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Posted on 05/23/2025 8:55:56 PM PDT by Morgana
The Texas Legislature passed a resolution May 20 to install a statue of the Virgin Mary bearing the unborn Christ child at the state Capitol.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 19, now awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature, describes the “Texas Life Monument” as “a mother with an unborn child cradled in a world-shaped womb.”
However, the piece, created by renowned Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz, is unmistakably Marian. Schmalz, known for spiritually evocative public art, confirmed the statue depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary and the unborn Jesus.
“People are afraid to have children these days,” Schmalz told The Austin Chronicle. “Well, this is a visual argument against that, and this is saying life is beautiful, so let’s embrace it, and let’s have more beautiful humans being created.”
He noted that it was fitting that the 8-foot statue would be used to celebrate unborn life in Texas, stating, “What better place than a place that is, in a sense, responsible for the protection of the new mothers within the world?”
The steel bowl in the statue, conveying the womb area where unborn Jesus is depicted, is meant to reflect the viewer or catch the light of the sun, according to Schmalz. Schmalz also said that the piece draws on the artistic traditions of the Annunciation, adding, “This one just has a window so you can see what’s inside.”
Schmalz’s Homeless Jesus, funded by an unknown donor, has been displayed in downtown Austin at Central Presbyterian Church since 2015. The senate resolution stipulated that private donors would fund the Texas Life Monument.
Schmalz’s first version of the Texas Life Monument statue was actually installed at the church of San Marcello al Corso in Rome in 2022, and another version is displayed at the Theological College, which is the national seminary of the Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C.
Schmalz explained that the statue’s multiple locations indicate that motherhood should be universally celebrated.
“This does not look like a normal Mary with the blue veil and everything like that,” Schmalz said. “Of course it does have a veil, but that’s just part of the form that represents that swirl within the piece, but I hope that one can see their own mother in it.”
The Life of the Mother Act also went to the governor’s desk on May 21.
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The Democrats treat pregnancy as a disease to be "cured" by removing the "tumor".
Paganistic goddess worship. Semiramis and Tammuz.
Well, that didn't take long.
Artistically, it’s a very interesting statue, made easier to appreciate because of the curvilinear sweep of the Virgin’s gown and it’s drapery like folds.
Based on him saying this represents a pregnant Virgin Mary, maybe it does, but that would not be my first visual interpretation of the piece. I look at the statue, and it looks like a young woman, kneeling down, emptying a metal basin. The ‘basin’ is now empty except for the tiny Fetus in center.
If the artist wanted to depict a ‘pregnant woman’ as most people expect to see her, it may have been better to have the figure standing, with distended belly, and covered in a loose, draping gown. The way most of us visualize any expectant Mom to look in those final months. The artist could have had a portion of the ‘belly’ dome displayed as hollow, allowing the viewer to ‘see the Baby’ inside.
The good thing is the Artist now has people discussing the topic of bringing more loved children into our material world.
You beat me . It took me too long to read the article but of course my sentiment would have been the same
I generally the religion posts, but....
This is where it all began - A pregnant woman carrying what will become the most famous person on this rock.
Nice statue.
Ignore
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God
I demand we have a statue of an angry, fat black woman.
Will they label it “mother of God“?
But then again, it could be one of Mary’s other children.
Nice swipe.
But even early Protestant leaders, like Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, believed in Mary's perpetual virginity.
Mo drama.
Guess I'll have to burn those pics of me catching striped bass and tuna. Bummer.
There should be one of these statues near every Planned Parenthood facility.
…and?
shut up you ignoramus
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