![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2025\/12\/pieta-full.jpg?resize=1249%2C571&ssl=1\")
A\u00a0statue\u00a0depicting Mary holding Jesus\u2019 body after his crucifixion\u00a0is\u00a0getting\u00a0a\u00a0new\u00a0life after being tucked away\u00a0for decades\u00a0in University\u00a0of Detroit Mercy\u2019s School of Law.<\/p>\n A\u00a0statue\u00a0depicting Mary holding Jesus\u2019 body after his crucifixion\u00a0is\u00a0getting\u00a0a\u00a0new\u00a0life after being tucked away\u00a0for decades\u00a0in University\u00a0of Detroit Mercy\u2019s School of Law.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Pieta, which depicts\u00a0Jesus and Mary at Mount Golgotha during the\u00a0\u201cSixth Sorrow\u201d of the Virgin Mary,\u00a0will become\u00a0the\u00a0focal point\u00a0of a new reflection room on the Riverfront Campus.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Phoenix Project, as it is called, will include restoration of the\u00a0Pieta and an update\u00a0of its new home complete with\u00a0stained glass windows\u00a0saved from a former Archdiocese of Detroit parish.<\/p>\n
Kurt Godfryd, associate dean of Finance and Operations at Detroit Mercy Law\u00a0and a deacon of the Catholic Church, believes\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0important to restore the\u00a0Pieta and display it after\u00a0its\u00a0many years of solitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat great mercy is found in\u00a0the\u00a0Pieta,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0said. \u201cIt really leans on one of our\u00a0sponsors\u00a0of the University, the Sisters of Mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Fr.](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2025\/12\/pieta-side.jpg?resize=304%2C193&ssl=1\")
For decades, the\u00a0Pieta has been stored at\u00a0Detroit Mercy Law\u00a0after\u00a0making a\u00a0short move\u00a0next door\u00a0from\u00a0Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church.\u00a0No one knows when that\u00a0might\u2019ve\u00a0been, but it is believed\u00a0that\u00a0the statue\u00a0was once displayed in the\u00a0church\u2019s\u00a0day chapel before it was\u00a0dismantled many years ago.<\/p>\n
Time has taken its toll on\u00a0the Pieta. Cracks have formed on its plaster\u00a0surface\u00a0and paint has peeled off.\u00a0The statue was moved to the basement during renovations in 2011\u00a0after being stored in the Detroit Mercy Law campus attic, which exposed it to hot summers and cold winters.\u00a0A hole was cut in the roof, allowing the statue to be carefully\u00a0delivered to street level with a crane.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, it was in this extreme heat and cold, and now it was dark and damp\u201d said Fr. Patrick Dorsey, S.J., director of development for University Special Projects. \u201cThe statue can\u2019t tolerate those variations. And in the process of all that movement, only two fingers were broken, which I think is astonishing.”<\/p>\n
No one\u00a0is\u00a0completely confident of\u00a0who knew about the statue before it was found during the renovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get the impression it was discovered, but it was known at one time,\u201d Dorsey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of sight, out of mind, one of those things,\u201d Godfryd added. \u201cObviously\u00a0it came back into sight for those who were doing the\u00a0renovation\u00a0and they felt that it was worthy enough to move out of that space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since he started in UDM\u2019s Office of University Advancement in 2023, Dorsey has worked with Godfryd to find a home for\u00a0the Pieta.<\/p>\n
Originally, Dorsey thought it would fit symbolically in the Gardella Honors House on the McNichols Campus, bookending the \u201cJesus our neighbor\u201d statue on Sacred Heart Square.<\/p>\n
But that space was unavailable, so Dorsey and Godfryd worked to secure a location on the Riverfront Campus. The new reflection room that will\u00a0contain\u00a0the Pieta is a former conference room on the Jefferson Avenue side of the campus, near the founder\u2019s plaque for the University.<\/p>\n
Dorsey and Godfryd estimate that the reflection room may be completed by 2027, in time for UDM\u2019s 150th anniversary celebration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has a real historical flair to it,\u201d Godfryd said. \u201cWe feel like it would be a beautiful space for private prayer or on special occasions, you could have a small Mass set in that location as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once the Phoenix Project is completed and the Pieta has its new home, Godfryd hopes it has a positive impact on everyone at Detroit Mercy Law.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the law school environment can be very challenging, not only for our students, but also for our faculty and staff, I’m hoping that\u00a0it\u00a0will be a welcoming space for someone to get away from the pressures of school\u00a0or\u00a0life that day and just sort of dwell in\u00a0this very special, prayerful space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n