Madonna Queen of the Universe Shrine

Neighboring Revere and overlooking Boston Harbor and the tarmacs of Logan Airport stands a 35-foot-tall statue of the Virgin Mary–East Boston’s Madonna Queen of the Universe. Commissioned by the fathers of the Don Orione order in 1954, the statue was meant to echo the order’s commitment to accompanying every work of charity with a work of faith. A replica of the original Madonna statue in Rome, both were created by sculptor Arrigo Minerbi, who took refuge from the 1940 Nazi invasion of Italy with the aid of the Don Orione Institution in Rome. Currently, Boston’s Madonna towers above the adjacent Don Orione Home, a rehabilitation center and nursing home.