Thousands Process with Broken Statue: ‘The Message of the Broken Mary is We’re All Broken. Everyone.’

This deserves wider attention. It happened yesterday in Chicago.

The story, from The Chicago Tribune: 

Hoisted on the shoulders of those sworn to protect and serve others, a once-shattered statue of the Virgin Mary made its way through the streets of Chicago and into the heart of downtown.

Behind her, the flames held by thousands of people flickered, and the soft yet unified voices carried through the breeze.

Friday’s event, titled “There is Hope for the Broken,” was inspired by Kevin Matthews, a longtime Chicago radio host who had a spiritual awakening after he stumbled across a broken Virgin Mary statue sitting next to a dumpster outside a flower shop.

Before the candlelight procession began, Matthews gave his testimony at St. John Cantius Catholic Church in Chicago’s Goose Island neighborhood about how he found “Broken Mary.” The pews overflowed with people. Thousands sat. Hundreds stood.

Matthews had just lost his job and had recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. While driving home one day, he had an urge to pick up some flowers for his wife.

As he walked into a flower shop in Grand Rapids, Mich., Matthews spotted a blue dumpster. And to his dismay, lying on the ground next to the dumpster was a statue of the Virgin Mary.

The statue was covered in trash. Her body was split in half and her tiny hands chipped.

Matthews took the broken statue home and put it back together. But the cracks and fractured hands remain. He believes the defects of the statue, which he calls Broken Mary, are symbolic of a flawed people, a people in constant need of healing.

“The message of Broken Mary is we’re all broken,” Matthews said. “Everyone. We’re not perfect, we’re flawed. But we’re loved.”

Now, eight years after finding the statue, Matthews is bringing Broken Mary and a message of unity and healing to Chicago.

Outside, after Matthews’ testimony, a large procession was escorted by Chicago police officers as participants walked roughly 1.5 miles east along Chicago Avenue to Water Tower Place.

The crowd walked slowly and moved in silence. They only spoke to recite prayers.

Read it all. 

Check out Kevin Matthews’ story in the video below.