When I arrived at St Bede in 2014, I saw that we had a gift shop and had the thought of transforming it into something unique. My idea was to gather old, vintage, and antique religious items for sale from everywhere and anywhere.
The reason for this for threefold.
First, I am disappointed with the lack of beauty in modern religious art.
There are some exceptions, but most religious items are simply cheaply made and lack the touch of faith and beauty that comes from faith. Older items from generations that have passed us created more beautiful religious items. They were made to last for generations and not to be thrown away.
Secondly, I wanted homes to be adorned by such beauty to help elevate the mind and heart and soul of the family home and their occupants.
Thirdly, I already was very familiar with religious antiques, having began to collect them when I was 14 years old.
Therefore, I know, that over a period of time, I could reshape the Religious Goods store and provide beautiful items which, sometimes, I would need to restore in order to preserve them and make them beautiful for the home. That is what we now have. The St. Bede Religious Goods Store is a pseudo Antique and Vintage Store exclusively carrying Catholic Items. It still does have some new and modern items from its original inventory including some books.
The proceeds from the store are used to help St. Bede families matriculate their children into the Catholic school.
It has been a wonderful work for me to build the store over the past six years. I encourage to come look around.
– Fr Alex Valladares
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