He studied Theology and wanted to apply it to carpentry: this young man seeks to rescue "Catholic beauty
John Hayden is 27 years old, is from Butte, Montana (USA) and has a natural gift for working with his hands. He learned carpentry in a self-taught way and since he was a child he enjoyed building "small objects".
Hayden came to spend some time in Canada working with an expert carpenter.
Although his academic interests led him to study Theology at the International Theological Institute (ITI) in Austria, carpentry remained a constant thread in his life, and Hayden often found himself making furniture for friends and students in his spare time.
Until two years ago, that passion found a "Catholic" expression.
The young carpenter learned that in his parish of St. Richard, in Columbia Falls, needed two credentials (small auxiliary tables used in the Eucharist), Hayden offered to build them, becoming his first liturgical carpentry project.
"I saw this as an incredible opportunity to combine these two disciplines and passions of mine, carpentry and theology - because, of course, liturgical carpentry is deeply imbued with meaning. It was something I could turn myself into completely,"
Shortly after doing the accreditation tables I heard about a project in the parish of St. Matthew, a small local neo-Gothic-style parish that had suffered several fires in recent decades."
The church had begun major renovations that included "beautifying the temple with ornamental moldings" and they were looking for "someone to build the entire presbytery," including "altars designed specifically for the space."
"I've never made an altar," he said. But, after having successfully built the credentials, he felt capable. "The parish trusted that I would design something that would work and that was beautiful for the space," he recalls.
The young carpenter said that he was very inspired by a trip he made last summer with two university friends to the north of France, where they "explored several Gothic cathedrals" and were able to "learn from the great masters."
"You enter those churches and feel as if you are being taken out of yourself and taken to another world," Hayden said. "When it comes to design, I give it my all. I don't keep anything. I want it to be as beautiful and as best as possible."
"I was a little worried because the style was very different from the one before and many parishioners liked a simpler appearance," but, once installed, it was very well received by both the faithful and the parish priest.
A month after the completion of the presbytery, Bishop Austin Vetter, of the Diocese of Helena, came to consecrate the altar, a moment that Hayden defined as "surreal."
"I remember thinking: 'Well, I did my job, but now that the bishop has consecrated it, it is no longer mine. I have made an offering and it has been delivered to God'. It is incredible to think that the Eucharistic sacrifice is celebrated on something that I have built."
"When I go to church on Sundays, I don't see my altar. I see the mass, I see the liturgy. I see something bigger than me. I see the altar of Christ." Hayden also explained that nothing has been in vain, since "theology is the foundation and the basis of [his] work."
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Excellent, bring back beauty again. Time to ditch the culture of ugliness from the 20th century.