Patrick Fogarty Students Replace Vandalized Cross

Patrick Fogarty Students Replace Vandalized Cross
Posted on 05/25/2017

“Being at a Catholic school, this is definitely what we are all about — helping our community,” says Bridget Healy, a student at Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School in Orillia. That’s exactly what the Grade 11 and 12 specialist high skills major students did. After vandals destroyed the iconic cross outside of St. David’s Anglican Lutheran Church in early April, the school’s construction class reached out to help.


The church cross, a symbol of hope in the community, was used to hold items of winter clothing for individuals to take as needed. After it was broken in half, the construction students at Patrick Fogarty decided to replace the cross. They assembled a brand new, bigger cross, standing six-feet tall and made out of slabs of pressure-treated lumber.


Last week, the students planted the new cross in front of the church and soon, new hooks will be added to serve as the community’s next “warming cross” for the winter clothing program.


Although the recent vandalism was upsetting, it has connected our students with a local parish and allowed them to create something that will be forever cherished by the community.

Photo courtesy of Simcoe.com