streets of the neighborhood, claiming “the
white priests have returned for school and
have repainted the statue white.”
The administration’s reaction was just
as immediate. After consulting with the
chancery, the rector accompanied two
senior seminarians to the grotto, Paul
Brohl and Dick Deighton. Together they
painted the extremities black again, on
Sunday evening, September 17.
“The three of us proceeded out of the
residence hall and down a basement corri-
dor. Monsignor began to explain the mis-
sion he wanted us to undertake,” Brohl
recalls about the event. “He found a can of
black paint, a couple of small brushes, and
a step ladder. We spent about twenty min-
utes repainting the hands, feet, and face.
“We wanted to do it carefully because
the original painter had taken time to do
a good job.”
Deighton remembers that just as they
finished their handiwork, four police
cars roared up to the grotto, and several
officers came running toward the paint-
ers. “With shotguns in the ready posi-
tion. This was post-riot Detroit, after all,”
Deighton relates. Apparently, the officers
thought that trespassers had returned to
the campus and accomplished the repaint-
ing. “My recollection is one of the officers
said, ‘Looks like we’re too late.’”
“Monsignor explained that we had done
the deed—and he wanted it to stay that
way,” Brohl adds. “I was never so happy to
be in the presence of the seminary rector
in all my years at Sacred Heart!”
As Monsignor Canfield explains in his
succinct note about the event, “The deci-
sion was reached to repaint it black, to re-
tain the symbol that we feel Christ is for
the Negro as well as the white man.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TODAY?
Father Grandpre taught history at the
seminary high school and oversaw build-
ing maintenance until 1977. In a 2007
interview, he tells of a ritual he directed
du ring his tenure. The statue would take
a beating from the elements, so each sum-
mer the maintenance crew would pains-
takingly scrape the peeling paint from the
statue and repaint it, the body white and
the extremities black.
“It was kind of a proud thing for us. We
“THE STATUE IS ONE OF THE FEW POSITIVE
VISIBLE SYMBOLS REMAINING IN THE CITY
OF THE STRIFE-FILLED SUMMER OF 1967.”
wanted to maintain this symbol of what
happened in 1967,” said Grandpre.
This tradition of maintaining the visual
significance of Black Jesus continues. In
2006, the statue went through exten-
sive renovation. Sculptor Frank Varga
stripped away multiple layers of paint,
down to the cast stone, that had been ob-
scuring the fine details of the statue. Fin-
gers from the hands had fallen off, weak-
ened by the weather, so Varga replaced
both hands with pewter replicas. Using a
special polymer, he repaired the delicate
details of the nose, mouth, eyes, and feet.
In 2012, a group of seminarians spent
over three hundred worker hours repair-
ing the grotto area as a summer work proj-
ect. Led by a seminarian with construction
experience, the men jackhammered loose
and then re-mortared all of the slate flag-
stones of the walkway and the stair steps
leading up to the statue. One seminarian
with expertise in religious statue restora-
tion repaired some of Black Jesus’ facial
features. With the approval of the admin-
istration, the men painted the heart of
Jesus vivid red and the rays of light ema-
nating from the heart bright yellow to ac-
centuate this source of all graces.
The seminarians recall with humor
how neighbors would question them pro-
tectively about the intent of their work—
and then give thumbs up and shouts of
approval after being told the statue was
being repaired, not removed or painted
white again.
Episodes such as this indicate that over
the years, the Black Jesus grotto and im-
age has evolved in its meaning. It was
conceived as an expression of traditional
Catholic piety, transformed by the fires of
urban unrest into an icon of controversy,
but now represents Jesus’ love for all races
and the equality of all peoples, particularly
to Detroit’s black citizens.
The statue has immense historical val-
ue, as well. A former seminary adminis-
trator in a 2007 interview suggests that
the statue is one of the few positive vis-
ible symbols remaining in the city of the
strife-filled summer of 1967. As such, it
speaks less of violence and more of the
struggle for racial identity.
Monsignor Lajiness and Sacred Heart’s
leadership believe that spiritual renewal
and social good can be encouraged using
the Black Jesus grotto as a symbolic focal
point. On Saturday, September 9, semi-
narians, resident priests, and friends of
the seminary gathered before the shrine
and prayed for an end to racism and peace
in our nation’s communities. Led by Mon-
signor Lajiness, the gathering recited Day-
time Prayer and prayers to end racism rec-
ommended by the United States bishops.
“The prayer service will be the first in
a series of events throughout the year
through which Sacred Heart will engage
in the national prayer and conversation
about the sin of racism,” Monsignor
said, noting that the gathering was in re-
sponse to the violence that had broken
out at a protest march in Charlottesville,
Virginia. “With great humility we place
ourselves before the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and pray for healing.”
As Monsignor Lajiness further ex-
pressed, “The open arms of the Sacred
Heart presents a powerful image of hope
and solidarity. The statue reminds us that
God, through his incarnate Son, embraces
all of humanity and every race.”
Or, in the words of Pope Pius XII,
Black Jesus has become “A source of and
symbol of unity, salvation and peace” for
all people of goodwill.
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