Director of Communications
