New statue of Our Lady for Tintern Abbey

The Cistercian Abbey of Tintern in Monmouthshire was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536 after over 400 years of monastic life. Above is a public domain photograph I found at the Wikipedia article on Tintern Abbey which shows the interior of the ruined Abbey Church.

The 13th century statue of Our Lady (left) is damaged beyond repair but the Friends of Tintern Abbey have begun a project for a new statue to recreate the original as nearly as possible. The sculptor, Philip Chatfield has been studying medieval statues in France and has also researched into the form statues of Our Lady would have taken in the late 13th century, especially bearing in mind the remnants of the medieval statue at Tintern Abbey.

There is a dedicated Our Lady of Tintern website for the project with drawings and photographs.

The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary have asked to be associated with this undertaking. The Society has worked for many years to promote a genuine and constructive ecumenism focussed on devotion to Our Blessed Lady.

Philip Chatfield has been invited to give a lecture at the 2007 AGM of the Society which will be on 3 March 2007 at 11.30am in the Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey. To join the society, email membership@esbvm.org.uk.

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