The Ave Herald

"It's great to be back in Ave Maria," sculptor Márton Váró said as he picked up his tools and set to work again on the sculpture of The Annunciation. Mr. Váró  spent the summer in Tuscany, at the source of the Carrara marble used in the sculpture, and says he now has close to half of the work completed. Right, Mr. Váró with his work in Italy.

"Eight of the 15 panels are done," Mr. Váró  said, "and the seven panels completed in Italy will be shipped here in the coming months."

He said he hopes to finish the sculpture by next May, after which it will take a minimum of six more months to complete the exacting work of fitting all the panels together and mounting the tons of white marble on the façade of the oratory.

The upper part of the sculpture -- including the head of Mary -- has been completed along with the wing of the Angel Gabriel (seen in the model at left), Mr. Váró said.

After spending a few days putting the finishing touches on the head of Mary, which he sculpted on the university mall earlier this year, he will then turn his attention to the rest of her body. Below, Mr. Váró examines the next block of marble he'll work on to sculpt the midsection of Mary.

Previous stories on this project can be found through the links below.

Work Begins on Annunciation Sculpture for the Oratory (Feb. 12)

Meet Sculptor Márton Váró (March 9)

Ave Maria Foundation for the Arts Announced (April 17)