An original, custom-made Mary, Mother of Wisdom statue was recently placed in the Mary, Mother of Wisdom Chapel at Saint Vincent College. Mr. and Mrs. James A. Carey dedicated the statue that was created by Toni Baur, a woodcarver from Oberammergau, Germany.

“The statue of the Blessed Mother that we chose depicts Mary as ‘Mother of Wisdom’ – the name of the student Chapel,” said Fr. Vincent Zidek, O.S.B., Director of Campus Ministry. He explained that he thought it was fitting to work with the German woodcarver since Saint Vincent founder Boniface Wimmer and other Benedictine monks came from Southern Germany and the artist has the same Bavarian roots. The artist exchanged several e-mails with Campus Ministry during the planning stages that, Fr. Vincent noted, had to be translated from German to English.

The statue was carved out of a tree trunk, which is evident from the flat wood exposed in the back. Fr. Vincent explained that Mr. Baur gave Campus Ministry several options of how the Blessed Virgin Mary would appear right down to the colors of her clothing. “We selected colors that would compliment the hues that are already present in the Chapel,” Fr. Vincent commented.

Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., Chancellor of Saint Vincent College, blessed the statue this past spring and it was placed in the Chapel. Prior to the placement of the new statue, Saint Vincent Seminary loaned a statue of the Blessed Mother that had been in the Chapel since it opened in 2003 as part of the expansion of the Robert S. Carey Student Center.

“If I could summarize the students’ comments, they are pleased with the selection of this beautiful piece of artwork that will permanently stay in the Chapel,” Fr. Vincent concluded.

(Cutline: The new Mary, Mother of Wisdom statue.)

Return to News Releases