Dallas Morning News photos by Matt Nager

Deacon Jack Hopkins (left), and Michael J. Sheehan, Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico, bless a new bronze statue of John Paul II, cast by artist Robert Hogan at John Paul II High School in Plano, Texas, on Saturday, October 21, 2006 on the occasion of the Second Annual Cardinal Dinner. 

The statue was donated by JPII Advisory Council member Walt Coughlin in honor of his wife, Ann.  Mr. Coughlin states that, “everyone should leave a footprint in the world, and my wife is the best example of a giving, Christian woman…this statue will be her footprint.”

The statue was commissioned as a gift to John Paul II High School by Mr. Coughlin over a year ago.  As the artist began to work on his piece, his wife tells of neighbors who were drawn to his home studio.  “There were people who made a point of coming by every day to visit as the statue began to take Pope John Paul II’s image.  It is amazing how this pope, even in death, touched so many lives,” says Mrs. Hogan.

It was an all-day affair the day the statue was delivered, and the artist, Mr. Hogan, and the donor, Mr. Coughlin, were here at the school all that day.  Mr. Hogan had the opportunity to visit Mrs. Briley’s sculpture class and visit with them about the process of sculpting.  He explained that a life-sized statue is always 110% of the actual size, so the statue is never dwarfed by its visitors.  He also shared that the very first material used to create the statue was Styrofoam before the clay version was created; eventually becoming transformed to the final bronze. 

Mr. Hogan told the class how he intentionally created the piece with the right foot slightly forward from the robe, in hopes that JPII students for generations will touch the foot for good luck on tests, sporting events and even for spiritual guidance.  Mr. Hogan hopes to someday see the right foot of the statue worn down with the hopes and dreams of young people, those who Pope John Paul II loved so dearly.

Let us give special thanks to the Walt Coughlin family for their generosity to our school, and for their Christian spirit of giving.