Southern Nebraska Register
St. Clara Parish in Peru celebrated the return of a statue of the parish patroness, St. Clare of Assisi, Sept. 26—the anniversary of the saint’s canonization.
The statue was constructed in 1923 by an artist using horse hair and plaster. The statue was a gift to the parish from the Peru State College Catholic Students Association. Over the next century, the statue fell into disrepair: cracks emerged, paint chipped, the monstrance in the hand of the statue broke apart, and the hand lost fingers.
The statue was deemed too costly to repair, and it was removed from the church. Rather than see the statue destroyed, longtime parishioner Margaret McConnaughey took it home, hoping one day it could be repaired.
After McConnaughey’s death in 2023, the statue was returned to the parish, and members decided to seek assistance in having it repaired. They turned to Mary Ann Chaney, who now lives in Omaha but was a longtime member of nearby St. Joseph Parish in Auburn. She often attended Mass at St. Clara with her husband John. Mary Ann had repainted the stations of the cross and the image of the Last Supper on the front of the altar in St. Clara Church.
“The church has always been fascinating to me because the statues are so beautiful,” she said of St. Clara. “I just love that little church.”
Chaney gladly accepted the task of repairing the St. Clare statue, and donated her time and the materials needed to repair the statue.
Members of the Knights of Columbus brought the statue to Chaney in Omaha, where she said she spent nearly a year working on the project.
“The reason it takes so long to restore a statue,” she explained, “is there are a lot of steps: cleaning, chipping off all the loose paint, sanding, cleaning again, gluing any cracks, sculpting missing fingers,” and so on.
Then, she said, there is drying time, more sanding, cleaning again, “and then you can begin the fun part of painting.”
Chaney explained that she didn’t repaint the entire statue, she just matched the old paint, basically “fooling” the eye, a process she described as a lot of fun.
Her efforts were greatly appreciated by the parishioners and visitors. While St. Clara Parish has only 17 registered families, it serves many more.
“Each Sunday, several Catholic students attend from the college,” said parishioner Valerie Able. “Almost every Sunday the church is filled with families from Peru, Auburn, and surrounding areas.”
She said the day the statue was delivered back to the church, the bells rang throughout the community and about 20 people were there at the small church to greet the statue of St. Clare and welcome her back.
A later celebration included Mass with the re-dedication of the statue, and a potluck supper.
“I think the parishioners were excited to receive her back into the church,” Able said. “Not only did St. Clara parishioners attend the dedication, but many parishioners from St. Joseph in Auburn.”
Courtesy photos
