How he got here is an amazing story. Some non-Catholic people bought a home in the area that had obviously been owned by Catholics. The statue of St. Francis was in the back yard. Well, they didn't want anything "Catholic" on their property and told some workers to "get rid of it! throw it out!"
The workers, though not Catholic, knew that it was a statue of St. Francis and brought it to Our Lady of Peace. Larry Manno of Manno Landscaping, who plows the snow at OLP, took it, did some repairs on the statue, built the shrine and installed the statue.
Francis prayed, "Lord, make me a channel of your peace." May his presence at OLP remind us to be peacemakers in our families, our church, and our cities. He also told us to "preach the gospel everywhere - using words when we had to." May his prayers help us to be living witnesses of the good news!
Thanks to Larry Manno, the unknown (and still unaware) donors of the statue, and to the workers who were kind enough to bring it to OLP.