Mother Mary Comes to Me

Mother Mary Comes to Me is an artist book documenting a fifty foot gilded statue of Mother Mary as seen from a decrepit nursing home in East Orient Heights, Boston. Mary is a defining maternal figure and these patients choose to spend their final days in an outdated nursing facility for the comforting view outside their windows. Although I’m an Orthodox Jew, I appreciated the impact of this visual message. The woman chaperoning me while I photographed the home asked if I knew the history of the statue. She explained that this shrine to St. Mary was built for the Orione Brothers by a Jewish sculptor they saved from Nazi persecution. Ultimately, As we walk alone, through the minutes and hours and days, ever waiting for the inevitable end, we can only hope for someone to watch over us — to protect us — to insure that we will not die alone.