English
News
Pope blesses statue of Saint Josemaría at Saint Peter’s Basilica
September 17, 2005
Rome, September 14, 2005. This morning the Holy Father blessed a statue of Saint Josemaría, the founder of Opus Dei, which was placed in a niche on the outside of the Vatican Basilica on August 30. The statue stands in an area allotted to statues of saints and founders of our times by Pope John Paul II, on the left transept of the basilica, a part also known as “Saint Joseph’s arm”.
At 10.45, before the Holy Father’s arrival, Bishop Echevarría addressed those present. “We have come here with great joy and with our hearts full of gratitude to God,” he said, “to unveil the marble statue of Saint Josemaría. Our minds turn to Pope John Paul II, who canonized this zealous priest on October 6, 2002, and who gave his approval for a statue of Saint Josemaría to be placed here.” Referring to the statue, he added: “In a way it synthesizes some of the basic features of the spirit of Opus Dei.” He went on: “It expresses our very close union with the Church and the Pope, a union to which the Opus Dei Prelature feels called specifically.” (Link to full text)
When Benedict XVI arrived, the statue was unveiled. The Holy Father then blessed the statue and said the following prayer aloud: “O God, you chose the priest Saint Josemaría to proclaim the universal call to holiness and apostolate in the Church. Pour out your blessings on this statue and grant that all who contemplate it may be encouraged to carry out their daily work faithfully in the spirit of Christ, and to serve the work of redemption with burning love. Through Christ our Lord.” Afterwards the Holy Father stopped to greet several of the people there, including Bishop Javier Echevarría, the Prelate of Opus Dei, and the sculptor of the statue, Romano Cosci.
About a thousand people, many of them family groups and devotees of Saint Josemaría, witnessed the ceremony.
After this came an address by Romano Cosci, who carved the statue at Pietrasanta, Liguria, in the north of Tuscany, Italy, working for over a year to sculpt it from a single block of marble. Visibly moved, he explained: “It was a great experience for me. As I always do before beginning a statue, I tried to get to know Saint Josemaría thoroughly – his life, his teachings – in order to interiorize his image.” And he finished: “I hope that the statue I have sculpted succeeds in transmitting at least part of what he has given me, what he has given everyone.”
Finally Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, Archpriest of Saint Peter’s Basilica, gave a speech, in which he said that “the basic lesson of Saint Josemaría is that saints are not supermen, they’re not people who are totally out of the ordinary. They are people like ourselves, who fight to become identified with Christ, the Teacher.” He added: “When people come past this spot and look at this statue, they will sense an invitation to prayer and personal holiness.”
Between the various speeches a choir of about 80 people, standing on the terrace of the Vatican sacristy, sang several songs and hymns, conducted by Msgr. Pablo Colino.
The Carrara marble statue, just over five metres high, stands in a niche on the outside of the left transept of the Basilica. Pope John Paul II decided that the niches on this part of the Basilica were to be used for statues of saints and holy founders of our time. Near the statue of Saint Josemaría are others equally big, among which are statues of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, founder of the Armenian Church, which was unveiled on January 19, 2005; the Carmelite Saint Teresa of the Andes; and Saint Marcellin Champagnat, founder of the Marist Brothers. There are over 150 statues of saints around the Vatican, including those on the colonnade.
Cosci’s sculpture shows Saint Josemaría wearing priestly vestments to celebrate Mass, with his arms slightly outstretched. Beneath are the papal shields of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, in whose papacies the work was begun and ended respectively. At the Saint’s feet are two angels (Opus Dei was founded on the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels), one of whom is presenting an open book to Saint Josemaría with the following words of our Lord in the Gospel, which Saint Josemaría often used to meditate on: “Si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnes traham ad meipsum – if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all to myself ” (John 12:32).
At 10.45, before the Holy Father’s arrival, Bishop Echevarría addressed those present. “We have come here with great joy and with our hearts full of gratitude to God,” he said, “to unveil the marble statue of Saint Josemaría. Our minds turn to Pope John Paul II, who canonized this zealous priest on October 6, 2002, and who gave his approval for a statue of Saint Josemaría to be placed here.” Referring to the statue, he added: “In a way it synthesizes some of the basic features of the spirit of Opus Dei.” He went on: “It expresses our very close union with the Church and the Pope, a union to which the Opus Dei Prelature feels called specifically.” (Link to full text)
When Benedict XVI arrived, the statue was unveiled. The Holy Father then blessed the statue and said the following prayer aloud: “O God, you chose the priest Saint Josemaría to proclaim the universal call to holiness and apostolate in the Church. Pour out your blessings on this statue and grant that all who contemplate it may be encouraged to carry out their daily work faithfully in the spirit of Christ, and to serve the work of redemption with burning love. Through Christ our Lord.” Afterwards the Holy Father stopped to greet several of the people there, including Bishop Javier Echevarría, the Prelate of Opus Dei, and the sculptor of the statue, Romano Cosci.
About a thousand people, many of them family groups and devotees of Saint Josemaría, witnessed the ceremony.
Finally Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, Archpriest of Saint Peter’s Basilica, gave a speech, in which he said that “the basic lesson of Saint Josemaría is that saints are not supermen, they’re not people who are totally out of the ordinary. They are people like ourselves, who fight to become identified with Christ, the Teacher.” He added: “When people come past this spot and look at this statue, they will sense an invitation to prayer and personal holiness.”
Between the various speeches a choir of about 80 people, standing on the terrace of the Vatican sacristy, sang several songs and hymns, conducted by Msgr. Pablo Colino.
The Carrara marble statue, just over five metres high, stands in a niche on the outside of the left transept of the Basilica. Pope John Paul II decided that the niches on this part of the Basilica were to be used for statues of saints and holy founders of our time. Near the statue of Saint Josemaría are others equally big, among which are statues of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, founder of the Armenian Church, which was unveiled on January 19, 2005; the Carmelite Saint Teresa of the Andes; and Saint Marcellin Champagnat, founder of the Marist Brothers. There are over 150 statues of saints around the Vatican, including those on the colonnade.
Cosci’s sculpture shows Saint Josemaría wearing priestly vestments to celebrate Mass, with his arms slightly outstretched. Beneath are the papal shields of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, in whose papacies the work was begun and ended respectively. At the Saint’s feet are two angels (Opus Dei was founded on the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels), one of whom is presenting an open book to Saint Josemaría with the following words of our Lord in the Gospel, which Saint Josemaría often used to meditate on: “Si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnes traham ad meipsum – if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all to myself ” (John 12:32).
Prayer
RSS
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
YOUTUBE