Statue
Object number2017.55.1
Sculptor
Rosa Zanazio
(Italian)
OriginRome, Italy
MediumPlaster(?); Ceramic(?); Paint; Metal
Credit LineGift of Jerome Vereb CP
DescriptionDark brown painted plaster or ceramic statue of Pope Pius XI. Figure is seated on the papal throne wearing papal vestments, his proper left foot is slightly forward. Rectangular base with floral decorations carved on top. Front of base has carved name of figure. Proper left side of base, near the rear, has carved artist name and location. Reverse of throne in the bottom left corner is a carved number.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 11.813 × 5.25 × 7.375 in. (30 × 13.3 × 18.7 cm)SignedProper left side of base, near the rear, has carved text "ROSA ZANAZIO. C.A / ROMA ".
InscriptionsFront of base has carved text "PIO XI".
MarksReverse of throne in the bottom left corner is a carved number "03555".
Historical NotesFather Jerome Vereb, a Passionist priest from Pittsburgh, was sent to Rome in 1978, to work at the Vatican in the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. He was there until 1981 and bore witness to the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. While at the Vatican, Count Enrico Pietro Galeazzi learned of Father Jerome’s origins in Pittsburgh and gave him this statue of Pope Pius XI to remember Pittsburgher Msgr. Walter Carroll and former U.S. Steel CEO and Chairman Myron Taylor who worked with Galeazzi on the envoy between the Vatican and the United States during World War II. Msgr. Carroll worked closely with Pope Pius XI and General Mark Clark to help orchestrate the surrender of Rome and carried secret messages between Pope Pius XI and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Myron Taylor acted as President Roosevelt’s “personal envoy” to Pope Pius XI and aided in negotiations between Allied forces and the Vatican, which resulted in limited bombing of Rome; he also established the American Relief for Italy program after the war to support those Italian citizens negatively impacted by the war.
Previous owner
Father Jerome Vereb CP
Related person
Pope Pius XI
(Italian, 1857 - 1939)
Related person
Count Enrico Pietro Galeazzi
(Italian, 1896 - 1986)
Related institution
Passionists
Related person
Monsignor Walter S. Carroll
(died 1950)
Related person
Myron Charles Taylor
Related person
General Mark Wayne Clark
(born 1896)
Related person
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(1882 - 1945)
Related person
Pope Pius XII
(Italian, 1876 - 1958)
Related person
Pope John Paul II
On View
Not on view
