Aquinas-Landmark-Winter-2021

S potlight O n . . . “It all started with the statue of St. Thomas Aquinas.” For most alumni, this is a figurative statement, but for Ray Colaruotolo, Aquinas Class of 1972, the statue ignited a passion he turned into a career which then earned him the opportunity of a lifetime. Walking through the main hallway as a student here at Aquinas, Ray was always drawn to the statue of St. Thomas Aquinas, fascinated by how one piece of stone could be made into something so beautiful, so ornate. That thought never left his mind. Ray’s curiosity gave him the brilliant idea to place a mirror behind the statue in hopes of finding the city and studio from which it had originated etched into the stone. With a little luck, and a lot of faith, he found it. With this information and knowing that he did not want to be a mason like his father, brothers, and cousins, Ray took a bold step that would change the course of his life forever. “When I graduated high school, I knew I wanted to learn how to carve stone,” said Ray. “So I bought a one-way ticket to visit the very studio the statue was created in in Carrara, Italy.”With just $200 in his pocket and no knowledge of the Italian language, Ray began his journey to becoming a master stone carver. Ray walked into the very studio in Italy that the statue of St. Thomas Aquinas was carved in and in the little Italian he did learn said, “I’m here to be a master carver.” Surprisingly, Ray was not turned away. Instead, he began sweeping floors and doing whatever was asked of him by the master carver. The turning point came one year after Ray had arrived in Carrera. On his lunch breaks, he would take some of the tools in the back of the studio with a block of marble and practice carving on his own. On one occasion, Ray forgot to put the tools back, and when the master carver realized what Ray had been doing, he was furious. Ray remembered simply telling him, “I thought if I held your chisel that your talent would come to me.” From that day on, Ray became a true apprentice learning how to carve stone. “I was like a sponge absorbing everything,” he said. For seven years Ray went back and forth from Italy to Rochester, all the while perfecting his craft. Eventually, Ray came back home to Rochester to be with his family, and when he did, he started up his own business – Stone Carving Studio – making artifacts out of limestone and marble for churches, commercial buildings, and private homes. After forty successful years in the business, with an impressive portfolio that includes a number of high-profile clients, nothing could have prepared Ray for what would come next. “I was in my office and I got a call from this guy that says he’s from Paris and they’re doing restoration work on Notre Dame Cathedral,” recalled Ray. “I thought it was one of my buddies playing a joke, so I just hung up. I hung up on this guy from Paris,”he said, barely believing now that he had done that. Sure enough, Ray received another call the next day from the same man who politely asked that he not hang up the phone this time. Ray learned that they were looking to assemble a team of master craftsmen from all over the world, including stone carvers, woodworkers, and people trained in stained glass, to help restore Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. The church had sustained serious widespread damage after a fire broke out in April of 2015. Ray was not offered an immediate spot on this team, but rather a tryout to see if his skills were up to the task. He accepted the offer and was flown out to Paris where he and about 60 other stone carvers were given the same task – to carve a 2’ x 3’ cornice in two days’ time. With the group convened in an old airport hangar, Ray remembered looking at everyone thinking they must be in 8 AQUINAS LANDMARK | WINTER 2021 Rebuilding Notre Dame The piece Ray carved as part of the selection process in Paris.