By Evan Triantafilidis
Sentinel Reporter
When Pope Francis arrives at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sept. 25 for a Friday evening Mass, a piece of Greenwich will be with him for the holy occasion.
Tiger Lily’s of Greenwich has been selected to make the seat that the Pope will use while he conducts Friday mass in the popular Manhattan arena before thousands.
“One of the directives from the Pope, as he was organizing this trip, were for him to have the chair and pulpit really relate to the people,” Samantha Knapp, creative director at Tiger Lily’s, said. “He’s a Pope of the people, from our understanding.
“He wanted to have a pulpit with a chair that reflects a more humble, handmade, organic background. He really wanted to honor immigrant workers.”
The community-based interior design store, located on 154 Prospect St., sponsors some of its employees with work visas while they design and construct projects with various fabrics and cloths.
“They do handwork here and we still do everything on site,” Knapp said. “We do have an immigrant legacy here.”
Knapp recalled when a member of the Archdiocese flew up from Florida to create the chair with the help of Don Bosco Workers in Port Chester. Brother Salvatore “Sal” Sammarco presented the project to the local day labor hiring center, and worked with immigrants to construct the chair. Brother Sal, of the Salesian order, did not have to travel far to find the fabric and cushions for the seat. Knapp says that Tiger Lily’s was most likely chosen because of the work they already do with immigrants in the community.
Juan Guaman, 45, was one of the main workers on the Pope’s seat, applying cushions and craftsmanship to the 11-foot chair. Originally from Ecuador, Guaman says he was honored to work on the project.
The mostly Ecuadorian team working on-site is primarily of the Catholic faith, and they completed the project in less than two weeks with the inspiration of their Pope behind them.
“In the moment, you’re thinking you’re just doing a job,” Knappe said. “As you sort of step away, the picture becomes so much bigger and clearer of just how important this moment is for so many people, including our staff.”
“It’s one of those heartwarming moments when the Pope brings people together. Even though we’re a small business, it brought our team together in a big way. Religion aside, here’s a moment where everybody is really rallying behind something big.”
With custom fabric work done daily, Tiger Lily’s offers fabric of all sizes, colors and costs for their projects, but Pope Francis has asked for something to reflect his association with the people.
“You can pick out a fabric over here that’s $500 dollars per yard or you can pick out a fabric that’s $40 dollars per yard,” Knapp said. “We have a huge range. When they came in, we gravitated towards our high-end quality goods, and they kind of steered us away.
“They told us to remember that he is a simple man and that he does not want to be seen as anything more than a man of the people. Interestingly enough, they ended up with a very regular and affordable white cotton linen.”
Some of the workers signed their name to the finished product before it was sent to New York.
Pope Francis will arrive in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 22, and will visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum before the Friday Mass.
