THE PAINTING OF ST. PETER'S CATHEDRAL

Now and then Imhoff needed the help of one or two or three men to assist in heavy work or to hoist materials up to Mr. Imhoff on the scaffolding, etc. Sometimes Mr. Imhoff worked alone, with a prayer in every stroke of the brush.

A number of group paintings were done on heavy linen canvas taking in a semicircle of the sanctuary. Fr. Matthew was with Mr. Imhoff in every detail of this difficult operation. When the wall of the sanctuary was lined off with a space for each group, we laid the heavy canvas on the floor of the church, sloshed the underside of the canvas with glue, then with several men assisting, placed the painting on the wall. It took great skill to cut the canvas delicately to fit in its place, for the wall curves up and down as well as sideways. Fr. Matthew's job then was to tack the painting all around, thus these heavy paintings were firmly attached to the wall both with glue and with tacks. Thousands of tacks reinforced the holding power of the glue. You can, by approaching the paintings see my tacks if you stand on a stepladder. Under ordinary circumstances you do not see them. Other drawings, painted directly on the plaster, are to be seen on the upper part of the sanctuary. You are not able to see the difference between the frescoes and the other paintings.

Father Aloys Herriges, then a lad of about 14, was Fr. Matthew's pupil in the monastery. He many a time lent a helping hand in his free time, and sometimes when he should have been at his books.

This work went on for weeks and weeks. Every day Abbot Bruno and other members of the monastery came to see the progress. With the long days of June and good light, we looked forward to the completion of the sanctuary. One day Abbot Bruno stopped in to see Mr. Imhoff and myself at church. He was outfitted for his confirmation Journey and the team was waiting at the church door to take him to the railroad station. He was elated at the progress as Imhoff told him that upon his return from his Journey the sanctuary work would be done, scaffolding down, the church cleaned spick and span. The Abbot bid us farewell and gave us his blessing. It was the last time we saw him alive. He was to administer the sacrament of confirmation in St. Paul Church, Saskatoon, then at other places out west. While administering the sacrament he became ill and was compelled to stop. He insisted on trying again the next day, but again had to cease. He asked to be brought to Humboldt Hospital, where he died in the presence of several of the Fathers, having received the last rites of Mother Church. It was June 12, 1919. We were all stunned.

Work at the church was speeded up and we succeeded in finishing the painting, removing scaffolding and cleaning up. According to observers, the church was draped in black. My first service to be held in the newly decorated sanctuary, a gift of Mr. Imhoff to Abbot Bruno, was the pontifical funeral service for our departed beloved Father. The rather long time the Abbot lay in wake enabled us to finish our work in time for the service. The people of St. Peter's Church were so pleased with Mr. Imhoff's work, they took up a collection to have the rest of the church decorated. And to this day the church stands, well kept, well attended and well beloved, worthy of the title of cathedral for it is the Cathedral Church of the Abbacy Nullius.

One of the largest paintings is that of the Annunciation on the ceiling, just outside the sanctuary. This drawing was made on fine, light linen, lest the heavy linen used in the sanctuary might be too much of a strain on the ceiling plaster. Various men of the Muenster Parish lent a helping hand. May this belated acknowledgment reach beyond the grave, for most of them are gone. John Bergerman is still around, a great admirer and devoted assistant to Mr. Imhoff. Just under sixty years ago Fr. Matthew took lovely photos of the interior of the church. I believe every family of Muenster Parish bought one of them. Of late, Modern Press of Saskatoon printed an outstanding reproduction of a photo taken by Dennis Lieffers of Humboldt.

In 1937, Mr. Imhoff returned to Muenster to touch up the paintings where necessary, assisted by his daughter and John Korte and Carl Rippe. Coal and wood were used in the steam boilers and fumes from the furnace, cold in winter, rain and heat in summer all contributed to dim the printings a bit. In 1971, Ralph Britz, Bud Gunther, Bob Poelzer, Gerhard and Jerome Bauml did a marvelous job of restoration in the church. There were leaks from above and in various places wood rot was discovered, and extensive plaster repair had to be undertaken. Whatever there was to be done these men did with astonishing patience and remarkable thoroughness. When these men finished their work the church seemed to be newly painted. Mr. Imhoff, by the way, had his own secret recipe with which he coated his paintings. No wonder they remarkably recovered their brilliance when cleaned after years of exposure. For years, the Muenster church was not heated during the winter months. It is surprising they are so well preserved.

