A Catholic school in Australia has covered up a statue of a saint giving a loaf of bread to a boy after complaints that it was too suggestive.
The statue of St. Martin de Porres at Blackfriars Priory School in suburban Adelaide shows the bread being held at crotch level as the smiling boy gazes up with a hand reaching for the loaf.
“The two-dimensional concept plans for the statue were viewed and approved by the Executive Team in May but upon arrival the three-dimensional statue was deemed by the Executive to be potentially suggestive,” principal Simon Cobiac said in an apology posted on Facebook.
When you should have got Michelangelo to sculpt your school statue...#Adelaide pic.twitter.com/dDWfsV7YJh
— Michael Smyth (@MichaelSmyth_) November 22, 2017
The statue was made in Vietnam, but a local sculptor has been hired to redesign it.
Photos posted online show the statue first covered in a dark shroud, then placed behind a black fence.
“It’s hilarious. It’s absolutely hilarious,” a local artist, Driller Jet Armstrong, told 7 News Adelaide. “I love it. I love an art scandal.” He was not involved in the design of the statue.
Martin de Porres lived in Peru from 1579 to1639 and was canonized by Pope John XXIII in 1962. The son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed slave, he is the patron saint of the mixed race, barbers, public health workers and innkeepers.
Latest Stories
-
We are determined to achieve universal access to electricity by end of 2024 – Finance Minister
4 mins -
High Court adjourns Anti-Gay Bill case ‘against’ Akufo-Addo to April 29
12 mins -
Akesse Brempong to hold ‘Davidic’ concert on April 21
51 mins -
Here’s why Dr. Steve Manteaw supports Otumfuo’s call for ECG, GRIDCo divestiture
1 hour -
Ejisu by-election: Former NPP MP files nomination to contest as independent candidate
1 hour -
Aklerh out with ‘Dancehall Queen’ EP
2 hours -
Burna Boy makes Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People
2 hours -
National Peace Council cautions clergy against spiteful comments ahead of December 7 polls
2 hours -
My wife sent nudes to her Dubai lover when I was battling kidney disease – Erico
2 hours -
Kudus urges West Ham to eye Ghanaian youngster Emmanuel Danso
2 hours -
Don’t be cowed into silence, defend Ghana’s democracy – Sam Jonah tells journalists
2 hours -
QNET triumphs at PR Awards 2024 with 3 prestigious wins
2 hours -
Dubai Airport slowly re-opening as UAE rainfall persists
2 hours -
Dumsor: Kumasi demonstrators demand immediate release of load-shedding timetable
2 hours -
Transport operators frustrated by long wait to hike fares
2 hours