A Manifestation of the Spirit of Giving

While not readily apparent, faith, charity, and community spirit suffuse the Corpus Christi and cross now gracefully suspended high above the pulpit in San Marco Catholic Church’s main sanctuary. 

The sacred symbol’s existence and recent installation represent the combined efforts of church staff and members, island residents, and local businesses. Each donated their time and talents to bring the project to fruition at minimal expense to the house of worship. 

“Basically, the installation went from thousands of dollars to zero,” said Eric Aquilio, the church’s facilities manager. “It was very nice that these people got involved because otherwise it would have been extremely expensive and now the church has a beautiful cross that will be there for many, many years.” 

It replaced a cross and corpus (Corpus Christi is Latin for the “Body of Christ”) that was about three feet wide, which felt insubstantial against the chapel’s soaring, 39-foot high, vaulted ceiling, explained Aquilio, who crafted the wooden cross himself. 

He spent about 150 hours during evenings and weekends this summer working on the project. The time was spent researching the correct colors to use, material acquisition and then crafting the three-quarter-inch poplar crucifix in his garage. 

Before moving the Marco and joining the San Marco maintenance staff five years ago, he enjoyed a 36-year-long career in Massachusetts as a custom wood carver, specializing in signs. 

“It's the only cross I've ever made, but being in the sign business for 36 years, I’ve shipped signs all over the world, to pubs in Ireland, and I did a lot of work in Martha's Vineyard,” said Aquilio. “I shipped a lot of signs to Nantucket. I did a lot of stuff for fire stations, a lot of different things.

“That cross is probably the pinnacle for me, if not the most interesting, intriguing thing that I have done. There was a lot to it, a lot of little things that people would never know.”

He explained that replacing the old crucifix was something parishioner Tom Walton had been working on for three years. His involvement stems from Walton asking if he knew of someone who could build a cross to back the corpus, which had already been purchased and placed in storage. 

Aquilio was unable to offer any suggestions, so he volunteered his services. 

“I said I can certainly do it because of my background in woodworking, but it's quite an undertaking. There’s quite a bit of work because a structural member that runs through the middle of (the mount area) to hold the weight of it. And there are a lot of things that need to be done to ensure that it stays straight, square and we get longevity out of it. So, he and I came up with a plan.”

Installing the six-foot by ten-foot cross and the slightly smaller corpus was complicated because of their 150-pound combined weight and the ceiling’s towering height. The solution was provided by the creativity, advanced technical skills, steady hands, and elbow grease of a variety of volunteers. 

Once the cross was built, contractors were sought for the work. But when their quotes were deemed to be too expensive, Aquilio sought advice on how to proceed from Matt Melican, a founding member of the Marco Patriots, a nonprofit disaster response and community service group based on the island. 

“I come from a construction background, and I asked to take a look at it, assess the scope of the project and I felt that I could get some of our friends within the Patriots who are contractors to help,” said Melican.

He then reached out to Dana Coote, president of Florida Roofing and Construction on Marco, who helped him assemble a team of his employees to mount the cross, with Aquilio coordinating the work. 

Coote also asked Marco resident Bill Filer to lend his extensive knowledge of high-end remodeling and construction to the effort. 

“I've known Dana for a long time, and he reached out to me,” said Filer. “He said, ‘’We've got a special project, and I think it’s right up your alley.’ So, we went and looked at it and discussed it and met with Aquilio. We looked at the logistics of what we were having to do to put it up in view for the church members.”

He designed the stainless-steel brackets used for the installation with the assistance of Marco Welding and Fabricating. He also climbed the scaffolding to bolt the corpus and cross into place. Sunbelt Rentals of Naples donated the scaffolding, and West Marine Marco Island donated the cables and rigging required for the project. 

Filer shrugged off praise for his part in the work while complementing Aquilo for his craftsmanship. 

“At the end of the day, Eric did an amazing, amazing job on this cross,” he said. “I heard people were brought to tears when they walked in and saw it. The hero, in my eyes, is Eric. He was like Michelangelo.”