Origins and design

The statue was commissioned in 2005 by The Liverpool Echo

Liverpool Echo

The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...

 Newspaper and paid for by the people of Liverpool, to mark the life and work of Bishop David Sheppard

David Sheppard

David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool was the high-profile Bishop of Liverpool in the Church of England who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth...

 and Archbishop Derek Worlock.

The aim of the statue was to create a lasting memorial to the work of the two religious leaders whose presence towered over Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 during the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s. Despite coming from two different churches in a city which, over the years, has seen deep religious divisions, Bishop David and Archbishop Derek together, and working with other religious leaders, were a uniting force.

Sculptor Stephen Broadbent

Stephen Broadbent

Stephen Broadbent is a British sculptor, specialising in public art. He was born in Wroughton, Wiltshire in 1961 and educated at Liverpool Blue Coat School...

 won the commission with his design of two 15ft bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

 “doors” decorated with symbols and newspaper headlines from the two men’s lives and ministry. Through the open doors the viewer can see both cathedrals signifying the unity the churchmen, affectionately dubbed “fish and chips” as they were always together and never out of the papers, strove to achieve.

Liverpool council has now accepted the statue as a gift to the city and people of Liverpool.

Unveiling

The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones, and the Archbishop of Liverpool, the Most Rev Patrick Kelly, led a procession of up to 3,000 Christians through Liverpool on Sunday 11 May on a Walk of Witness. They took it in turns to read a specially-created memorial liturgy as they walked from the Metropolitan Cathedral to Liverpool Cathedral. Half-way between the two cathedrals on Hope Street

Hope Street, Liverpool

Hope Street, Liverpool, England stretches from Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral past Liverpool Cathedral to Upper Parliament Street. It contains several restaurants, hotels and bars. The road runs parallel to Rodney Street...

, they stopped to unveil a 15ft bronze statue designed by sculptor Stephen Broadbent honouring the work of Bishop David Sheppard

David Sheppard

David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool was the high-profile Bishop of Liverpool in the Church of England who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth...

 and Archbishop Derek Worlock.