At the completion of the sanctuary, Fr. Alys Herriges, then 14 years of age, took a picture of the sanctuary with a small box camera. The picture, which I have at my hand today measures 2" x 2". I do not think any camera today can give you a clearer picture. Fr. Matthew received a camera from Fr. Casnir, one with plates, which took large pictures. He and Fr. Alys mounted this camera to a favorable position and set the aperture of the camera to the size of the lead in a lead pencil. They left the camera stand in that position for some 10 hours. The results were marvelous. Pictures taken today with the most modern cameras do hardly any better. The pictures measure 6" x 4 1/4". Of course, 60 years ago the pictures were all black and white.

By the way, when, following Abbot Bruno's passing, the parish decided to have Mr. Imhoff decorate also the body of the church. Imhoff came up with the idea to paint Abbot Bruno as St. Paul. The result is perfect. One, not acquainted with the manoeuvre, would not suspect that St. Paul, near the first pillar on south side of the church, is Abbot Bruno, for the Abbot just naturally resembled the traditional features of St. Paul. I think he would have been the last to approve this happy artifice. The fact is that Mr. Imhoff painted Abbot Bruno from a photo which Fr. Matthew gave to Mr. Imhoff. This photo is still in Fr. Matthew's possession. Indeed, Mr. Imhoff could have done almost as well without a model before him, as he frequently did in his productions. Abbot Bruno had not posed for this painting, as has been erroneously reported. Originality was not Mr. Imhoff's forte. As a master of ecclesiastical art, Mr. Imhoff was fairly compelled to reproduce, for he never saw a saint of his day, much less any saints of centuries gone by. If. Mr. Imhoff had painted St. Francis or St. Dominic, or St. Benedict, or St. Ignatius with features or in poses quite different from those which tradition has handed down to us, this would have been almost equivalent to heresy in art. Show me thirty paintings of various artists, with several of Imhoff’'s paintings among them, I ' ll pick out Mr. Imhoff's paintings (60k) in a jiffy! He had a style all his own. Difficult to explain, but the distinction is there.

The country church of St. Benedict was richly embellished with Mr. Imhoff's paintings. In 1948, this church was destroyed by fire, with the loss of the paintings and the fine pipe organ. Mr. Imhoff painted a picture of St. Benedict for Fr. Matthew in 1920 and in 1922, one of the Sacred Heart and in 1925, one of the Blessed Virgin. Several of his paintings are to be found in Marysburg Church. The Church at Paradise Hill and a number others in the province are among the fortunate ones enriched with Mr. Imhoff's paintings.

A better friend than Mr. Imhoff you could not find. He was generous, hospitable, kind, and loyal. Those well acquainted with him lost a good friend, and Mother Church mourns the passing of a staunch supporter. His paintings are his prayers, according to the Benedictine motto, "pray and work" or "to work is to pray". Ora et labora.

Last summer, the first time in many years, Fr. Matthew accompanied Fr. Alysius of Watson and Fr. George of Annaheim on a visit to St. Walburg. Many of the pictures were still familiar to Fr. Matthew, for he had spent many hours in wonder, watching Mr. Imhoff at work years ago. And when he sometimes tired, he and Fr. Matthew would saddle two of his riding ponies and ride off on a brisk trip to Paradise Hill.

Eventually Mr. Imhoff's health began to fail. He could no longer wield the brush, nor could his kindly eyes keenly distinguish the color blending needed for his work. Nor could he reply to a letter. We always wrote and conversed in German. It was early winter, 1939, when Father Matthew wrote his dear friend a letter of encouragement. A week later Mrs. Imhoff sent a reply from Mr. Imhoff, "Auf Wiedersehen", aurevoir, until we meet again. Father's letter to Mr. Imhoff reached him the day before his passing, the last letter ever.