Bishop blesses Jesus statue at St. Thomas the Apostle School

On Sept. 29, Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger paid a visit to St. Thomas the Apostle  in Delmar to bless a new addition to the parish school: a statue of Jesus. 

A well-known piece throughout the Diocese, the statue of Jesus started at Vincentian Institute and then moved to Bishop Maginn High School in Albany where it greeted students for years. When Maginn closed in June, the statue got a new home at St. Thomas the Apostle School in July. 

“What is Jesus doing? He’s blessing us,” the Bishop said during his own blessing of the statue. “Even when they crucified him he couldn't move his arms, but he was reaching out and he was blessing all of us.”

The day began with Mass, celebrated by Bishop Scharfenberger, at 9 a.m. with the students and faculty of St. Thomas the Apostle. Afterward, attendees were invited to walk across the street where the Bishop blessed and welcomed the statue, which stands just inside the front doors of the school. 

“I think every morning when the students walk by - because this is where they enter - that it will remind them about Jesus’ love and why they're here every day,” said Adam Biggs, principal of St. Thomas the Apostle School. 

“Jesus’ heart is open to all of us,” Bishop Scharfenberger added. “He’s welcoming all of us into his heart and into his love.”