Seither and Cherry Inc. use a 65-ton crane and extra-long elevation work platforms to remove the old signage at a site along Interstate 80 for a new Divine Mercy image.
By Dan Russo
The Catholic Messenger
STOCKTON, Iowa — A group of Catholics from parishes in the Davenport, Iowa City and Cedar Rapids areas are working to build what organizers believe will be a recording-breaking Divine Mercy sign along Interstate 80. If all goes well, phase one — construction of a huge Divine Mercy image — is slated to be done by the end of the year.
“This might be the biggest one (Divine Mercy) in the world,” said Brian Porter of Our Lady of Victory Parish-Davenport. “The sign is really close to the highway, which is no longer allowed, but this was grandfathered in. If this is successful we might do it again.”
By next spring, the creators are aiming to add the signature “Jesus, I Trust in You” to the top of the structure located near the I-80 Stockton exit. These are the words St. Faustina Kowalska, a polish saint, was given during a Church-approved apparition of God’s son in 1931. The words will be 56 feet wide. The entire structure will be 85 feet high, including the 33-foot Jesus image.
A concept for one of the largest Divine Mercy images in the United States and maybe the world, to be erected along Interstate 80 near the Stockton exit.
Teo Castillo, owner of Teo’s Towing Service and Recovery, a local business, donated access to the land and was very supportive. Scott Seele of St. Wenceslaus Parish-Iowa City, another member of the group behind the effort, approached the faith-filled entrepreneur after being turned down by others.
“This is a huge sign,” said Seele. “You don’t expect a ‘yes.’ He looked me in the eye and said, ‘I think it’s okay with me.’”
The organizers are in the midst of raising more than $300,000 to complete the project. They formed a not for profit corporation and secured legal permission before starting construction.
So far $26,000 has been spent to demolish an old sign and prepare the site. The Divine Mercy sign alone, which will be visible from both traffic directions, expected to cost an estimated $98,000. The display will be different from typical billboards because of its unusual shape and size and because of the fact that it is meant to be permanent.
Nesper Sign Advertising of Cedar Rapids is handling the sign construction. Another unique aspect of the design is that creators will install lights, which they are hoping will make everything visible from about a mile away, even if people are driving at night.
Deacon Bob Shaw of St. Paul the Apostle Parish-Davenport, an expert in electrical construction, is helping with lighting plans.
“We have had a few generous donors give a 100% donation match challenge up to $50,000,” said Porter. “We still need to raise roughly $170,000 for phase II of the upper backlit cabinet facing both east and west with the signature ‘Jesus I Trust in You.’ Recently we had a farmer donate 400 bushels of soybeans. At harvest delivery we will get a check at the commodity market price.”
Although the project has taken a lot of work, devotees of the Divine Mercy image believe the sign will inspire Christians. They also want to reach drivers who may not be believers, but are struggling and need God’s love and forgiveness.
“Jesus said when he came to St. Faustina he wanted people to come to his mercy and that what’s happened (over the last several decades),” said Seele.
According to Church teaching, Catholics are not required to participate in or believe in private revelations or devotions even if Church officials deem them “worthy of belief.”
“Throughout the ages, there have been so-called ‘private’ revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church,” reads the Catholic Catechism, Section 67, in part. “They do not belong however to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history …”
Nonetheless, the number of people who have an active devotion to the Divine Mercy image and its message, explained in the saint’s diary, has increased by millions since the first Polish pope promoted it. When St. Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina he also, on the same day, established Divine Mercy Sunday as a feast day for the entire Church. The feast day falls on the Second Sunday of the Easter season.
Those behind the I-80 sign project estimate that more than 13 million people drive down the section of the highway where the sign will be each year. They are committed to letting road warriors know about God’s mercy.
“We’re hoping to reach anyone who sees the signature while driving by the sign and reads it,” said Porter. “People are actually saying a prayer when they read it.”
More information on the project is at https://www.divinemercyproject.com/
