Latest news with #StNicholasChurch
Irish Times
09-08-2025
- Irish Times
Waterford cyclist (25) who died in Paris metro station was ‘loyal and funny', funeral hears
A Waterford man who died after falling onto live wires in a French metro stationshould be remembered as a 'thoughtful, passionate, loyal and funny' person, his funeral heard. Tomás Walsh (25) was holidaying in France with friends to watch the 16th stage of the Tour de France when the incident occurred in a metro station in Paris on July 21st. During the funeral Mass, one of Mr Walsh's sisters recounted to mourners in St Nicholas Church, Faithlegg, Waterford, what life was like growing up with him. 'He spent his early years outside in the fields with his sisters and cousins, outside on the farm, with neighbours and with friends around the Comeraghs (mountains) and Ardmore. He had ducks and chickens,' she said. READ MORE A fan of former international cyclist Seán Kelly, he caught the cycling bug and joined the Comeragh Cycling Club at the age of 14, and 'so began a whole new chapter in his life'. [ Tributes to Waterford cyclist (25) who died in Paris metro station Opens in new window ] 'He met a fantastic bunch of lads, trained hard and raced together all over Ireland, abroad and became the best of friends. For the past three years Tomás transferred the passion he had to farming. His friend David Jordan and himself worked hard and long hours on the farm and they loved every bit of it.' The congregation was told he was always thinking ahead and had plans to run the farm, often to the consternation of his father, as it was 'in his blood'. His sister said 'Tomás was thoughtful, passionate and loyal, fun-loving and funny. He was always losing things and often late. We are proud and blessed to have had him as our son and brother. We love you to the moon and back and more. 'There's a saying that a person only really goes the last time a person loves him or her mentions their name and I think if there's any truth in that, then Tomás will never be gone.' A family friend, speaking on behalf of Mr Walsh's father Frank, recalled stories of the young man and visions he had for the farm in the years ahead. Symbols of his life presented during the Mass included his cycling helmet, jersey and photos of happier times in years gone by. , ' Fr PJ Breen in his homily, said Mr Walsh's parents, Bernie and Frank,helped Mr Walsh 'grow into the person he became. Faithlegg was an enormous place in Tomás's life and was set to be like that for many years to come. In Faithlegg national school, he was elected student of the year by his classmates because of his fun-loving attitude. 'Tomás studied science and he was using that knowledge on the farm, where he was sharing more and more of responsibilities with Frank. Three years ago he committed himself to that and was very happy with that choice. He was described as one of a 'golden group of talented cyclists'. 'He was a sociable person, travelling and meeting people. Part of his travelling was to learn about other farm techniques that he could employ (on the family farm). He had many years ahead of him and gathering here today reminds us of the fragility of life'. Mr Walsh was laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery of St Nicholas Church.
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
In pictures: Austen fans don their Regency finery for fair
The village where Jane Austen was born 250 years ago has staged a fair to Jane Austen Country Fair in Steventon, Hampshire, boasted maypole dancing, arts and crafts and themed talks and broke out their finest Regency-era dress to celebrate the milestone in fair was the centrepiece of a year of celebrations in Steventon, which will conclude with a thanksgiving service at St Nicholas Church on 16 December, Austen's birth date. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
South China Morning Post
10-06-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
A furious Moses. A callous tycoon. A battlefield Madonna. Pittsburgh church murals revived
When the scaffolding came down inside an unassuming hilltop church, it revealed a raging storm of biblical proportions. A wide-eyed Moses holds the Ten Commandments aloft in righteous fury, ready to shatter the tablets when his followers abandon God for a golden calf. Lightning sizzles and a tornado surges in the background. The late artist Maxo Vanka created the mural in 1941, based on a scene from the Book of Exodus. It is one of 25 that cover the walls and ceilings of St Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church near Pittsburgh, in the US state of Pennsylvania. Vanka, a Croatian-American immigrant like most of the original parishioners, painted the scenes in bursts of creative energy. In marathon sessions, he captured stark social inequities alongside traditional religious themes. Art conservator Jessica Keister works on a mural by Maxo Vanka depicting the hand of God handing a tablet to Moses, inside St Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Pittsburgh. Photo: AP St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church stands across the Allegheny River from central Pittsburgh. Photo: AP The murals depict scenes with dualities. An angelic justice figure contrasts with a haunting figure of injustice in a World War I gas mask.
Washington Post
05-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
What it takes to clean industrial soot and grime from a Pittsburgh church's murals
MILLVALE, Pa. — How do you conserve 80-year-old murals that have accumulated decades' worth of soot, salt and other deterioration? Slowly and carefully, using everything from scientific analysis to seaweed extract to everyday tools — like cosmetic sponges and shish kebab sticks. That was the approach taken by a conservation team as they labored on a section of murals at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church near Pittsburgh.
Associated Press
05-06-2025
- Associated Press
AP PHOTOS: Famed church murals featuring social commentary revived by conservationists
MILLVALE, Pa. (AP) — Workers have completed a phase of conservation work on historic murals by the late artist Maxo Vanka at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church near Pittsburgh. The vivid results underscore the original power of the murals, which Vanka painted more than 80 years ago, fusing traditional Catholic iconography with searing social commentary. The team of more than a dozen workers cleaned off grime, extracted corrosive salts from the walls, stabilized plaster and delicately filled in areas of lost paint with new pastels and watercolors. The artist's granddaughter said of the mural, 'He always called it his gift to America.' ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editor Patrick Sison. See more AP photography at
