Peace cranes offer hope

By Maria LeDoux
The Catholic Free Press

For the past few months, parishioners at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Leominster have created origami cranes to promote peace. More than 1,000 have been made and hung in the church as a reminder to pray for peace for Ukraine and the world. Father C. Michael Broderick, pastor of the parish, came up with the idea to fill the church with the cranes, a symbol of peace.
In the mid-1980s while Father Broderick was a young priest, he was visiting St. John the Divine Episcopal Cathedral in New York City. It was Christmastime and there were paper cranes covering “enormous” Christmas trees that caught his attention. War was raging somewhere in the world, according to Father Broderick, and these cranes were a physical representation of the longing for peace.
The inspiration came from the story of a young Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki (1943-1955), who was a victim of the long-term effects of the 1945 nuclear bombing in Hiroshima. Sadako was 12 years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia, because of being exposed to uranium from the bombings 10 years earlier. According to the story, throughout her time in the hospital, Sadako had the goal of making 1,000 paper cranes. The reason for this number was because of Sadako’s father. He told her that Japanese folklore says that a crane can live for 1,000 years, and if one paper crane is folded for each year of a crane’s life, then the wish of that person will be granted.
When Sadako reached her goal and her wish to get well was not fulfilled, she continued folding the cranes. She made more than 1,300 cranes before her death in October 1955.
During the Gulf war, Father Broderick introduced the idea to St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough where he was the associate pastor from 1989 to 1992.
Today, because of the war in Ukraine, the “feeling of hopelessness overcame a lot of people,” Father Broderick said. He decided that this project could, and did, bring “people together” at Our Lady of the Lake Parish. He stated that the origami cranes are “a tangible sign that we can do something for peace. ... We cannot stop the war ourselves, but this gives people comfort.”
More than 1,000 origami cranes hang around the perimeter of the church. Cranes were also placed near the image of St. Michael the Archangel, whom Catholics prayerfully invoke for protection and defense against evil.
Father Broderick presented the idea to his parish community to be done during the Easter season until Pentecost. He wanted to give a concrete time frame for the creation of the cranes.     
But how long will the paper cranes decorate the church?
According to Father Broderick, “until they don’t have to … we must be reminded constantly that this is going on - not just in Ukraine but in Africa and Sudan and many other places.”
Since the challenge to make the cranes began, Louis Giancola, the facilities manager at the parish, has instructed others how to make the cranes. During the classes there was “lots of laughter and some frustration,” said Father Broderick.
Virginia Polley, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Lake, stated that Mr. Giancola was a “key contributor in the progress of the project.” In addition to teaching others how to make the cranes, he made many himself and hung the cranes in the church. There was a drop-off basket at the church so that parishioners could make cranes at home.
Our Lady of the Lake Parish has surpassed their original goal.
“The parishioners appreciate them,” said Father Broderick.
“My favorite part is seeing the display around the church as a reminder of peace that is needed in this world,” Mrs. Polley said.
Some parishioners stepped out of their comfort zone to make the cranes, others use them as a reminder to pray for peace, “one of the major things is people feel comfortable coming to church,” Father Broderick said.