This is the sixtieth
anniversary of the
dedication of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus grotto, and
fiftieth anniversary of the
statue’s features being
painted black, during
the 1967 Detroit civil
disturbance.
AN ENDURING ICON
CONCEIVED AS AN EXPRESSION OF TRADITIONAL PIETY.
TRANSFORMED BY URBAN UNREST INTO A SIGN OF CONTROVERSY.
SACRED HEART’S “BLACK JESUS” HAS EVOLVED INTO A SYMBOL OF
UNITY AND PEACE FOR THE CITY OF DETROIT AND BEYOND.
Daniel Gallio
F
RAMED BY A GROTTO OF ROUGH-HEWN STONE, THE STATUE OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS HAS
BEEN GAZING OUT ONTO THE CORNER OF LINWOOD AVENUE AND CHICAGO BOULEVARD SINCE
1957. A STATUE OF JESUS ON THE CAMPUS OF A CATHOLIC SEMINARY IS NOT AN UNUSUAL THING.
TO A DRIVER RUSHING THROUGH THE BUSY INTERSECTION, IT MIGHT APPEAR AS JUST ANOTHER RELIGIOUS
IMAGE, ALTHOUGH AN IMPOSING ONE, STANDING AT A MORE-THAN-LIFE-SIZED SEVEN FEET TALL.
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Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Fall 2017