CHRISTIAN imagery abounds on Carroll Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Park Slope, even on the non-ecclesiastical buildings. Across the street from Francis Xavier Church is what probably used to be a stable. Above the door is a carving of a man fording a stream with a child on his back. For those of you unfamiliar with he image, it depicts the story of St. Christopher, who according to tradition, once carried Christ as a child across a river:
While there may have been a 3rd century Greek martyr named Christopher, the story told of him is now generally acknowledged to be a 12th century addendum to the Christian canon. Christopher is typically depicted as a tall, middle-aged, bearded man with a staff who wades across a river carrying the Christ child on his shoulders. As the story goes, the extremely robust Christopher devoted his life to carrying people across an otherwise unfordable stream. One day a little child appeared before him and asked to be carried across.
To Christopher’s surprise, as he forded the river, the child steadily increased in weight until Christopher found his tiny burden so heavy that it was almost impossible to bear. When he asked the holy babe why he weighed so much, the child replied that he carried the world’s sins upon his shoulders. As a reward for his service, Christopher’s staff was miraculously transformed into a living tree, and Christopher himself became the Patron Saint of travellers. luckymojo
Stories that hark back to a pagan past predating Christianity surround Christopher; some accounts have him 12 cubits (18 feet) tall, and others paint him as a dog-headed cannibal in his youth.
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1/20/26