New Ave Maria Store A Showcase for Religioius Art
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Published on Monday, 17 January 2011 18:43
Have you ever wondered where Catholic churches get their beautiful statues of saints and other religious imagery?
One source is the Conrad-Moroder company, an Italian firm which supplies carved wood statues, crucifixes and other religious art to churches around the world.
A wide selection of the Italian craftsmen's work now can be seen in the Ave Maria town center in a shop opened by Tom and Nancy Klopp (right), who distribute Conrad-Moroder carvings in the United States.
Spending time in the store is almost like visiting a museum. "There are few opportunities to see so much Catholic statuary," Mr. Klopp said.
"We wanted to open a showcase for this work," Mr. Klopp said, sitting amid carvings of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, saints, angels and other carved religious imagery. "And we wanted to show people what churches buy."
The inventory, with prices ranging well into the thousands of dollars for individual statues, is not primarily intended for sale to private individuals, Mr. Klopp said, although they do sell a number of pieces for people who want to display them in their homes. At left, the statues of the Holy Family are 42 inches high but can be ordered in sizes ranging from six inches to five feet.
The Conrad-Moroder company employes almost an entire village in the northern Italian Alps, Mr. Klopp said. They supply a range of standard products but also do custom work of all types, ranging from the fashioning of an entire wood-carved santuary for a church in Kentucky (below, right) as well as carved coats of arms for bishops in dozens of U.S. dioceses.
The Klopps began representing Conrad-Moroder in the U.S. more than 30 years ago and also own four religious good stores in Michigan and Ohio.
Their Ave Maria store is open until May from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Mr. Klopp said they haven't decided yet what hours the store will be open out of season.
Below, the statues of angels, copies of ones created in the 15th centure, are carved of wood and covered in gold leaf.