Shrine of the Little Flower and Shrine of St. Patrick

The Shrine of the Icon is flanked by the Shrine of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, and the Shrine of St. Patrick. The statue of St. Thérèse was originally displayed in a niche on the south wall, which is now the main entrance from the atrium to the cathedral church. The statue of St. Patrick was originally housed in what is now the Shrine of the Icon. Two confessionals were remodeled to house the statues and the areas were stenciled with a decorative pattern which reflects the design spirit of the original building.

Shrine of the Icon

The icon is located in what was formerly the Shrine of St. Patrick. Below the icon is the marble base upon which the statue of St. Patrick was originally located. On the front of the base is a beautiful design of a pastoral staff with a serpent surrounded by shamrocks. While serving as a missionary in Ireland, Patrick rid the island of snakes and poisonous animals, thus he is often depicted with a snake. The shamrock is a symbol of Ireland and St. Patrick. The design could not be removed without destroying it so it remains where it is.

Our Lady, the Life-Giving Spring was commissioned by Paulette and Paul Kardos as part of the Jubilee 2003, a yearlong celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the diocese. It was created by Marek Czarnecki of Avon, Connecticut. He created the icon using traditional methods and the finest materials available. First, a large panel of Baltic birch was covered by stretched linen. After the linen was properly prepared, Czarnecki used egg tempura paints made with natural pigments and thin sheets of real gold leaf to “write” the image.

According to tradition, iconography is the art of expressing a spiritual reality. The icon is an attempt to express a spiritual reality of the person or event by using sacred symbolic forms and mystical colors. Because the artistic “language” or iconography is so exact, icons are said to be “written” rather than painted.

Artist’s Description of the Shrine of the Icon

In the upper half of this icon, Our Lady sits in the space of Heaven, flanked by two angels bowing in reverence. Our Lady’s pose is best described as a throne, on which sits Christ Emmanuel in benediction. Under Our Lady’s feet is a spring in a field, surrounded by a bishop leading a diverse group of people, representative of the diversity of the church’s membership. On the base of the font are the coats of arms of the diocese of Alton and Springfield in Illinois. This narrative grouping shows that the church leads us to the waters upon life, symbolic of Christ himself. When Christ met the Samaritan woman, he promised her that he would give her living water that would never leave her thirsty again, and like the Samaritan woman, we too say, “Lord, give me this water to drink!”

This particular prototype of Our Lady is one of the oldest in the history of iconography and articulates one of her allegorical titles, taken from an Eastern Rite litany: “O Mary, you are the life-giving spring which brings forth the living water.” Historically, its origin dates to the fourth century and depicts a miracle-working spring in the courtyard of a monastery in Constantinople, blessed by an apparition of Our Lady and known for its efficacy in healing physical and spiritual blindness.

That iconographers still write this icon into the third millennium demonstrates its enduring relevance in what it articulates: the necessity of faith to quench the thirst of the body and soul which can only come from Christ himself, and Our Lady’s part in the plan of salvation, leading us always to the living waters of her Son.

The outer borders of the icon are a decorative banding with flowers and crosses; in three larger cartouches are wheat, soy and corn, the agricultural crops of the Springfield region. The inclusion of this reflects the overall intent of this icon: for the continuing intercession of Our Lady for our temporal and spiritual needs, an invitation for her to be among us, and to bless and inspire the continuing works of the church on earth, especially here in Springfield.

– Marek Czarnecki, Iconographer