The 21st ornament in a series portraying aspects of the Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica is now available in the Basilica Gift Shop, first floor of the Parish Center, adjacent to the Archabbey Basilica.
The 2017 ornament is a miniature replica of the Archabbot Boniface Wimmer statue outside of the Archabbey Basilica. Boniface Wimmer (1809-1887) was the founder of Saint Vincent, arriving in October of 1846 with 18 candidates for the monastic life.
The bronze statue was designed by Austrian sculptor Ferdinand Seeboeck (1864-1952). It is eleven and a half feet high, excluding pedestal, and weighs 3,800 pounds. Seeboeck also carved statues of Saints Maurus and Placid, Benedict and Scholastica, inside the Basilica.
The production of the statue is the topic of a book, Forward, Always Forward, The History and Construction of the Wimmer Memorial Statue, by Rev. Blase Strittmatter, O.S.B., and produced by Archabbey Publications.
The ornament is available at the Basilica Gift Shop, which is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays and from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays. All ornaments are also available at the Archabbey’s online store, www.stvincentstore.com.