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Welcoming St Benedict: A New Statue for Worth Abbey
We are delighted to share images of an uplifting new work of art that now enhances the staircase leading from the Narthex down into the Abbey Church. This beautiful statue of St Benedict, created by sculptor Richard Watts, brings a contemplative and inspiring presence to the heart of our monastic setting.
Commissioned for Worth Abbey and made possible through the generous support of our Benefactors, along with a kind donation from the Lay Community of St Benedict, the statue feels so perfectly placed that it’s hard to imagine the space without it, as though it has always been there.
The sculpture includes a deep relief carving of Benedict which attempts to capture the experience of Benedict where his outer journey to ‘a wild place’ was paralleled by an inner journey of encounter with God in prayer. The carving will include a few words from the opening of St Gregory's Life of St Benedict which capture the essence of what his experience at Subiaco was all about. While the reference to ‘a spring so abundant that it issues in a river’ seems on the face of it to be purely geographical in Gregory's account, we could be permitted to read it as a reference to the life of the spirit: 'If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.....Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.' John 7: 37-38.
Richard Watts, the Sculptor wrote, "For many of us (perhaps especially when we were young) the Abbey Church represented our 'spiritual cave' - our Subiaco. So, it is suggested that the sculpture be located on the descent to this ‘cave’, half way down the stairs from the Narthex above the dedication stone. This location also has the advantage that it is located beneath the oculus which sheds natural light onto this location. However, it would be advisable to allow for some artificial lighting as well."
