NORTH LOGAN – The Traveling Tabernacle exhibit has an unusual piece of artwork in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church building located at 1550 N. 400 E. in Logan.
The sculpture is unusual because it is a full-sized replica of Michelangelo’s famous Pieta sculpture. La Pieta is a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the body of Christ after he was taken down from the cross and prior to being put in the tomb. The marble piece was sculpted in 1498 when Michelangelo was only 23 years old. It is also one of the few pieces the famous artist put his own name on.
“La Pieta” means pity or compassion.
It took the artist two years to complete and ItalianRenaissance.org says the piece is one of the most recognizable in the entire Christian world today.
The statue is the first thing visitors see when they enter the welcome center after going through the full-sized tabernacle display outside the church.
The replica is owned by Elder Steven Bishop, who was called as the director of the Traveling Tabernacle during its visit to Logan. He made a mold of the original and reproduced the statue using the marble from the same location as Michelangelo did.
“We are going to take the statue to other locations in Utah,” he said. ”It makes sense since the tabernacle points to Christ’s coming . The statue is a symbol of his death and the statue of Christ in the cultural hall is the resurrected Christ.”
The Michelangelo replica was cast from a mold Bishop made of the original, which is housed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
“Everything just kind of fell into my lap,” he said. “I had an acquaintance who put me in touch with the right people.”
Bishop made 12 replicas using the same marble as the original. The full pieces are made from 70 percent Carrara marble and 30 percent rosin. Bishop kept the one on display at the Traveling Tabernacle.
He had to get permission from the upper echelons of the Catholic Church to make a mold of the famous piece of art and reproduce it.
“In 1972 a disturbed man took a hammer and busted the original La Pieta up,” Bishop said. “They had it repaired, but now it is behind glass and about 35 feet away from anyone wanting to look at it.”
He said he wants people to come up close to it and touch it. Bishop said his replicas of La Pieta have been all over the world and seen by millions of people.
“There is one La Pieta in St. Paul’s Cathedral in St. Paul, Minnesota and another one in the Philippines,” he said. “There is also one at the closest church to Ground Zero in New York.”
La Pieta will continue to be on display with the Traveling Tabernacle in Logan until Monday, Sept. 26.
The display is for all faiths to come and experience.
“The tabernacle gives us an opportunity to share what we have in common with the different religions in the area ,” Frank Schofield said. “This exhibit should give us a way to come together to talk about what we have in common that could unite us in a time when there is so much division among us.”
He said that’s what God would expect from us, to come together and love one another.
An interfaith lecture will be held on Sunday, Sept. 18 at Logan High School at 7 p.m. with leaders representing six different faiths talking about the ancient tabernacle.
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