Bishop to dedicate statue

The newly-placed statue of Dachau by Arthur Dooley will be dedicated at a church service in Royton, tomorrow.

The Right Rev Mark Davies, Bishop of Middleton, will dedicate the 42-year-old statue at St Ann’s Church, the new home of the stark depiction of Christ crucified.

Dachau will be sited in St Ann’s for at least four years, and the service of dedication will be open to everyone, and attended by the Mayor of Oldham, Councillor Jim McArdle.

Dachau is a powerful, ragged figure of the crucified Christ named after the Nazi death camp and created as a memorial to human suffering.

It was first shown in Oldham in 1968, and was bought by Oldham Art Gallery, marking the beginning of Dooley’s special relationship with the borough.

The service begins at 7 pm, and church member Jennifer Barker said: “We hope to attract Polish, Ukrainian, and any other people touched by events in the war, or any other oppression.”