Stone carving at St. Joseph Catholic Church
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Last week, while walking down East Washington Street, I stopped to take in the grandeur that is St. Joseph Catholic Church. This is a familiar ritual as this block in Butchertown is one of the best in the city. While staring at the building, reportedly with the tallest spires in the city, I noticed a hand above the central door. The carving was small and high above the sidewalk, but was this hand flipping me off? I saw one middle outstretched finger, but the index finger was obscured by the background. Strangely vulgar carving for a church, I thought.

Upon closer inspection, the index finger appeared from its stone field and the revelation of the peace symbol made everything okay. In reality, the sign is a religious one. It appears to be a version of the sign of the cross, and with the thumb extended could represent the Trinity. A version of this Trinity reference became a popular greeting in Eastern Europe known as the three-fingered salute.

After looking at this church for years, new details continually reveal themselves each time. The church was built in 1883.

St. Joseph Catholic Church
St. Joseph Catholic Church. (Branden Klayko / Broken Sidewalk)
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Branden Klayko

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