Those wishing to experience the feast of the Immaculate Conception may want to check out the parish by that name in Lonsdale.
On display in the sanctuary is a painting that depicts the parents of Mary — Sts. Anne and Joachim. The idea was conceived by the pastor of Immaculate Conception, Father Troy Przybilla, and put to canvas by his classmate at the St. Paul Seminary, Eric Menzhuber.
“I was praying in the church and the image kept coming back to me,” Father Przybilla said. “I couldn’t find an image of that. . . . There’s always the image of Mary, but never of St. Anne and St. Joachim.”
The painting was finished a year ago and dedicated on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, 2009.
“What I wanted him [Menzhuber] to convey when he painted it is hope,” Father Przybilla said, adding that a prayer card with the image also was created. “I wanted there to be a sense of hope. St. Anne is the patron saint of barren couples who cannot conceive a child.
“I was just told recently that there was a couple that has been trying to have a child for a long time. They couldn’t conceive. And, the woman who donated the money [for the painting] gave them this prayer card to pray. And, they’re pregnant with twins right now.”