Archbishop Sheen statue to inspire new generation

An Irish artist commissioned to craft a life-size monument of Archbishop Fulton Sheen for New York’s famous actors’ chapel hopes the work will inspire a new generation of devotees to the archbishop.

Dublin-based Dony Mac Manus is currently working on the 10-foot piece which it is hoped will be installed at St Malachy’s Church, which is situated between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in early 2016.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin blessed the work-in-progress at a ceremony in the artist’s Dublin studio on July 23.

Inspired

Fr Richard Baker, pastor of the actors’ chapel, travelled to Dublin with a delegation of parishioners for the ceremony. He told The Irish Catholic that he felt inspired to commission the monument because of Archbishop Sheen’s “special interest in the acting community” and the parish’s vicinity to Broadway.

Mr Mac Manus said working on the Archbishop Sheen monument is “really exciting”.

“This is the first job that I’ve done where I’ve really been excited by the subject because of his dynamic and the video footage.

“One of the beauties of this [project] is that this gives new people access to the work and ministry of Archbishop Sheen,” Mr Mac Manus said.

He said he hopes the image will be “a point of ignition for people who view it to ask themselves ‘who is this guy?’ and go and check him out,” he said.