MANTUA – Shifting his eyes upward to the depiction of the Annunciation in the Church of the Incarnation’s foyer, Bishop Dennis Sullivan said a prayer for all who would enter the house of worship and gaze upon Mary’s fiat.
“Father, may your children [through] this image of Mary know her perfection and trace in their hearts her pattern of holiness.”
Marking the feast of the Annunciation – which recalls Mary’s “yes” in becoming a vessel for God’s son, made flesh in her womb for the salvation of the human race – Bishop Sullivan celebrated April 8 with the parish community at its morning Mass, joined by priests and clergy of the Diocese.
“Even though Mary could not fully understand all that being a mother would mean for her, she said ‘yes,’” Bishop Sullivan said, calling these words “the most revolutionary ever spoken, to initiate the incarnation of God.”
“Like her, by faith, we need to trust in God, even when we are not certain what is happening, or what will happen, in our lives,” he said.
Finding it curious that the celebration of the Annunciation this year fell on the same day as the U.S. solar eclipse, he said, “As darkness covers the earth, let none of us forget that the light of the world, Jesus Christ, entered the world as a human person in the womb of his virgin mother. As darkness covers the earth, let us never forget that the light of Christ is greater than any darkness. He is the light, and we are called to be children of the light.”
Afterward, he blessed and dedicated the wood-carved sculptures of the Virgin Mother, the angel Gabriel, cherubs and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove that adorn the wall above Incarnation’s interior entrance into the church. The artwork was made possible through longtime Incarnation parishioner Frank Fucci, who wanted to honor his late wife, Madeline, a devout Catholic who passed away in 2020.
“The Annunciation meant so much to her, [so] today means an awful lot,” Fucci said. “I hope she’s smiling down.”
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After his wife of 60 years died, Fucci reached out to parish pastor Father Raymond Gormley about creating an artistic piece inspired by the 18th century Italian artist Paolo de Matteis’ “The Annunciation,” currently on display at the Saint Louis Museum of Art.
Father Gormley, in turn, contacted Abbott Church Goods in Cherry Hill, which commissioned Demetz Art Studios in Ortisei, Italy, to create the pieces.
After a six-month process that included clay modeling, wall measurements and engineering to ensure the church wall could support the pieces – which weigh up to 800 pounds – the entire artwork was put into place the week after Labor Day, Father Gormley said.
The artwork depicts the angel Gabriel – holding a white lily, a symbol of purity – appearing to Mary, kneeling and meditating on the word of God. Above them are the Holy Spirit, accompanied by cherubs.
“How Mary actively says ‘yes’ is motivation for us [to understand that] God speaks to us,” Father Gormley said. He urged all to respond to God like the Blessed Mother did: “Let it be done to me according to your word.”
Since the artwork’s installation, “Everyone has been mesmerized, pulling out their phones and taking pictures,” Father Gormley said. “This piece draws our attention to the beauty of religious artwork; it draws our senses always to God.”
How fitting, too, he continued, to have a piece devoted to the Blessed Mother to stand as a reminder of Madeline, who was a longtime member of Incarnation’s operatic choir. “Madeline’s life was a hymn to God.”
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