Rev. Robert P. Stack Memorial
Belmont Street, St. Patrick Cemetery
Watertown, Mass.
Year Built: 1896
By the 1890s Celtic Crosses began to appear in cemeteries and churches around the world, wherever there was a Scottish or Irish diaspora population with pride in their origins. Inspection of the dates inscribed on them shows few were erected prior to 1900. Most of the elaborate crosses erected prior to 1900 marked the graves of priests, including this one. After Irish independence a flood of Celtic Cross monuments appear and the majority of the crosses seen today are from the 20th century.
Celtic Revival crosses are often decorated with Celtic knotwork and other antique decoration but they are also frequently decorated with contemporary religious and national symbols, such as the chalice, here which relates to Fr. Stack’s profession of priest. Harps and shamrocks decorate many of the earlier Celtic Revival examples. Sacred Hearts, messages such as "Rest in Peace" or "IHS" monograms are also evidence that these monuments were not merely imitations of historical sculpture, but have become a traditional form for expressing conventional fashions and sentiments.
Designed in 1896. Brigham paid this commission special attention having rejected specific stones to be used and selecting others.
References
• "Watertown News," Watertown Enterprise, August, 1896.
Images
2008
2008
2008, detail
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