Craftsmen Feel Special Pride in Job for Pope
When Pope John Paul II sits down before 100,000 Roman Catholics gathered in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Tuesday night, some Orange County cabinet makers will watch with special pride.
And when the Pope offers the sacrifice at the altar or listens to prayers being read at the lectern, craftsmen at Tahiti Cabinets in Anaheim will see their custom-made altar, chair and lectern put to use.
More accustomed to building cabinets and reception desks than liturgical sanctuary furniture, the craftsmen view the papal job as a distinct honor.
Construction Supervisor
“A lot more of your pride goes into your work when it’s for something like this,” said shop foreman Brad Ahrens, 27, who has been supervising construction of the papal furniture this week.
Tahiti Cabinets was contacted a month ago by Birtcher Pacific Construction, the Laguna Niguel general contractor for the Papal Mass. Father Rod Stephens of Stanton, working at Bissell Architects of Newport Beach, has designed the futuristic-looking sanctuary.
Like most of the dozen other Orange County and Los Angeles County subcontractors working on the Mass project, Tahiti Cabinets owner Mark Ramsey agreed to donate his shop’s services.
“It’s just a good feeling as far as being able to be involved in something with the Pope,” said Ramsey’s wife, Doreen, the office manager. “You always visualize the Pope as being so distant, but this is something we can be in contact with.”
On Friday, Ahrens and his co-workers were completing the spray-painting of the white, nine-foot-square-topped altar, the white reading stand and the Pope’s white chair. All three pieces are built of birch plywood and poplar.
The Pope’s chair, though simple in design, is impressive. Eight feet tall and nearly three feet wide, it has five diagonal open slats on the back that will be painted teal blue. The Pope will sit on a simple off-white cushion donated by Anaheim Foam & Fabrics.
Ahrens, a Catholic, said he was excited about the Pope’s visit to Los Angeles.
Proud of Role
“I wish they would have given tickets for the guys that built the chair,” said Ahrens, who plans to watch the Papal Mass on television. “I’ve got a buddy that’s going to video record it. I’m just real proud to be (among) the ones picked to do a custom job like that.”
a Raul Figueroa, Tahiti Cabinets’ design engineer, said the furniture will be delivered to the Coliseum Monday. He and a crew of six will set up the altar Monday evening and will dismantle it immediately after the Mass.
Stephens, who was busy overseeing construction at the Coliseum Friday, said the Pope’s chair will be used at the Papal Mass at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. What becomes of it after that, he said, will be up to the Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahony.
Ahrens laughed when asked if they had tried out the Pope’s chair. The temptation was simply too great.
“Yeah, we’ve all sat in it,” he said, adding that they also had their pictures taken in the chair. “It makes you feel funny when you sit down in that thing. It’s so tall, it makes you feel . . . special.”
Said Figueroa, who is also a Catholic: “What really makes this special, is thinking how many people--even priests--don’t have a chance to get close to the Pope. Can you imagine how many millions of people are in this church, and you get a chance to do something for him?”
