With Good Friday and Easter Sunday two weeks away, I could have waited to write about Michelangelo's Pietà — Christianity's most holy and revered sculpture depicting Mary cradling her son Jesus after his death on the cross. However, I feel compelled to offer a pre-Easter message about how the statue impacted my faith journey from Judaism to Christianity geared to readers who do not celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But first, some facts about the Pietà, which in English means "The Pity."
The Italian-born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was only 24-years-old when in 1499 he finished carving a post-crucifixion scene from a slab of Carrara marble. The sculpture was commissioned by the French Cardinal Jean de Bilhères, an ambassador to the Vatican, for his funeral monument. Then, more than 200 years later during the 18th century, the Pietà was moved to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Italy, where it resides today. (With new improved lighting installed last year.)
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