At a young age, a local artist from Little Falls, Sheila McCallum, was drawn to statues and monuments, such as Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty. As she grew in her Catholic faith, she began appreciating the beauty of churches.
In a program set to air at 9 p.m. May 2 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, McCallum told “Practicing Catholic” producer Rachael McCallum, who is not related, “I live in central Minnesota and in a lot of these areas, even in these small towns where there are farming communities, there are a lot of churches that date back to the early 1900s, 1920s. And what I appreciate about those churches is that even though these farming communities were relatively small, the people were so faithful. They loved their Catholic church.”
Everyone involved in building the churches did their best to make each church majestic and beautiful, McCallum said.
“You find these churches that are from 1920 have beautiful statues, stations of the cross that are three-dimensional that stick out from the wall, high altars that are gorgeous,” McCallum said. “To me, that’s like a catechesis when you see all that artwork. It lifts your heart to things that are above this world. When you see different saints, you naturally want to know more about them. And if you don’t know who they are, it gives an opportunity to the priests and to any catechists (who) are there to instruct the people.”
McCallum said she believes the Church needs to tap into what’s been lost in the last few decades, this inspirational artwork.
“To be part of that is, for me, a humble privilege, to be working with sacramentals and to be creating spaces that not only teach people, but inspire them,” said McCallum, who repairs plaster statues for local churches. “Every piece I restore is, to me, spiritually significant.”
With each repair job, McCallum said she has a temporary relationship with the saint she is working on. She’ll often talk to that saint while working and ask for help.
“The most spiritually significant one that I’ve done was the total restoration of a church,” McCallum said. “There is a church in a small town called Elmdale, the church of St. Edwards, and it suffered an interior fire in July of 2023.”
When asked to repair the church, she balked at the idea and was hesitant because it was a large project. The priest, however, insisted, because while in prayer about the restoration, McCallum came to mind, and he believed God wanted her to restore the church.
“When I heard that I was convicted,” McCallum said. “If the Lord wants this, I want it.”
To hear more about McCallum’s career as an artist, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. May 3 and 2 p.m. May 4.
As part of the program, Tom Schulzetenberg, the director of strategic projects at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and his wife, JoAnn, the head of school at the Way of the Shepherd in Blaine, shared what it was like to live in Rome during the first four years of Pope Francis’ papacy. Also, Bishop Kevin Kenney talks about how to remain hopeful during Easter.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, “Practicing Catholic” can be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.?
