Sr. Ginger agreed.
“If you look at it, it’s laughing at death. Our faith tells us there’s something greater than that,” Sr. Ginger said of Día de los Muertos and All Souls’ Day. “There’s also a glimmer of hope in that one day we too will join the other side and be with those we love.”
That’s the point that John Hermosillo, a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo in Peoria, hopes comes across in his artwork. He makes Day of the Dead crosses among other crosses and religious jewelry.
“I don’t want to put anything on the cross that will offend anybody,” Hermosillo said. “That’s my number one priority.”
His Day of the Dead crosses feature hand-painted skeletons and skulls.
Hermosillo took a gamble earlier this month when he displayed his handmade crosses during a Phoenix art night. The crosses featured decorated skeletons, or calacas, on them.
He said people were drawn to the pieces.
“None of it is gaudy. It’s fun,” Hermosillo said.
Now, he’s hoping the community will be able to have fun with the idea of death too. Hermosillo is building the main community altar for the City of Chandler’s annual Día de los Muertos celebration and festival Nov. 1.
“It’s going to be a beautiful piece,” Hermosillo said.
The upper part will look like the top section of a church with saints — supposedly the patrons of those who died — peering out of the windows.
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The tiered altar will have space for the community to place photos of deceased family members. They can also purchase a candle to light around it.
Bridget Chavez, Spanish teacher at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Glendale, also has her students create a makeshift altar in the parish hall and decorate it with photos of their ancestors. Then they offer personal prayers for the deceased.
She uses class time to openly discuss death. Chavez said it helps students view death in a new way.
“It is a time to be happy, not sad, and to celebrate the life the family member shared with us having served God’s purpose to completion,” Chavez said.
Honoring the dead in this way often brings grieving families closure, said Steve Raml, liturgist at St. Thomas More Parish in Glendale. Parishioners bring and place photos of their deceased friends and family members around the baptismal font for an All Souls Day vespers service.
The evening prayer includes a reading of the names of every parishioner who has died in the past year. Those gathered light a candle for each of them.