The
Cross of Inspiration is Mr. de Weldon's tribute honoring
the 2000th year anniversary of the birth of Christ. In 1944,
Mr. de Weldon was commissioned to create a cross for St.
Nicholas Church in Maryland. This church was founded
by the Jesuits in 1634 after the land was given to them
by the King of the Patuxent Indians, Maquacomen.
It took Mr. de Weldon over six months to complete a 3000 pound
marble, life size, sculpture which graces the altar. Mr. de Weldon
told us: "Nobody can pose for Christ. I went by my imagination
and by the traditional likeness."
Close
to the completion of this magificent work, Felix de Weldon pondered
what he would do next. The day he finished this masterpiece he
encountered a wire featuring Joe Rosenthal´s Pulitzer Prize
winning photograph. Mr. de Weldon worked on the "Iwo
Jima War Memorial" from 1945 to November 10, 1954.
The Cross of Inspiration is visited by people from all over
the world. Upon viewing this masterpiece, it is easy to
see why Mr. de Weldon, being the most celebrated sculptor
of the twentieth century, was the most appropriate sculptor
for this undertaking.
