Queen of the Universe

Q: What about the Queen of the Universe?

A: The figure of Mother and Child is a seated Madonna with the Christchild as an infant cradled against her body with her left arm holding him, and her small Son's left hand touching his mother's. The right arm of the baby is raised in blessing as he snuggles against his mother's body -- a gentle majesty.

The Blessed Virgin is seated on a rock, balancing herself with her right leg lower than the left. Her right arm holds the edge of her cloak which flares out from her and is fastened by a clasp at her neck and then reaches up to form a veil-like hood. Most of her gentle and serene face is a visible. The cloak swings out behind her to fall to the foot of the rock on which she is seated.

The suggestion of the traditional 'mantle Virgin' (Schutzmantel) is conveyed very effectively -- the Blessed Virgin, royal mother, welcomes onlookers to the shelter of her loving protection, to worship her divine Son.

The above reflection was written by the sculptor of the statue, Jill Burkee. The statue was commissioned for the Shrine of Mary Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Florida, and blessed on November 21, 1999. The artist's works include a major commission for the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.