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You may observe a painting
located at the first station in St. Mary's Church. Here is the story behind that
painting and why it hangs in our church. On a snowy Sunday in January 1951, an
historic ceremony took place in a crowded Winchester High School auditorium. As church
bells rang out all over town, ten clergymen stood together on a platform, each holding up
an ancient oil painting depicting one of the Stations of the Cross.
Dr. Albert
Navez, consul of Belgium, presented the treasured works of art to the representatives of
Winchester’s ten churches. These paintings are a token of friendship from the Mayor
and citizens of Hemroulle, Belgium "to the citizens of Winchester with whom they have
been bound by deep affection, through events of the Second World War." The friendship
began during the crucial "Battle of the Bulge."
It was snowing heavily on December 22, 1944, in
the small Belgian village of Hemroulle. Defending the area were the paratroopers of the
502nd Airborne Infantry Regiment led by Lt.Col. John D. Hanlon, of Bridge
Street, Winchester. Cut off from their supply lines, they were desperately in need of
winter camouflage equipment. Aided by Mayor Victor Gaspard, Lt.Col. Hanlon rang the
Hemroulle Chapel bell and notified the villagers of the great need for white bed sheets to
cover the troops’ dark uniforms and heavy armor.
The citizens responded generously with all they had - 48 sets, which were lost or
destroyed as Hanlon’s battalion fought its way into Germany. It wasn’t until
after the war that "Jack" Hanlon was able to try and replace the bed linen.
A drive was organized in Winchester, and sheets were collected locally and
nationwide.
A "Sheets for Hemroulle" day was held on Sunday, November 23, 1947. The
festivities began when two squadrons of Navy planes from Squantum Naval Air Base flew over
Winchester in salute. As the roar of the planes subsided, church bells began tolling all
over town and music from the chimes of the Winchester Unitarian Church filled the air.
Residents made their way to the high school auditorium bearing gifts of clean white
sheets for the citizens of Hemroulle. Altogether about 740 sheets were collected.
Reporters and photographers from LIFE magazine and the Boston newspapers were there to
record the day’s events, which were also carried far and wide by radio.
On February 21, 1948 "Jack" Hanlon returned to Hemroulle with the hundreds of
donated sheets. Once again, as he had on that December day in 1944, Hanlon rang the
chapel bell and the villagers gathered, waving small American flags in celebration of
"Winchester Day." He then handed each family several sets of sheets as a smiling
Mayor Gaspard looked on.
So deeply touched were the citizens of Hemroulle
by the generosity of Winchester residents and the strong support given by the town’s
ten churches that they wanted to give each church a lasting memento. Their most precious
possessions were the Stations of the Cross paintings, which had been hanging in their
chapel since 1906. Before that, the paintings had been the property of the Sisters of
Notre Dame in Bastogne, Belgium and have been traced back to 1820. Four of the paintings
had been badly damaged or destroyed during the war.
Ten paintings, some pierced by Nazi bullets, were
sent to Winchester and presented to the representatives of the churches at the high school
auditorium, on January 7, 1951. A snowstorm prevented an envoy from the Belgian Embassy in
Washington, D.C. from reaching Winchester that day.
In his place, the consul, Dr. Navez, read a telegram from
Ambassador Baron Silvercruys, which ended as follows. - "These Stations, which
endured the siege of Ardennes, may well reflect the sufferings we share in common. Let
them remain in your churches as a token of our faith as well as our memories."
Reverend John P. O'Riordan, pastor of St. Mary's from
1940 to 1952, was one of the clergy present in the high school auditorium that Sunday in
1951 and received the ninth station, now hanging on the wall at the left front sidewall of
our church. The painting in St. Mary's was restored in July 1998 under the pastorate of
Rev. Richard Messina.
© St. Mary's Parish 1999
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