Against Storm, Flood, and Hurricane: Handmade Triptych of St. Genevieve, St. Gregory, and Our Lady of Prompt Succor

In the 3rd century, the diocese of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus (the latter name means “wonder-worker”) was regularly flooded by the Lycus River. As one of these floods neared, Gregory, having had enough, went to the river’s edge and drove his staff into the embankment, praying that the river would cease flooding and never rise again beyond his staff. The river obeyed, the diocese saved. This handmade triptych has Gregory, planting his staff, in the middle, flanked by two other figures who have been called on for centuries to help when storms and flood threaten: St. Genevieve, who was called on by Parisians when the Seine threatened to inundate the city in 834; the Seine promptly subsided; and Our Lady of Prompt Succor, who is appealed to when storms and other disasters threaten. The triptych (it’s weather-proof) is meant to be hung on the outside of a house, defiantly facing the weather (where, hopefully, it will act like St. Gregory's staff), or inside, looking over the family within. Not all storms are repulsed, of course, when saints are called upon, but there is strength and comfort in knowing that others in history have called on these saints, and trouble has passed them by....

The piece comes boxed and with a small booklet that gives a more detailed history of the figures depicted in the triptych.

Dimensions: 4.75 in. in diameter.

I designed, carved, and cast the piece in cast stone, which we then glaze.