Hand stolen from statue of St. Peter at the Vatican
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The key-holding hand of a 13th-century statue
of St. Peter Enthroned was stolen March 11 from the statue at the exit of the grotto under St. Peter’s Basilica. The marble statue is dated between 1285-1290 and is attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio, the same artist to whom many scholars attribute the more famous bronze statue of St. Peter seated in the central nave of the basilica. The statue with the missing hand was restored in the late 1700s, and the stolen hand was a replacement copy of the damaged original, an official at the basilica said. The hand, which he said was of little monetary value, was connected to the wrist of the statue with a tight-fitting metal rod. According to the official, a Vatican guide said the statue still had both hands at 3:30 p.m.; the theft was discovered an hour later when a passing employee saw it was missing and alerted authorities.
The missing hand is rumoured to be doing the rounds of episcopal residences in Russia. For centuries the Russian episcopate has been peeved that its lines of apostolic succcesion stem only from James the Brother of the Lord and from Andrew the First-Called who is known to have paid an unexpected visit to southern Russia in A.D 65 when he was lost on a missionary journey to Scotland. His Holiness Patriarch Cellophane III of Moscow and All the Arbat is offering sub conditione consecrations with the Petrine hand to all members of his Synod. The required donation is small: an oil well in Kazakhstan or the deportation of two Polish clergymen. In time the Russian episcopate will be fully “petrified” and Cellophane is planning to declare himself urbi et orbi as the Russian Pope. The House of Fauberge is already commissioned to produce a magnificent tiara in time for Cellophane’s enthronement.
When Novosti CIN and Ecumanic reporters queried the Pope of Rome on this surprising use of Peter’s hand, the Pope said that he thought the hand been chewed off by rodents in the Vatican since he often lays awake at nights, disturbed by ratzsinging. The Pope expressed concern that the Orthodox may misuse the keys which were in Peter’s hand when it was stolen. ‘They are,’ he said, 'inclined to be too lenient with sinners. They’ll be allowing all sorts of riff-raff through the heavenly gates."
Odd news story—I was JUST looking at a picture of that statue in a guide book about St. Peter’s…this very morning. Being a carver I was interested in how they had added the head w/ halo and changed the hand…Then you tell me the hand has been stolen. Wild coincidence.
Love the reportage about the patriarch Celophane III too
I am shocked and appalled! How dare you poke fun at the theft and desecration of a sacred statue from the Vatican! Have you no shame? Would you like it if we were to do the same to an Icon of Our Lady of Novgorod or Vladimir? And to profane the name of our good Cardinal Ratzinger is in extremely poor taste! What gaul! And then you go on to insinuate that the holy offices of the Russian church would take part in a scheme or scandal as such is beyond belief! You should immediate kneel before God on broken glass begging for the privelege of converting to Catholicism for your shameful behaviour on this board!!!
Peace.
(oh, and if you didn’t realise it already, this has been an “Irish” parody…)
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