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December 4, 1856
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN MARBLE, BY STRAZZA.
On 4 December 1856 Bishop John Thomas Mullock recorded in his diary: “Received safely from Rome, a beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in marble, by Strazza. The face is veiled, and the figure and features are all seen. It is a perfect gem of art.”
The Veiled Virgin remained at the Episcopal Palace adjacent to the Roman Catholic Cathedral in St. John's until 1862, when the bishop presented the bust to the Superior of Presentation Convent, Mother Mary Magdalene O'Shaughnessy. Bishop Mullock's sister, Sister Mary di Pazzi Mullock, was a professed member of that community, and later its Superior.
This statue was executed in flawless Carrera marble by the renowned Italian sculptor Giovanni Strazza (1818-1875) in Rome. Other examples of Strazza's work may be seen in the Vatican Museums and at the Archbishop's Palace in Milan. The St. John's Veiled Virgin was described by The Newfoundlander (4 December 1856) as the second such work by Strazza on the subject of a veiled woman.
The image of a veiled woman was a favourite subject of whole school of Strazza's fellow sculptors, with Pietro Rossi and Rafaello Monti the most important among them. Often, the image of the veiled woman was intended to embody Italia, in the same manner in which Britannia symbolized England, Hibernia symbolized Ireland, and Lady Liberty symbolized the United States.
There are similar marble busts depicting veiled women in Canada, the United States, Ireland and England. None, however, are as meticulously crafted as the Newfoundland Veiled Virgin by Strazza: the facial features and the braids in the hair are clearly visible through the stone veil.
The Veiled Virgin remains in the care of the Presentation Sisters, Cathedral Square. It may be viewed by appointment.
For more information on this and other related subjects contact the Archives of the R.C. Archdiocese. www.stjohnsarchdiocese.nf.ca
Recommended Reading: Not Words But Deeds, Sister Corona Wyse, pbvm.
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Larry Dohey
Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s
P.O. Box 1363
St. John’s, NL
A1C 5M3
709-726-3660
E-mail: archives@nf.aibn.com
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