Artisan nuns use sacred art to bring people to God

FROM the outside, they looked like large blocks of red clay, but hidden within were the contours of Pope John Paul II, waiting for 660 pounds of molten bronze to be poured inside and to become a statue.

The clay and lime molds of the soon-to-be blessed were waiting to be baked for four days in a 1,500-degree, methane-powered oven in a foundry run by Domus Dei — a company owned by the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master.

The bronze would be melted at 2,200 degrees and poured into the casts from large metal crucibles in a technique called lost-wax casting.

The May 1 beatification of the late pope inspired a number of Italian towns and cities to dedicate a public square to the much-loved pontiff and, like any proper Italian square, it needs a statue.

“We have five statues and two busts” of Pope John Paul on order because “many piazzas are being dedicated to him,” said Sister Mariella Mascitelli, a member of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master and an architect with the artisan company.

The religious order, which is an institute of the Pauline family, has been running Domus Dei since 2006.

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