Patrick J. Buechi/Staff - Joey Mundier (right) shows one of the crosses he moved for his Eagle Scout project to Father Robert Hughson. Mundier used 14 crosses, statues and benches to create a meditation garden.

In Niagara Falls the 14 Stations of the Cross have become a pet project for some local teens. Two Boy Scouts earned their eagle badges with projects involving the depiction of Jesus Christ’s final hours.

Joey Mundier, 16, noticed that the Stations behind St. Leo’s worship site of St. Vincent de Paul Parish had seen better days and decided to refurbish the wooden crosses. He repainted them, placed brackets on the arms to hold ceramic 3D depictions of the stations, and moved all 14 crosses from the fields behind the parish center closer to the parking lot in an arc to form a small meditation garden. He added a few statues and a couple benches to make a peaceful setting where parishioners could sit and pray. 

“My main reason was because I’ve seen the area back there and, really, it fell into disrepair because no one was taking care of it. I decided I could move it forward and help out the people so they could actually get to the place, because before they had no way to get back there,” Mundier said.

The project involved the work of 13 people and took about 150 hours to complete. New holes had to be dug and concrete poured. Solar-powered lights were added for night viewing. Father Robert Hughson, pastor of St. Vincent’s, plans to add a memorial brick walkway to the garden this spring. 

During the same time, Billy Butski, 18, created his own set of the Stations that currently hang in the chapel at the parish’s Prince of Peace worship site. Last summer, he organized “Living Stations” with other Scouts and members of St. Vincent’s youth group dressing in period clothes and placing fellow Eagle Scout Raphael de Rosa on a cross. Each station was photographed and mounted on 5 by 7 inch wooden plaques making for a very vivid and realistic scene.

The photos were initially going to go on the crosses that Mundier worked with, but Father Hughson found them to be so beautiful, he decided they should remain indoors. About 20-30 people were involved in the project, which took a month to plan and several days to print and press the photos. 

“I thought it was a good idea because getting the youth group involved would bring everybody closer, and then, when people saw the pictures, they would see the youth were involved in Christian activities,” said Butski.
Mundier and Butski were just two of four teens who will receive their eagle badges this year. Other projects included planning a movie night and refurbishing a Mennonite Cemetery on Saunders Settlement Road.

“It’s a wonderful way to keep young people involved in the Church,” said Father Hughson. “Certainly, the scouting program has been active for many, many years in our parish and we are very happy to help with these Eagle Scout projects. We’re looking forward to working with our youth and offering them an opportunity to feel like a part of the Church as they contribute their creativity to projects like this.”

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