Missouri blacksmith turns task into tribute to Mary

ST. LOUIS (CNS) - Even with his experience, Robert Ruwwe, who has done blacksmithing since he was a teen, didn't think he was good enough to make an intricate design for the Legion of Mary.

The legion - the largest apostolic organization of laypeople in the Catholic Church - asked him to make a vexillum, or standard, that is used for its annual Acies ceremony. After some hesitation, Ruwwe, a member of St. Stephen Parish in Richwoods, took on the project and surprised himself with how well it turned out. "Acies" is a Latin word that means an army ranged in battle array; the vexillum resembles a standard or flag that soldiers carry into battle. Held annually near the feast of the Annunciation, the ceremony is when members renew their consecration to Mary. Each legionary places a hand on the vexillum's staff and repeats an act of contrition. The vexillum created by Ruwwe sits atop a staff made of dogwood, which is attached to a square walnut base. An intricate image of the Immaculate Conception (the Miraculous Medal) is in an oval shape, with a rose on one side and a lily on the other. Above the oval is a crossbar with the words "Legio Mariae," topped by a dove representing the Holy Spirit. With the staff, which has a globe in the middle, it is nearly 7 feet tall. Some of the parts are designed to come off the base to make it easier to transport. The design seeks to convey the idea that the world is to be conquered by the Holy Spirit acting through Mary. Members of the Legion of Mary are known for their door-to-door evangelization. In an interview with the St. Louis Review, newspaper of the St. Louis Archdiocese, Mary Budde, vice president of the St. Louis Regional Senatus of the Legion of Mary, called the vexillum "just gorgeous, a beautiful thing." "He did a wonderful job, and I was very impressed. He outdid himself," she said. Her daughter belongs to Ruwwe's parish and put her in touch with the craftsman. Budde noted that instead of fashioning a flat image he made the hands of Mary reaching out. The project involved several months of work, she said. Ruwwe said he stopped counting after he put in 120 hours. Budde said Mary was his guide in doing the work, and the project brought him closer to her. Ruwwe said, "It turned out so good. I had no idea it would." His daughter, Lisa Webgeschiede of Leasburg, painted the vexillum. Ruwwe lives about 16 miles outside Richwoods and has been a member of St. Stephen about three years. His wife, Wilma, is talented too - she makes quilts. The couple has three grown children. Growing up in Crawford County, he taught himself to be a blacksmith. He has pursued the craft as a hobby and source of supplemental income since he was a young teen. He spent 35 years working in underground mines before retiring. While working four 10-hour shifts a week, he still kept to a busy schedule in his blacksmith shop next to his house, sometimes working until about 10 at night. He works with forges, anvils and wedge blocks to shape items from metal that are heated to as high as 2,000 degrees. He formerly used coal as a heat source but now mostly uses gas. Ruwwe has made metal sets for fireplaces, weather vanes and even bear traps. He made and donated a large cross for the cemetery at St. Stephen. "I just make whatever someone wants," he said.

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