Stations of the Cross at the Shrine of St. Anthony de Padua - San Antonio, TX
N 29° 29.997 W 098° 28.230
14R E 551323 N 3263494
These Stations of the Cross were built by the famous sculptor Dionicio Rodriquez at the Shrine of St. Anthony de Padua, located at 102 Lorenz Road, San Antonio, TX 78209. A parking lot at the site offers ample parking spaces.
Waymark Code: WM12T7E
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/11/2020
Views: 1
Dionicio Rodriquez was a local San Antonio sculptor who perfected the "faux-bois" (false wood) design of concrete structures and sculptures. He has many examples of his work throughout San Antonio, and in other states, expectably those in Arkansas. He did other sculptures and artworks other than concrete looking like wood and these Stations of the Cross are an excellent example how he created Stations of the Cross out of local limestone rocks and locally made cement.
The Reverend Peter Baque was a priest who had grown up in the Basque area of Spain and was serving at the closest Catholic church at the time a company town called Cementville was built by the Alamo Portland Cement Company. The Archbishop assigned Rev. Baque to establish a church at the Cementville neighborhood. The church property is owned by the Missionary Servants of St. Anthony, an order founded by Rev. Baque in order to better serve the Mexican Catholic population of Cementville.
By 1936, the Shrine of St. Anthony of Padua recruited noted artist Dionicio Rodriquez to create the 14 Stations of the Cross on a section of the church's property. The cost of each station was paid for by sponsoring donors. Each station is essentially the same in design. The 14 stations are laid out in two rows, with Station 1 through Station 7 being the "front" row and the "back" row being Stations 8 through Station 14. Starting at Station 1, you would visit those along the front row. Then, you would step a few feet back and return back to your initial location by visiting Stations 8 through Station 14. Essentially the stations are staggered between the 1-7 stations and the returning 8-14 stations.
14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
Each station are constructed with honeycombed limestone rock and are 13 to 16 feet tall, and 5.5 feet wide and 3 feet deep. Their parapet walls have three rock pinnacles. A concrete formed Celtic cross is placed above three arched cement blocks into which the number of that station is carved. Below this number is embedded a 23 X 21 inch marble slab into which a relief carving of the individual scene of the path walked by Jesus is represented. Below this marble carving is a concrete block inscribed with the name of the sponsoring donor for this station. Below the donor recognition is a shallow shelf. Farther down the facade is flat native stone being supported by two smaller stones that is provided for kneeling.
Link to Church webpage stating brief history of the founding of the St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church:
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Link to documentation of the Stations of the Cross being built by Dionicio Rodriquez:
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Link to documentation of sculptures by Dionicio Rodriquez in Texas:
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