St. Mary Catholic Church, located in Pahokee, Florida, on the east side of a Lake Okeechobee is the ‘Bethlehem of the Diocese of Palm Beach.’ This Church is the home of the 16th Century Russian Jeweled Icon “Our Lady of Bethlehem.”
We visited St. Mary’s during Lent so we’re not able to see all the statues along to sides on in the altars, as the followed the traditional tradition of covering holy items. I bet this would have been so much more with those statues uncovered. Even covered in purple cloth, this church is a beautiful gem.
The images of Mary as the Mother of God and Jesus as her baby were painted by a monk in Russia in the 16th century. A silversmith set the shield and frame over the wooden panel. The silversmith cut the shield that at first shows the images that the monk had painted to reveal what we see today the face, hands and feet of the Blessed Mother and her Child Jesus.
