The Millvale Apparition
Nestled just outside of Pittsburgh in the suburb of Millvalle, something amazing lurks. A historic Croatian Catholic Church, St. Nicholas, holds some of the most overlooked murals of the 1930s…and, perhaps, a ghostly priest suffering penance for not upholding his duties when he was living.
The believed bastard of Hapsburg nobility and famous painter, Maksimilijan “Maxo” Vanka .He was just finishing up painting classes in Europe when World War I arrived on his doorstep. A confirmed pacifist he joined the Belgian Red Cross as a medic and would behold some of the most horrifying aspects of war. And his story was only beginning.
After the war rumbled to an end, he went back to painting. He quickly became one of Croatia's most famous and beloved painters throughout the 1920s and beyond. Though, in 1934, he could smell the fascism coming. He decided to immigrate to the United States. By 1937, he was living in New York City with American wife, Maragaret Stetten, the daughter of a prominent Jewish surgeon. They two had met in Zagreb and eventually moved back to America where they had their daughter, Peggy. Father Zagar would reach out to Vanka...and that's how he ended up in Pittsburgh.
Father Albert Zafar of St. Nicholas, the very first Croatian parish in the United States, decided to commission Vanka to paint a set of murals at the church. While Croatian, Vanka’s work was not famous for its spirituality and the artist himself wasn’t very religious himself, especially after serving in WWI.
But, Vanka took the job. Over two months, between April and June 1937, he completed the initial set of murals consisting of 12 paintings. The rest would be finished several years later in 1941, just months before the United States, Vanka's new home, would enter WWII.
Vanka's work, now known as the Millvale murals, depict a wide ranging slew of traditional Catholic religious themes paired alongside his own anxieties that also are underscored in the bible - the evils of greed, the horror of war, and more. Together, the murals aren't just Christian motifs, they're a living, breathing look into 1940s politics.
Now, at this point you may be thinking to yourself: Tess you are spending a lot of this blog talking about a Croatian painter and a church…WHERE is the apparition? To which I would reply: we’re getting there.
But, to get to the ghost we have to backpedal slightly to 1937, when the paintings were not finished. Vanka was working late at the church still working on a deadline to finish the first commission of murals. He often worked at night, as the church was busy during most of the daylight hours. A few days into his commission is when he came face-to-face or face-to-ghost with the Millvalle ghost.
If you believe any of this at all, St. Nicholas was haunted by the ghost of a former pastor who neglected his priestly duties in life so would spend his afterlife in the church. Vaka described the figure as "black robed" and said it appeared to be making gestures at the altar. I find it interesting here that Vanka describes them as "gestures" - while not explicitly religious himself he was skilled and educated enough about religious matters to be able to paint masterpieces of them. Wouldn't he recognize, say, the sign of the cross or genuflection? I find it haunting that this simple word somehow complicates what the ghostly priest may be doing.
This is not the last time Vanka would see the ghost. In fact, he began to wear blinders and stuff his ears while he worked, especially at night, because he did not want to be disturbed with the spirit. The strange occurrences, sightings, and strange feelings would be ongoing throughout the full set of murals. He also let Father Zagar know about his experience, and he shared that he had also seen the strange, ghostly priest.
Vanka told his friend Louis Adamic about his experiences. Which, you wouldn't think was a big deal but Adamic was a writer at Harper's Magazine. So he writes a story, highlights Vanka's fantastic work, and sets the country's interest in Pittsburgh.
Despite Vanka being scared, and later annoyed, by the apparition it didn’t seem much to upset the priests, parishioners, or neighborhood. While sightings have been mentioned here and there, the church remains fully operational and still bringing in visitors from all over to see Vanka’s works. Although some may want to catch sight of the alleged ghost.
Vanka's murals were nearly lost due to the pollution and poor conditions of St. Nicholas only a few decades later. Luckily, people knew the Sistine Chapel of the US could not be lost and restoration efforts are ongoing today.
Thanks to Tommy Szeltner for this blogstonishing suggestion!
Altar of the St Nicholas Catholic Church in Millvale, PA, USA, painted by Maxo Vanka Taken by Plurabilities. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
