BRIDGETON – Instead of symbols of holy ground, peace and eternal life, the block-long wall that borders part of Saint Mary’s Cemetery is littered with symbols of gangs, violence and death.
But not for long. The wall is getting a makeover fitting for the consecrated site – and the community – thanks to collaboration between Holy Cross Parish and the City of Bridgeton.
Father Matthew Weber, parish pastor, took notice of the graffiti last October while driving past the wall that faces Penn Street. Bridgeton has a crime rate about two times higher than the national average.
“All this graffiti really means death, and that means hopelessness. It means anger; it means violence; it means everything that we’re working against,” he said.
That’s when he came up with the idea not just to paint over the graffiti, but to put up a mural. “I thought, ‘It’s not only about covering up the wall. I wanted to bring out the aspect of going from death to life in our own Catholic faith, but also, generally speaking, from hopelessness to hope.”
He was inspired from past experience. Years ago, after finding graffiti on a garage behind the church, Deacon Arnaldo Santos decided to put a crucifix on the structure, hoping those responsible would be deterred from further vandalism.
“That’s what happened,” Father Weber said. “It just stopped.”
While Father Weber was thinking about his part of the project, Esaul Martin, coordinator of the city’s Southeast Gateway Neighborhood Revitalization, was also noticing a build-up of graffiti. Martin said he saw the graffiti in the Southeast Gateway community starting to expand throughout different neighborhoods, too.
“As I was riding around, I saw this particular wall that was littered with graffiti,” Martin said of North Pearl Street. “So I figured to not only make it a neighborhood project, but a city-wide project.”
Martin gave Father Weber a call about painting the wall, to which the priest said, “Wow, an answer to a prayer.”
Father Weber worked with Angela Harris, a local artist and muralist, who helped create the final design.
“What I had in mind was to put the cross in the center with the sun in the background and the rays shining out,” Father Weber said. “And under that write, ‘I am the Resurrection and the life.’”
Indeed, at the center of the mural, there will be the cross on a hillside with the rays of sunlight. The rest of the wall will be maroon – Bridgeton High School’s color – and the words peace, love, faith, kindness, hope and community in English and Spanish. A heart-shaped logo will be painted at each side of the mural, representing the city’s Gateway Community Action Partnership.
“We want to see things like this [graffiti] combated because it doesn’t shed the best light on this particular neighborhood,” Martin said. “This [wall] belongs to the church, so we won’t tolerate this type of behavior. God won’t, and neither will any of my city colleagues.”
Funding for the project came from a portion of a Southeast Gateway Revitalization grant; Brush Masters Painting Contractors of Vineland is involved in the project; Sherwin-Williams of Vineland donated approximately $7,000 worth of paint, Martin said.
Father Weber said the mural will help the city’s residents “not look at everything so bleak and dark, but to look at it from the eyes of faith and community brotherhood and sisterhood.”
The mural is projected to be completed by mid-May.
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