Santa Cruz WWII Memorial - Santa Cruz, CA
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 36° 58.685 W 122° 01.757
10S E 586396 N 4092881
This memorial is located in the courtyard at Mission Santa Cruz. Admission is free to visit the Mission and courtyard.
Waymark Code: WMRHWM
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/24/2016
Views: 2
This sculpture depicts Mary, the mother of Jesus standing and seeming to plead with someone or something below. She stands on a curious object which has two horn-like protuberances...perhaps a symbol of the devil. A tiny male angel can be seen rising at her feet. There is no sign indicating a title, artist or date...but a plaque does read:
"DEDICATED TO THOSE OF THE ARMED FORCES
OF SANTA CRUZ
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN WORLD WAR II
KNEEL AND SAY A PRAYER"
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Mary ... also known by various titles, styles and honorifics, was a 1st-century Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament.
The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament describe Mary as a virgin ...and Christians believe that she conceived her son while a virgin by the Holy Spirit. This took place when she was already betrothed to Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony.[6] She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.
The Gospel of Luke begins its account of Mary's life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus. According to canonical gospel accounts, Mary was present at the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. According to the Catholic and Orthodox teaching, at the end of her earthly life her body was assumed directly into Heaven; this is known in the West as the Assumption."