Fairfield, Conn., Oct. 29, 2001 – Sacred Heart University's Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding (CCJU) presented Pope John Paul II with a finely crafted bust of the Pontiff at a papal audience on October 24 at the Vatican. Sculpted by noted Ridgefield artist Marc Mellon, the bronze artwork was created to honor the 81-year-old Pope's lifelong ministry of reconciliation, especially between disparate religious traditions. 

The presentation was made during a week-long pilgrimage to Rome for officers and friends of the Center that included visits with Cardinal Walter Kasper, the head of the Vatican's Pontifical Commission on Religious Relations with the Jews. The group also conferred with the American and Israeli ambassadors to the Holy See and enjoyed special tours of the Pope's personal chapel and other sites normally unavailable to visitors. 

“By pursuing a dialogue based on mutual respect and tolerance, the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding has established an ongoing and constructive relationship with the Holy See,” said the Center's executive director and cofounder, Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz. “The friendship and mutual understanding displayed during this week's meetings gives us all hope for a better world.” 

Dr. Anthony J. Cernera, president of Sacred Heart University and also a cofounder of the CCJU, noted that when “we as individuals successfully seek and find common ground, we become more knowledgeable of our own heritage. Rabbi Ehrenkranz and I have worked closely together for 10 years. Through our personal dialogue and friendship, I know I have become a better Catholic while Rabbi Ehrenkranz says that he has become a better Jew.” 

Mr. Mellon's earlier commissions have included well-known bronzes of former President George Bush and the former president of Taiwan. The grandson of Polish Jews who came to this country in the early 1900s, whose extended family experienced the Holocaust first-hand, he explained that he worked “to create a bust of Pope John Paul II that projects the full vigor and vision so characteristic of his leadership. The great advances championed by this pope and by groups like the CCJU are completely reframing the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people. My hope is that the Pope's message of mutual respect will be passionately embraced by future generations. Given the state the world is in, this successful model of cooperation desperately needs to be repeated around the globe.” 

The Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding is an international leader in interreligious dialogue and understanding. It has sponsored seminars and public forums for religious leaders, scholars and students on several continents, and its work has been warmly encouraged by Pope John Paul II. The sculpture will be publicly displayed at a place to be determined by the Vatican. For further information on this artifact or on the work of the CCJU, call 203/365-7592.