PRINCETON — Thursday, Jan. 1, will see an exceptional display of statues in Mater Dei Parish. 

More than 800 statues of Our Lady will be on display at St. John the Baptist Church in Princeton, part of Mater Dei Parish, with visitors invited to see them and, for a free-will donation, to take their favorite home. 

The collection comes from the Soda family. Eunice Soda, family matriarch, had been collecting them for decades. 

Eunice received her first statue of the Blessed Virgin as a teenager and held onto it as a treasured possession. Her son, Kevin Soda, confessed that he broke it many times, but it was always repaired and restored to its place of honor. 

For Eunice, however, it was not just about one special statue. As she wandered the Princeton flea market, she would see more, and, as she used to put it, “felt sorry for them.” She began purchasing those she saw, even those that were old, worn, or broken. Friends and family soon became aware and began purchasing statues for her when they saw them. 

Eunice continued to hunt for statues of Our Lady for years.

In the late 1970s, Eunice’s collecting became more wide- ranging when the family farm was passed to her sons. With her husband more available, she traveled in search of statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

By the end of her life, she had accumulated — via gift or purchase — more than 1,250 statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

When she and her husband built a new home in 1994, they had to include wider hallways in the design to accommodate the shelves needed for the collection. 

Kevin joked that her grandkids would walk in, see all the statues, and know they couldn’t misbehave in this house.

It is a varied collection, ranging from tiny statues to four-and-a-half-foot tall images made for churches. They are made of many materials — wood, stone, salt, pewter, porcelain, and glass. 

The images of Our Lady aren’t always to everyone’s taste — many are hand-carved, and some might not be considered particularly flattering depictions. But Eunice always said that that was one person’s vision of Our Lady. 

There are certainly gems in the collection as well — one of the ones that remains in the family’s possession is a small pewter piece that the late Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Madison, George O. Wirz, a friend of the family, took to Rome and had blessed by St. John Paul II.

Eunice Soda died in June 2020. Many statues in her collection were designated for specific family or friends. For instance, Kevin received the one he’d broken so many times. 

However, a vast majority of the collection is still intact. The family has decided to offer these statues for display at the parish’s Mater Dei celebration and make them available for anyone willing to give a free-will donation. 

The donations will go to the local Council of Catholic Women, of which Eunice was a member for years, including a term as president of the local council. 

“Mater Dei,” or Mother of God, is the newly minted name of the local parish. Fittingly, the statues will be on display on that feast, January 1. On that day, the Mater Dei celebration will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition to the statues on display, there will be a potluck, with the churches of the parish providing hot dogs, ham, and beverages, and guests invited to bring a dish to pass. 

The event will be at the St. John the Baptist gym, 125 Church St., Princeton. 

The snow date is Sunday, Jan. 4.