Mary, Mother of the Church, (sculpture).

Mary, Mother of the Church, (sculpture).

Wiegand, Don F., sculptor.

Grimaldi, Frank, architect.

Gromer, Keith, contractor.

Tallix, fabricator.

Mary, Mother of the Church, (sculpture).

Cast 1989-1990. Installed 1992. Dedicated Sept. 13, 1992.

Sculpture: stainless steel; Base: stainless steel.

Sculpture: approx. H. 13 ft. 10.5 in. x D. 5 ft. 3 in.; Base: approx. 1 in. x Diam. 42.5196 in.; Turntable: approx. H. 3.5433 in. x Diam. 46.3380 in. (2,840 lbs.).

(On back of Mary's dress:) (foundry mark) / Don Wiegand 1989 signed Founder's mark appears.

Standing figure of Mary with her arms extended to welcome all the children of the world. She is dressed in a long, plain, long-sleeved dress. The sculpture is installed at one end of a rectangular basin of water, mounted on a motorized turntable that turns one revolution every four minutes.

Religion -- New Testament -- Mary

Allegory -- Life -- Womanhood

Outdoor Sculpture -- Missouri -- Laurie

Shrine of St. Patrick Church, Highway 5, P. O. Box 1250, Mary, Mother of the Church Shrine, Laurie, Missouri 65038

Sculpture is a gift of the Fabick family of Fenton, Missouri, in memory of their mother, and it is the centerpiece of the Mary, Mother of the Church Shrine (also known as Mother's Shrine). It was commissioned for the Shrine by Bishop McAuliffe. Work on the Shrine began in 1984, with the bulk of funding coming from private sources. Some money was raised for the sculpture by selling small bags of cement to be incorporated into the basin. Architect for the Shrine project was Frank Grimaldi of Kansas City, Missouri, and the contractor was Keith Gromer of Laurie, Missouri. The artist initially applied a pewter-like patina to Mary's dress. According to the artist, he wanted the sculpture to honor womanhood and motherhood. A two-foot stainless steel model of the sculpture was unveiled by Bishop McAuliffe at the close of the worldwide Marian Year, on Aug. 19, 1989. The following year, a life-sized stainless steel model was unveiled by the Bishop. A nearby bronze plaque reads: Mary, Mother of the Church/Sculptor Don F. Wiegand/Presented by the Fabick Family/in honor of their mother/Ludmila Hlausa Fabick 1992.

IAS files contain: a press release from the fall of 1992; three articles from The Catholic Missourian (Jefferson City, MO), Sept. 23, 1988, pg. 1, 6; Sept. 11, 1992, pg. 1, 4; and Sept. 18, 1992.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Missouri survey, 1994.

The Catholic Missourian, Sept. 23, 1988, pg. 6.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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