Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Pelican In Her Piety

A pelican represented in the act of wounding her breast to feed her young with her own blood. This came from a tale told in the Middle Ages,  which made the bird the adopted symbol of the Redeemer. 

Likewise a folktale from India says that a pelican killed her young by rough treatment but was then so contrite that she resurrected them with her own blood. 

As a result, the pelican became a symbol of the Passion of Jesus and of the Eucharist.


(Located in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, MO)

Catholic Eye Candy  has a number of different renditions of the Pelican in her Piety if you would like to see them.

This is a very nice piece of art. The mosaic was created with small tiles individually placed into this headstone to form the picture.  This was a real treat for me I have never seen this on a stone before.

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