FATHER Irek Stadler, priest in charge of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, was delighted to receive a wonderful gift from a master craftsman.

Antoni Pytel, the father of one of his Haslemere parishioners, has created an iconic San Damiano Cross, which was shown to the congregation and used for the first time for an ecumenical Taizé service recently.

A San Damiano cross is a large Romanesque rood cross that St Francis of Assissi was praying before when he received the commission from the Lord to rebuild the Church.

The original cross hangs in the Basilica of St Clare in Assissi and Franciscans cherish this cross as the symbol of their mission from God. It is of a type sometimes called an icon because, besides the main figure of Christ, it contains images of other saints and people connected with Christ’s crucifixion.

The tradition of such crosses began in the Eastern Church and probably reached Italy via Serbia and Croatia.

Antoni Pytel, whose favourite hobby is painting religious icons, worked on the cross for around two months. When in Britain he always attends Our Lady of Lourdes, and he decided to present his masterpiece to the church, because it is where his daughter and grandchildren worship.

The Taizé service held at Our Lady of Lourdes Church was attended by people from many other churches in Haslemere and Mr Pytel’s lovingly-crafted artwork formed the central focus of the ecumenical coming together.

In the flickering candlelight, its artistic beauty was displayed to perfection.