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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  Archbishop Vigneron blesses new shrine in Detroit salt mines

by Jared Field of The Michigan Catholic
Published October 30, 2009

Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic This statue of St. Barbara was sculpted by master woodworker Jan Martinka from Rajec, Slovakia, and is carved from basswood. It will be visible to every person entering or exiting the mine through its only portal, the century-old shaft hoist. Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic Fr. Ed Zaorski, of SS. Andrew and Benedict in Detroit, reads the Gospel during the ceremony.

Detroit- Clad in a black miner's jacket and sky blue hard hat, Archbishop Allen Vigneron descended 1,200 feet and 400 million years into the salt of the earth Oct. 22.

The archbishop blessed the newly crafted statue and shrine to St. Barbara, the patroness of miners, at the base of the hoist - the only portal in or out - at the Detroit Salt Company on the city's southwest side, Michigan's lone rock salt mine.

"We must be disposed and appreciate what this means," Archbishop Vigneron told a group of about 30 miners. "When the Church blesses a statue for people to use, to pray at, we do this because when we look at this statue we see somebody who followed Christ. And we, like that saint, will seek to please Christ.

"Those saints are our friends. They pray for us; they remember us and help us with their love."

Emanuel Manos, vice president of the Detroit Salt Co., was inspired to create the shrine after a trip to visit his family in Slovakia in 2008. He hatched the plan after meeting Jan Martinka, a master woodworker, in Rajec, Slovakia. The statue took Martinka six months to fashion.

Manos said that, unlike in American mines, shrines to St. Barbara in eastern Europe are the norm.

"This is a common thing in the European mines, to wear our faith on our sleeves," he said. "As miners, it's hard enough to come under ground and to come up from a day's work. In all our lives we need God, and this will be a reminder that we can pass on some of our problems to this lady who is at the throne of God in heaven."

Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic Archbishop Allen Vigneron greets miners in the salt mines 1,200 feet below ground where he blessed the new shrine to St. Barbara, patroness of miners. Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic Work resumed as normal after the ceremony, near the base of the mineshaft. Miners produce more than 1 million tons of rock salt every year, primarily for use on the icy roads of the Midwest. Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic Archbishop Vigneron performs the blessing. Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic Stefen Zima, representing one of three shift crews at the mine, holds a candle at the shrine of St. Barbara. Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic

He said that he hopes the shrine will foster togetherness among miners, the majority of whom are Catholics.

"I think it's just a reflection of that (togetherness)," Manos said.

As the shrine was nearing completion, Manos floated the idea of having a blessing ceremony with Archbishop Vigneron to Fr. Ed Zaorski, pastor of SS. Andrew and Benedict in Detroit, whose parish rests 120 stories above the mines just south of the River Rouge. With the archbishop's consent, Fr. Zaorski put the plans into motion.

Archbishop Vigneron told the miners that the shrine should serve as signal to all who see it.

"I hope that every time you see this statue as you come to work, I hope it's a reminder to you that you can live in a way of holiness," he said. "A man, a woman, doesn't have to be in a convent or a monastery ... in order to be holy. God wants all of us to be holy, and you can live a life of holiness as you work in a mine. You can do God's will; you can glorify him by the integrity of your work, the hard work you offer, and the justice by which you treat one another."

Several miners took the opportunity to light candles, pray and have their pictures taken in front of the shrine after the ceremony.

"It's the first time I've seen that, and it's really good," said Jozef Kustrzyk, 62, a Polish-American who has been on his current job in the mine for only a few months. "In Poland, we have a big holiday for her.

"Every day I go to work, I know she's with me."

Knight Lor, 31, an American of Hmong descent, said the shrine is a blessing regardless of religious affiliation.

"There's only one God," he said. "I have faith in this, and I know it will help me in the long run."

Pete Graham, director of mining at Detroit Salt Co., said that the ceremony will engender even more closeness to an already tight-knit group of miners.

"I've been doing this for probably 40 years and this is the first time I've had this kind of experience; this is special," Graham said. "I think this just brings us closer together as a family."

Graham said that the sight of St. Barbara will provide comfort in the doldrums.

"Sometimes you come down the shaft and you're not thinking about things; it gets kind of mundane and ordinary," he said. "I think this kind of brings us back to reality."

Janette Ferrantino, owner of Detroit Salt. Co., accompanied Archbishop Vigneron on a short tour of the mine, which encompasses more than 1,500 acres over 100 miles of roads. She was comforted by the turnout of her crew.

"I was very touched, it was a solemn and touching moment for me," she said. "I just feel really proud of the people who work here that their faith is so important to them."