There’s another ‘Big Jesus’

We all know about the large monstrance built for the May 10 Eucharistic Congress, which has been creatively called ‘Big Jesus’. After the Congress, ‘Big Jesus’ was taken around on pilgrimage to a few churches. The pilgrimage is currently on pause, hopefully to resume later this year.

Now comes news that there’s actually a second large monstrance in the Archdiocese.

It’s seven feet tall and four feet wide, thus bigger than the Eucharistic Congress monstrance. Let’s call it, for the time being, Big Jesus’ brother.

Winston Garcia of the People of Praise (PoP) explained that this monstrance was actually supposed to have been completed in time for the Congress but could not. It started as a casual conversation with Congress coordinator Fr Jesse Maingot OP who expressed a wish for a truly large monstrance. Inspired, Garcia offered to design one himself. “The visual just burst in front of my eyes,” Garcia said. “If you have a little monstrance in a huge space, the impact is minimal.”

He drew inspiration for his design from simplicity. “A monstrance has to be simple, yet beautiful. The focus has to be Christ,” he said. The initial design was sketched on a large piece of cardboard during a music rehearsal for the Congress. “It just came out perfectly the first time. I believe it was inspired by the Lord.”

Although a Catholic businessman ultimately completed the Congress monstrance, Garcia was encouraged to continue building his own version, which would be funded by Fr Maingot as a gift to PoP.

The process wasn’t without its challenges. Garcia admitted struggling with constructing the lunette—the glass case that holds the consecrated host. Eventually, the same businessman who crafted the first monstrance stepped in to help embellish Garcia’s version and build a proper lunette.

The finished piece made its debut at PoP’s ‘Healing and Deliverance Summit 2’ on July 5 at St Charles Borromeo RC Church, Tunapuna. It featured a consecrated host 15 inches wide, the same dimension used for the Congress monstrance.

The response from attendees was striking. “It was amazing how people, when they saw it, were just drawn to silent, prayerful meditation,” Garcia said. “Nobody asked any questions. They just knelt in adoration.”

Garcia noted that while the theology of Eucharistic Adoration doesn’t change with size, the sheer scale of the monstrance seemed to touch people’s imaginations in a unique way. “It excites the whole person,” he explained. “Smelling incense, seeing the host—things that stimulate every aspect of our humanity. That big visual gives people a deeper sense of connection with God somehow.”

The PoP Community has since housed the monstrance in their prayer room, awaiting advice and guidance from Fr Maingot on how best to integrate it into regular Eucharistic Adoration.

Garcia hopes the monstrance’s presence will encourage children and young people to engage more deeply with their faith. He mentioned a programme called Children of the Eucharist, originating from Ireland, which helps young people use scripture and imagination in their prayer life.

Garcia also mentioned the Emmanuel Community from France as an example. That group’s focus on Eucharistic Adoration has led many young people toward religious vocations. He hopes his Community might experience something similar.

“We just want to enhance our devotion to the Eucharist,” Garcia said, “and encourage children and young people to get into Eucharistic Adoration.” – Raymond Syms, Editor