Prague, June 15 (CTK) – A new statue of St Agnes of Bohemia, a princess of the medieval Premyslide royal dynasty, has been unveiled in the seat of the Czech Senate before being donated to Pope Francis as the state gift on the occasion of 2016 as the Holy Year of Mercy.
The statue has been completed by students from the secondary artistic school in Horice, east Bohemia.
It was unveiled by Senate deputy chairwoman Miluse Horska, who had proposed the project as a step to promote St Agnes and the dialogue between the state and the church.
Charles University pro-rector Jan Royt and academic priest Tomas Halik gave speeches at the unveiling ceremony.
In July, the statue will be on display in Velehrad, during the annual pilgrimage marking the anniversary of the arrival of Christian missionaries Constantine and Methodius in Great Moravia in 863.
Afterwards, it will be shown in several churches across the Czech Republic, before being transferred to the garden of the papal summer seat in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.
Four students made the statue of sandstone in five weeks after a design by former student Alena Kubcova from 2012.
The statue is 160 cm tall, the plinth is 32 cm high. The artifact weighs some 300 kg.
Agnes of Bohemia (1211-1282) was daughter of Bohemian King Premysl Otakar I. She founded a monastery and a hospital in Prague and as a nun she devoted her life to charity.
