An unusual new statue of St John Paul II, which depicts him throwing a meteorite at a 'poisoned well' of red water, representing blood, has gone on display at Poland's National Museum in Warsaw.
The sculpture, which was inaugurated last week, was created by Jerzy Kalina and is said to be a response to a controversial 1999 sculpture by Italian Maurizio Cattelan in which the Polish-born pontiff was shown as being crushed by a similar stone.
A statement on the museum's website said that "in Kalina's view, John Paul II is not a powerless old man crushed by a meteorite, but a titan of superhuman strength".
The statue is intended to mark the centenary of John Paul II's birth in May 1920.
"The artist himself perceives the Pope as a man who played a decisive role in the recent history of Poland and Europe and set in motion a process of historical, social and spiritual transformation," said the museum.
