Replica Of Famous Statue A Big Hit At WMOF
By John McDevitt
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Many attendees of the World Meeting of Families are posing for pictures with a replica of the famous Michelangelo statue.
The original Pietà' -- depicting the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the crucifixion -- is in Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
A marble casting sits in the main atrium of the Convention Center, and is very popular with the conference goers.
Pat Kerivan is with Arte Divine -- a worldwide distributor of the Vatican Observatory Foundation's licensed reproduction of Michelangelo Pietà:
"It takes us about two months to make one. Its made out of marble. And then we find benefactors to have them placed, whether in cathedrals, churches, hospitals or academic settings."
One hundred Pietà' statues will eventually be made. The one in Philadelphia is the 25th.
The sculpture will stay in Philadelphia permanently. The location is still up in the air, but Kerivan says it will most likely go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art or the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.