The Virgin and the Donald

In light of reports of Donald Trump’s recent conversion to Christianity, we have reason to hope that he will visit his home parish, Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan, more frequently. (For Marble Collegiate's history, see the instructive remarks of Matthew Schmitz.) As Trump pays his respects at the imposing exterior statue of Norman Vincent Peale, perhaps he will notice a nearby statue that predates it. Just a few yards from Peale are the suffering Mary, Jesus, and Joseph en route to Egypt—the Holy Family as refugees. This statue constitutes one of the most unexpected, and welcome, placements in Manhattan—almost as if Joel Osteen’s I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life contained an appendix on what it means to “fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col. 1:24). Consider the statue a visual corollary to Adlai Stevenson’s famous quip, “I find Apostle Paul appealing, and Apostle Peale appalling.”