Controversial statue of Mary giving birth beheaded inside Austrian cathedral
Controversial statue of Mary giving birth beheaded inside Austrian cathedral
LINZ, Austria (OSV News) — St. Mary’s Cathedral in Linz captured global attention when a disputed sculpture of Mary located within the church was decapitated on July 1 by unidentified vandals.
The artwork, illustrating the Virgin Mary delivering Jesus crafted by Austrian artist Esther Strauss, was planned to be showcased in the cathedral for a duration of three weeks. This piece has faced backlash from certain Catholics who described it as blasphemous.
“The bigotry, ignorance, and absence of progress in the Catholic Church is alarming,” Theresa Limberger, who dedicated 200 hours to sculpting the statue following Strauss’ idea, stated to Austrian media ORF.
Contentious artwork and critique
The debate, nonetheless, was anticipated.
“There exists a guest book that allows individuals to jot down their reflections on it. There were certainly many verbally confrontational and unsettling remarks,” Martina Resch, co-initiator of the project, informed ORF.
The creators also anticipated unfavorable responses. “I was ready for spoken comments. Nevertheless, I would not have anticipated that the piece, on which I invested so much effort, would be ruined,” Limberger stated.
The artwork was displayed at Austria’s biggest cathedral as a component of the DonnaStage art installation initiative concerning women’s roles, family representations, and gender equity, according to a statement from the Linz Diocese. It noted that the event, which took place on July 1, had been communicated to law enforcement.
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the previous prefect of what is presently the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, remarked on the German news platform kath.net that “if an artistic depiction of the nativity of Jesus offends the faithful and causes rifts within the church, the purpose of Christian and particularly sacred art has been overlooked.”
Alexander Tschugguel, an Austrian traditionalist Catholic known for the phenomenon referred to as the “Pachamama“act of vandalism at the Vatican’s 2019 Amazon synod, in a post on social media dated July 3, expressed appreciation for Cardinal Müller’s remarks on the event: “I am pleased that Cardinal Müller is once more standing up for the Church and particularly for our Lady!” he stated.”
The sculpture illustrates Mary during childbirth.
The statue depicted Mary perched on a stone and delivering her child. The diocese declared in a statement that it alluded to the Nativity display within the cathedral.
The episcopal vicar responsible for education, art, and culture in the Linz Diocese, Father Johann Hintermaier, denounced the decapitation of the statue.
“We recognized that we might be stirring up discussion with this installation. If we have offended individuals’ religious sentiments, we apologize, but I firmly denounce this violent act of vandalism, the unwillingness to participate in conversation, and the assault on artistic freedom,” the priest mentioned in a statement from the diocese.
Artist’s declaration and theological viewpoint
The declaration mentioned that Strauss additionally denounced the assault. “The majority of representations of the Virgin Mary were created by males and have consequently frequently supported patriarchal motives,” she remarked, further stating that “Mary reclaims her body” in her pieces.
Resch, a theologian at the Catholic Private University of Linz, remarked in the diocesan announcement that Strauss’ sculpture “is an exceptionally poetic piece that depicts the natural birth of Jesus. Mary is portrayed in her fragility yet also in her resilience.”
She mentioned that from a theological standpoint, “the piece is a powerful endorsement of God’s incarnationThe declaration included that she was profoundly impacted by the “violence directed at the female form.”
