In Mexico, broken baby Jesus statues flood restorers ahead of feast day
Mexico City, Mexico AP It is Maximinio Vertiz’ busy season. Dozens of beloved but worn and broken baby Jesus figurines will pass through this 49-year-old craftsman’s hands, restoring them in time for their annual pilgrimage to church for a Candlemas blessing. Holding a putty knife with a steady hand, Vertiz went about this meticulous task […]
Italy hails “exceptional” discovery of ancient bronze statues in Tuscany
Rome, Italy Reuters Archaeologists in Italy have uncovered more than two dozen beautifully preserved bronze statues dating back to ancient Roman times in thermal baths in Tuscany, in what experts are hailing as a sensational find. The statues were discovered in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop town in the Siena province, about 160 kilometres […]
Chile’s Easter Island ‘Moai’ statues face irreparable damage after wildfire
Santiago, Chile Reuters A number of Easter Island’s iconic ‘Moai’ stone statues suffered irreparable damage after a wildfire swept through the island earlier last week, the island’s mayor told Reuters on Friday. “It’s unquantifiable, unmeasurable, the damage there is, it’s irrecoverable,” said Pedro Edmunds, mayor of Easter Island, a territory of Chile. “Because what the […]
Guatemala protesters strain to topple Columbus statue, protesting coloniser legacy
Guatemala City, Guatemala Reuters Protesters in Guatemala tried to topple a Christopher Columbus statue on Tuesday amid protests against the treatment of indigenous people by European conquerors, the latest effort in a global movement to re-examine symbols of the colonial era. The demonstrations coincided with Hispanic Heritage Day, commemorated worldwide to mark Columbus’ arrival to […]
City of London backs “retain and explain” for two slavery-linked statues
London, UK Reuters Representatives of the City of London municipal authority on Thursday voted in favour of retaining in their Guildhall headquarters two statues linked to the transatlantic slave trade. The councillors who run the Square Mile financial district agreed to add plaques to statues of former Lord Mayor William Beckford and merchant John Cass […]
California to replace toppled statue with memorial to tribes
Sacramento, California, US AP More than a year after protesters toppled a statue of a Spanish missionary on the grounds of the California Capitol, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law on Friday to replace it with a memorial for the state’s Native Americans. A statue of Father Junipero Serra had stood in Capitol Park since […]
Essay: Removal of Robert E Lee leaves Arthur Ashe as Richmond’s remaining witness
ROBERT P JONES, CEO and founder of Public Religion Research Institute and the author of ‘White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity’, writes about how a statue of the tennis great has outlasted the Confederate generals on Monument Avenue…
Trudeau denounces church burnings, vandalism in Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia AP Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday denounced the burning and vandalism of Catholic churches that has followed discovery of unmarked graves and former schools for Indigenous children. Several Catholic churches have recently been vandalised or damaged in fires following the discovery of more than 1,100 unmarked graves at the sites […]
Sculpture honours first Black president of an American college
Rutland, Vermont, US AP The first Black president of an American college is being honoured with a sculpture installed in the Vermont city where he was born in 1826. The larger-than-life marble bust of Martin Henry Freeman, a scholar, sits on a stack of books in a downtown square as part of the Rutland Sculpture […]
Five charged in toppling of Junipero Serra statue in northern California
RNS Five people linked to the removal of a statue of Junipero Serra at a California church in October have been charged with felony vandalism, a move that San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J Cordileone applauded as a “breakthrough moment for Catholics”. Cordileone, in a statement on Friday, said the charges will be the first time that […]