Those entering the church couldn’t help but stop and stare. They were drawn to the beautiful statue of Mary, Mother of Fairest Love, her face so serene as she nestles the baby Jesus, her love flowing gently like the waves in her hair and the folds in her gown.
James Chen was enraptured.
“I feel like I’ve seen the mother of Christ,” said Chen, a parishioner at St. Timothy Church in Laguna Niguel. “I can feel her presence. The artist must have poured out his love for Christ into this statue.”
More than 700 people packed St. Louise de Marillac Church in Covina for the sculpture’s welcome Mass on June 26. Archbishop José H. Gomez celebrated the liturgy, which included the enthronement of Mary, Mother of Fairest Love, and the consecration of the faithful to her.
The statue’s debut in the United States coincided with the feast day of St. Josemaría Escrivá, a Spanish priest who founded Opus Dei and promoted devotion to Mary, Mother of Fairest Love, a title from the biblical book of Sirach.
Archbishop Gomez, whose own vocation to the priesthood was formed by Opus Dei, told believers why it was important to consecrate their lives to Mary.
“We are Mary’s children and Jesus calls us to love her as he loves her,” said Archbishop Gomez during his homily. “With all our heart and soul. So, tonight we will consecrate ourselves and our families to Mary; we make our lives a gift of love to her.
“All our desires and dreams, all our ambitions and plans. We offer everything to Mary. And we know: that if we seek Mary, she will always lead us to her Son.”
Archbishop Gomez then commenced with the rite of enthronement. He blessed the statue with holy water, then asked everyone to commit themselves by reciting the Act of Consecration of the Family to Mary, Mother of Fairest Love. Cheerful applause followed.
“I just felt the love so intensely,” said Ivan De Herrera Jr., a parishioner at Holy Name of Mary Church in San Dimas. “She’s there to guide us to him and bring us to him. … We just need to pray.”
The Fairest Love Family Project commissioned the statue in 2021. The independent nonprofit organization works in cooperation with Opus Dei and provides spiritual support and resources to families.
Opus Dei member Judy Romea Adams traveled from Northern California to witness the enthronement. At her lowest moment, Adams says she turned to Mary, Mother of Fairest Love.
“I’ve gone to her during the hard times of my childbearing journey,” Adams said as she held her infant daughter. “Before I got pregnant with her, I lost one pretty late, I had a stillbirth.
“Now my hands are full.”
In 1928, St. Josemaría established Opus Dei to encourage both clergy and laypeople to seek holiness in their everyday lives. He believed in the value of Marian shrines and envisioned one in America.
“We want to help fulfill the dreams of St. Josemaría,’’ said JL Marti, CEO of The Fairest Love Family Project. “Los Angeles, with the entertainment industry, is a major place of influence. It’s where we forge values and where we form ideas of what a family is. That’s why we want it here.”
While the statue is complete, the shrine is a long way off. Marti said the next step is to open a Chino Hills-based chapel and retreat house, then build a shrine where the sculpture will be relocated, which could take many years. In the meantime, St. Louise de Marillac will serve as a pilgrimage site for visitors drawn to the Mary statue.
The statue, which stands about 7 feet tall, was crafted and blessed in Italy and brought to California with the help of a few major donors. Carrara marble gives it its bright, white color, signifying the purity of Mary. Other highlights include a rose with thorns to symbolize the passion of Christ and a wedding ring to acknowledge Mary’s role as a wife.
The man behind the masterpiece is American sculptor Cody Swanson, who’s now based in Florence. He said his aim was to glorify God and bring people closer to him.
“My inspiration was to create a work that invites you to prayer,” said Swanson, a renowned Catholic artist. “I wanted it to be something that speaks to people with different backgrounds but is also connected to the rich tradition of our faith … classic and fresh at the same time.”
Marie Hellrich declared the Mary sculpture “gorgeous” and was happy that so many people came to see it. Hellrich and her husband have been members of Opus Dei for 20 years and wanted their five children to look to Mary for support.
“Mary is close to our family because she is closest to Jesus,” said Hellrich, a parishioner of The Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Community Church in Redlands. “She is our guiding light and our example and we ask for her intercession.”
Luis Cetina said he’s “working towards a saintly life” and sees Mary as a role model for obedience and unity with Christ.
“There’s no better teacher than Mary,” said Cetina, a parishioner of St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Alta Loma. “Mary offers me a perfect example of how a husband should be in terms of loving my wife and raising my kids in concert with my wife.”
With the statue in place, St. Louise pastor Father Richard Sunwoo hopes it will help his parishioners grow in faith and even join the project’s mission. He says his involvement with Opus Dei has made him a better priest.
“It really invigorated my love for the Mass, for the Eucharist, for Our Lady,” Sunwoo said. “I think Pope Francis really said it best when he said, roughly, ‘We should share our faith like one beggar telling another beggar where to find the bread.’ I think that for me, I have found the bread.”
