Statues of Mary and Jesus Trivia Quiz

Answer: It is well-protected from extreme weather

The statue does stand on a pedestal that is 27 feet tall. The entire statue including the pedestal stands 125 feet. It is located on Corcovado Mountain and overlooks the entire city of Rio de Janeiro. Because of its location, the statue is frequently hit with lightning strikes and subject to wind erosion. Sometimes these lightning strikes have been known to break the fingers off. Thus, it needs to be restored frequently.

However the soapstone quarry where the original soapstone used was mined is empty. All new soapstone used for renovations comes from elsewhere and is a slightly different color than the original.

Answer: Nagasaki

The Bombed Mary statue is famous for surviving the atomic bomb that fell on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Only the head and a small part of her upper torso survived. Not even the eyes survived so there are holes where her eyes should be. The statue remains on display as a sign of hope and a memento of the horror.

Answer: Mount Rushmore

Emmet Sullivan is probably most remembered for his work on Mount Rushmore, but he also built Christ of the Ozarks and several dinosaur statues for Dinosaur World.

Christ of the Ozarks is a more modern looking interpretation of Christ's crucifixion. Although Jesus' arms are outstretched in a way that resemble Jesus on the cross, there is no cross. The statue is affectionately known locally as a Milk Carton with Arms, which describes the statue's white, boxy appearance.

Answer: The Little Dark One

It is called La Morenta because her skin is painted black. Her clothes are painted gold. This status depicts Mary as an older, thinner woman than what is commonly seen. She sits on the Throne of Wisdom with child Jesus on her lap. Legend says the statue was carved soon after the Christian Church formed, though scientific evidence disproves that and places the statue as being carved during the 1100s.

Answer: Clothing was added

Michelangelo had sculpted an unclothed Christ, allegedly to show his incorruptibility. However, during the Baroque period a number of nude statues were covered up, including this one which saw the addition of a golden girdle. This is similar in comparison to how Michelangelo's nude paintings were clothed in the Sistine Chapel.

Today, the statue is in the Santa Maria sopra Minerva Church in Rome. It is from this church the statue gets its other name: Cristo della Minerva.

Answer: Canada

The Veiled Virgin was supposed to symbolize Italy in female form. Other European countries had Britannia and Hibernia, among others, and later the United States would have the Statue of Liberty. However, such a symbol never caught on in the same way. In 1862, Strazza's Veiled Virgin was given to Mother Mary Magdalene O'Shaughnessy who placed it in the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Answer: Under the Mediterranean

The Christ of the Abyss is an underwater statue of Jesus located in the Mediterranean Sea near the Abbey of San Fruttuoso off the coast of Liguria. It is a bronze statue that was first submerged on August 22, 1954. Because of water erosion and sea life, the statue had to be taken up, restored and resubmerged in 2004.

There are other submerged statues of Jesus worldwide. The one off the coast of Grenada was a gift from Genoa for rescuing Italian sailors. Another is off the coast of Key Largo, Florida.

Answer: Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is 151 feet tall while The Our Lady of the Rockies is 88 feet. In 2014, Our Lady of the Rockies fell to third when it was passed by the 110 foot tall status of Pegasus and Dragon in Florida.

The idea for the statue came from a local man named Bob O'Bill who prayed to the Virgin Mary for his wife's recovery from cancer and promised he would build a statue in her honor if she did. When his wife recovered, he set out working on it. Many people, including engineers and engineering firms, donated money and materials to build the statue. It was built on the ground and then airlifted up into the mountains.

Answer: Mary cradling Jesus after his crucifixion

The Pieta, and its many replicas, depict a youthful Mary cradling her son's body after he has been taken down from the cross. The statue is noticeably disproportionate as Mary's lap, where Jesus lies, is much wider than the rest of her. She is also depicted as a young woman here instead of a woman old enough to be Jesus' mother, as was common at the time.

The statue has been damaged many times since it was created. Some of Mary's fingers were broken off when it was moved in 1736. It was vandalized in 1976 by geologist Laszlo Toth who took a hammer and smashed Mary's arm and nose off. Some of the broken pieces were stolen by tourists nearby who witnessed the destruction. The statue had to be repaired using marble from the back. After the repairs were made, it was placed in a block of bulletproof glass.

Answer: Virgin of Paris

The Virgin of Paris is in Notre Dame Cathedral, not the Louvre. It shows Mary carrying a child, but not infant, Jesus. It is known for having distinct facial features, something that was not common when it was created in the 14th century.

The Virgin of Jeanne d'Evreux is so named because Jeanne d'Evreux, the wife of King Charles IV, donated it to the Abbey of Saint-Denis. It features a child Jesus reaching out and touching his mother's face.

Virgin and Child from the Sainte-Chapelle is an ivory statue dating back to 1260. The Virgin Mary is holding an apple and the child Jesus is reaching for it.

The Infant Jesus of Mechelen is unique in that it depicts the infant Jesus without clothing. This is unusual for two reasons: One, the Infant Jesus was almost always depicted clothed and Two, many nude pieces of art were covered up during the Baroque era and this statue dates from way before then.