Pope John Paul II's Staff Was Work of Santa Fe Sculptor
Albuquerque Journal | Wednesday, April 6, 2005 | Laura Banish
Posted on 04/06/2005 10:32:58 AM PDT by woofie
The staff, or crosier, is topped with a bowed crucifix and a gaunt yet unwavering Christ figure— the work of Santa Fe sculptor Gib Singleton. Singleton, who suffers from emphysema, declined to be interviewed by the Journal due to health problems and because he does not want to commercialize the pope's death, according to friends and Fenton Moore, director of Santa Fe's Gallerie Zuger, where Singleton's work is shown.
An 18-inch bronze version of the pope's crucifix is on display at Shidoni Foundry, about five miles north of Santa Fe. Singleton used to work at Shidoni, and some of his other religious figures, including a striking statue of Moses, are also on display there.
"Gib's the kind of person who can read someone's personality and can capture it three-dimensionally," Shidoni president Scott Hicks said Tuesday. "To see his work have meaning to someone so important as the pope is really great."
Singleton's sculptures are well-known around the world. Some of his pieces are featured in the permanent collections of the Vatican Museum, New York's Museum of Modern Art, the State of Israel and the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma.
Years ago, Singleton was asked to assist in the restoration process when Michelangelo's Pieta was vandalized at the Vatican. He served as the Vatican's restoration specialist for three years. Tommy Hicks, owner of Shidoni and Singleton's longtime friend, said Shidoni's bronze version of the crucifix like the one on the papal staff was likely made in 1975.
Hicks believes the silver version now on display as Pope John Paul II lies in state was made sometime earlier for a cardinal, who later gave it to the pope. It may have been cast in Italy, he said.
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