Home Statues of the Virgin Mary

    

    

             Statues of the Virgin Mary can be found all throughout Brooklyn and Queens. I found these statues while walking through my friend’s neighborhood in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, a neighborhood that has a siezeable Catholic population. Although the abundance of these statues stuck out to me in this area of Brooklyn, I have been quite familiar with them in my own neighborhood in Queens. I believe that these statues are perfect examples of sacramentality, which we discussed when we read Dorothy Day. Sacramentality is the radiating presence of God in all things inanimate and animate in the world. It is the way that grace is expressed in the world. Day enjoyed visiting her friend Ade; after visits with Ade, Day “came away with a renewed zest for life. She [Ade] has such a sense of the sacramentality of life… a sense that translated in all her works whether it was illustrating a missal, making stained-glass windows or sewing, cooking, or gardening” (Day 191). From this quote, we can assume that sacramentality takes many forms and can infer that it can even be expressed in the form of statues.

            These statues of Mary all have a sort of “holy” feel about them because they all portray her in a dome-like structure that seems to protect her from the outside world. Another aspect that appears “holy” is the manner in which Mary is standing, with her palms open in front of her. This stance provides for a motherly feeling evoked by the statues; it helps to portray her as a nurturer to anyone viewing the statue. Another interesting aspect to note is that these statues are usually found in a focal part of the yards of these houses. It is clear that the owners of these statues did not purchase them solely for their own benefit, but also for that of the public. This must be the reason for the statues being placed in front of the owners’ homes or in parts of the yard visible to pedestrians walking by.

Although I do not know the exact significance for households displaying these statues in their yards for the public to see, I would assume that one of the reasons is to assert their Catholic identity in their neighborhoods. As is commonly known, Catholics are noted for their heavy use of religion in material forms. This is evident in their ornate churches, plethora of statues, and abundance of stained glass windows. Although some religions place more emphasis on religious objects than others, materiality in religion is inevitable. Hence, the authors of “How Things Matter” remark, “some degree of materiality is indispensable for religion to be present in the world” (Houtman & Meyer). The owners of these statues of Mary felt the need to profess their faith to the world, although they were in no way obliged to. This profession of faith is similar to that of wearing a cross.

The sighting of these statues and my realization of how abundant they are in Brooklyn and Queens have led me to ponder upon its true significance in Catholics’ profession of their faith.  I would love to find out why exactly the statues placed in individuals’ yards are mostly of Mary, as opposed to other important figures in the Catholic tradition.

Works Cited

Day, Dorothy. The Loneliness: The Autobiography of Dorothy Day. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1952. Print.

Houtman, Dick, and Birgit Meyer. Things: Religion and the Question of Materiality. New York: Fordham UP, 2012. Print.