AFP
A newly opened metro station in Tehran, Iran, is named after the Virgin Mary, in what Iran’s only Catholic cardinal calls an opportunity to reflect on Mary’s example and Jesus’ message of peace and understanding.
The Maryam-e Moghaddas station contains several works of art honoring Jesus, Mary, and the Holy Spirit. The works were included to convey a sense of respect for “other religions, Christianity in particular,” said artist Tina Tarigh Mehr to AFP ahead of the station’s opening.
“This bird (the white dove) is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The olive tree is a symbol of peace and friendship,” she said.
In the station, Jesus and Mary are depicted with closed eyes or no pupils, wrote Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu OFM, Conv., archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan, in an op-ed for Fides. Fides is a publication of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
“There is no exchange of glances, except that of ‘the eye of the dove,'” said Mathieu.
It is his hope that the “Divine light of the dove rise from the depths and illuminate the hearts of commuters of good will.” With this illumination, he said, the commuters will have a sense to “walk with gentleness, humility and a desire for peace, on the path of journeys and encounters that the Creator orchestrates for his children.”
“The Holy Spirit will descend into hearts like a dove, to urge us to imitate Mary’s humble heart and follow Jesus on his path of peace,” he said. “True peace finds its source in the Trinity: the Father who speaks, the Son who accepts, and the Holy Spirit who pours himself out upon us.”
“The Saint Mary subway station, carved underground with light, arches, and silence, blends the elegance of church architecture with the calming geometry of Iranian design,” wrote Tehran’s mayor, Alireza Zakani, in a post on X on October 15.
Zakani continued, saying “This station recalls the divine woman who awakened the world through her purity and by nurturing a great prophet. The purpose of such naming of this station is to honor Saint Mary and to showcase the coexistence of Divine religions in Tehran.”
Iran’s full name is The Islamic Republic of Iran, and Twelver Ja’afari Shia Islam is the official state religion. Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians are listed in the Iran’s constitution as “recognized religious minorities” and are allowed to worship “within the limits of the law.”
People who are born Muslim in Iran are not legally permitted to convert to Christianity. Attempting to proselytize Muslims to convert to Christianity is punishable by death under Iran’s constitution.
Less than one percent of Iran’s population identifies as something other than Muslim.
A recent report from Aid to the Church in Need identified Iran as a country with serious religious freedom violations.
Mary is mentioned about 70 times in the Quran, the Islamic holy book. She is the only woman named in the book, and is the only woman to have a chapter, or surah, named after her.
Muslims believe Jesus to have been a prophet, not the Son of God.
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