Building a Chair Fit for a Pope

Representatives from the Swedish Painters Union, who were visiting CWA Local 1103, with two of the workers who built the Pope’s chair gather around the nearly finished project.

On Friday, September 25, Pope Francis will transform Madison Square Garden into a house of worship. And at the center of the celebration will be a papal chair built in CWA Local 1103’s garage.

It all started more than a year ago when the local partnered with the Don Bosco Worker Center on an anti-wage theft campaign in its hometown of Port Chester, NY. As the “No Pay No Way” campaign garnered positive publicity, people and organizations from around the country took notice. One of those supporters was the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church, which asked the Don Bosco Worker Center if it would build a chair for Pope Francis to use while presiding over Mass in New York City.

The Don Bosco workers asked CWA Local 1103 if it could provide logistical support for their project, and the executive board offered to build the chair on the local’s property. The local quickly converted the garage into an impromptu workshop for the next three weeks.

The chair is very simple in its design and construction because, as workers were told, the pope did not want it to look like a chair built for royalty. Instead, he wanted one built for the people.

“We’re so grateful to Pope Francis for the support he gives the workers and his desire that workers be treated fairly,” said Theressa Kwiecinski of CWA Local 1103.

On Sept. 2, the completed chair was delivered to Madison Square Garden.

"A chair is very important in Catholic imagination. A chair represents unity and a chair represents teaching authority. The man who occupies the chair of St. Peter is our Holy Father the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. So wherever he goes, you want to have an important chair," said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, unveiling the finished chair. 

Check out our video of low-wage workers and Verizon workers building the chair.