When Holy Cross Bishop Patrick Neary was named bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud in December 2022, he had to figure out where to get all the things that bishops need to be bishops. Where do you get a pectoral cross, a miter, a crosier?
Many of those items are gifted to new bishops by their peers or their family. There are a few, though, that need to be chosen and purchased by the bishops themselves. For Bishop Neary, a crosier was one of those things.
A crosier is the staff the bishop carries that symbolizes his role of governance. The shape is inspired by a shepherd’s crook and is a symbol of the bishop’s role as shepherd of his flock, the diocese. 
Searching online, Bishop Neary found an article in The Catholic Spirit, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, about a Minnesota artist that carved a crosier for Bishop Andrew Cozzens when he was named an auxiliary bishop there in 2013.
“I kept searching and searching,” he said. “And on the fourth session, I found Paul Sirba, a church carpenter, who happens to also be the nephew of the late Bishop Paul Sirba of Duluth. He does amazing work for churches that need wooden altars or displays. He can do anything, he’s wonderfully gifted.”
Bishop Neary was so impressed with Sirba’s work, that he contacted him and asked him to create a crosier for him.
“It is one of my greatest honors to carve crosiers for the shepherds of our Church,” Sirba said. “I was overwhelmed and honored by Bishop Neary’s request.”
This is the 10th crosier Sirba has carved, he said.
For each one, he researches symbolism and the Church’s guidelines. The symbols on this crosier are the bishop’s personal coat of arms, surrounded by a living vine symbolizing his active ministry, he said.
At the top of the crosier’s design is a bishops’ hat.
“Under the bishop’s hat with the tassels is always a cross. So, I chose a Celtic cross, an Irish cross that honors St. Patrick, my patron saint,” Bishop Neary said.
Under that is a cross and two anchors, a symbol of the congregation of Holy Cross, and the chalice, that symbolizes the preacher, St. Cloud. There are also four fleur-de-lis, to symbolize the French royal family, of which the saint was a member.
“I chose to include the river for a number of reasons,” Bishop Neary said. “Jesus was baptized in the Jordan; I’ve lived near some pretty famous rivers in my ministry, like the St. Joseph River in South Bend, which is where the French missionaries came through in the 1600s; you could almost see the Columbia River from where I lived in my parish in Portland, and now, I’m near the Mississippi.”
Under the crest, is the motto “Ave Crux Spes Unica,” or “Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope.”
“The design is a collaborative effort of prayer to the Holy Spirit, the bishop’s ideas and my final interpretation,” Sirba said.
Once a sketch is finalized, he transfers it onto carving paper and begins working. The final steps include sanding, applying a spray finish and letting the crosier set and cure.
“Bishop Neary’s crosier is made of Honduran mahogany, a world-renowned wood representing the Universal Church,” said Sirba, who has been carving since he was 15.
“My calling has always been straightforward to where I am now,” Sirba said. “Facilitating the needs of the Church and laity, the journey of my woodworking was not by chance. I truly believe it is the chosen path of the Holy Spirit for me, in which he continues to lead me.”