DAYTON — In 1993, while serving as pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Portage, Mich. Marianist Father Thomas A. Stanley, wrote a booklet of flower meditations for the faith community’s Mary Garden.

For “The Garden Way of the Cross,” Father Stanley drew upon the religious legends and flower names that have been a part of his reflections since establishing the Mary Garden at Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in Dayton in 1954. His purpose was to provide a devotional insight into each of the 14 Stations of the Cross significance in the saving paschal mystery of the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ.

Canadian artist, Louise Tessier was directly inspired by Father Stanley’s writings and so created intricate tiles of the 14 Stations of the Cross, also titled “The Garden Way of the Cross.” To be sure that Father Stanley would see his writings next to her corresponding artwork and be honored by it, Tessier organized a traveling exhibit, “Moved by the Spirit.” In September, it was displayed in the Marian Library Gallery at the University of Dayton, where Father Stanley is affiliated, and displayed in October at Mercy Siena Retirement Community, where he resides.  For more information click here.