The future of unique, historic murals in St. Jude’s Anglican Church is in question now that the building is for sale.
A local heritage proponent and some former parishioners of the now-shuttered Brantford church are worried about the fate of the one-of-a-kind murals that have graced St. Jude’s walls for 80 years.
“There is no protection” for the paintings despite a two-decade-old federal designation declaring the site as having national architectural significance, says Cindy MacDonald, chair of the city’s heritage committee.
Multiple hand-painted murals depicting the life of Christ within St. Jude’s on Peel Street were designated as significant in 1996 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Those murals are stunning. There are many depressing elements to the story; for example, the archdeacon claiming that people are more important than buildings. Duh. Whoever said they had to be opposed? We build buildings, including churches, to serve people. Then we read this: attempts over the years to acquire public funding to help with mural restoration were rebuffed because of the paintings’ religious content. Ah yes. Secular good, religion bad. Four legs good, two legs bad. Etc. Presumably these tightwad helots would throw Fra Angelico or Rembrandt on the garbage tip.