For the home
Catholic statues for the home
A statue in the house is a face to turn to at the start of the day and at the end of it. Here is how to choose one for a shelf, a sill or a prayer corner — and which statues Irish homes have kept for generations.
The statues Irish homes have always kept
Walk into almost any Irish kitchen of a generation ago and you would have found the Sacred Heart, often with a small red lamp burning before the picture or statue. Many families made a formal enthronement of the Sacred Heart, consecrating the household to Him, and the image stayed in the same place for decades. Our Lady was rarely far away — on the landing, in a bedroom, or on the window sill facing the road — and in May she was given her own altar of flowers.
Those habits have not gone away; they have simply become a choice rather than a given. People buy a statue for the home today for the same reasons their grandparents did: to have somewhere to pray that is not just a chair, to mark a house as a Christian home, to keep a family devotion going, or to remember someone who had a particular love for a saint.
The statues people most often choose for a house are the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady under one of her titles, St Joseph as protector of the family, the Holy Family, and a patron saint — St Thérèse, Padre Pio or one of the Irish saints.
Painted statues for the house
Hand-painted resin is the usual choice indoors: it carries colour, it is light enough for a shelf, and it is posted anywhere in Ireland for one flat charge.
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Hand-painted resin · plain or glitter
From €60
Our Lady of Lourdes
Hand-painted resin
From €55
St Joseph
Hand-painted resin · plain or glitter
From €60
Our Lady of Fatima
Hand-painted resin
€140
Our Lady Help of Christians
Hand-painted resin · glitter finish
€260
Sacred Heart of Jesus (Open Arms)
Hand-painted resin · plain or glitter
From €55
Merciful Jesus
Hand-painted resin · plain or glitter
From €95
Our Lady of Grace
Hand-painted resin
€60
Where it will stand, and what to check
The place decides the statue more than people expect. Measure first, then choose.
A kitchen shelf or dresser
Measure the clearance to the shelf above, not just the depth. A statue squeezed under a shelf looks crowded; allow a hand’s width over its head. Keep it away from the cooker, where grease settles on paint.
A window sill
Check the depth of the sill against the depth of the base on the statue’s page. Painted resin keeps its colour longest out of strong direct sun, so a north- or east-facing window is kinder than a south-facing one.
A prayer corner or home altar
Here the statue is the centre of the space, so it can be larger. Leave room in front for a candle, a Bible or a Rosary, and set any candle well clear of the statue and of anything that can catch.
A hall table or landing
Somewhere people pass every day is where a statue is seen most. Make sure the table is steady and the statue is set back from the edge, especially with small children or a dog in the house.
A child’s room
A smaller painted statue of a guardian saint or Our Lady, placed high enough to be looked at rather than played with. See also First Holy Communion gifts.
Resin or marble in the house
For most homes, hand-painted resin is the right answer. It shows Our Lady’s blue mantle, the red of the Sacred Heart and painted faces; it is light enough for a shelf; and it goes by post anywhere in Ireland for a flat €15 per order, however many pieces are in it.
Hand-carved marble belongs in the house too, but in a different way. A white marble statue on a plinth in a hall or a living room is a piece that will be handed down. It is heavier, so the table or shelf under it must be solid, and we deliver marble ourselves rather than posting it. A painted statue in the kitchen and a marble one in the garden is a sensible pairing.
The Sacred Heart and the Holy Family
The two images most often given pride of place in an Irish home.
Having it blessed
It is a long Catholic custom to have a new statue blessed by a priest when it is first set in place. Bring it to the parish after Mass or ask your priest to bless it when he next calls; it takes only a few minutes. If the statue is part of a house blessing, it can be blessed at the same time as the house.
Day to day, a soft dry cloth or brush is all a painted statue needs. The full care notes are on our story page.
Questions about statues for the home
What size statue suits a kitchen shelf?
Measure the height between the shelf and whatever is above it, and choose a statue a hand’s width shorter. Every statue page lists the height, width, depth and weight measured from the piece itself, so you can check before you buy.
Which statue should a Catholic home have?
There is no rule. The Sacred Heart and Our Lady are the traditional pair in Irish homes, and St Joseph is often added as protector of the family. Many people simply choose the saint they pray to most.
How much is delivery for a statue for the house?
Hand-painted resin is posted anywhere in the Republic of Ireland for a flat €15 per order, however many statues are in it. Marble is delivered by us, at the charge shown on each statue’s page. Collection in Termonbarry, Co. Roscommon, is free.
Is it all right to put a statue in a bedroom?
Yes. A statue of Our Lady or a guardian saint in a bedroom is an old and good custom, and many people say their night prayers before one.
How do I clean a painted statue?
Dust it with a soft cloth or brush; if it needs more, a barely damp cloth is enough. Never scrub it and keep solvents away, because they lift paint.
What if the statue arrives broken?
Send us a photograph within 48 hours of delivery and we will replace it or refund it in full, including the postage. Keep the packaging until the claim is settled.
Not sure which one will fit?
Tell us the space you have — a shelf, a sill, a corner — and we will suggest what suits it, with the measurements to check.
Updated
Read next
Resin statues
Hand-painted resin is how most people bring a statue into the house: in colour, light enough for a shelf, and posted anywhere in Ireland for one flat charge. Here is what it is good at, and where marble is the better choice.
House blessing gifts
For generations the first thing hung or set up in an Irish home was the Sacred Heart. A statue for a new house carries on that custom, and gives the house blessing a focus.
Religious gifts
A statue is the kind of present that outlives the day it was given for. Here is how to choose one for each of the big moments in a Catholic life, and how to have it delivered anywhere in Ireland.
Garden statues
A statue of Our Lady in the garden is one of the oldest sights in Ireland. Getting one to look right — and keep it standing straight winter after winter — is mostly about the base, the spot and the material.
Religious statues in Ireland
Statues of Our Lord, Our Lady and the saints for the home, the parish and the garden — hand-painted resin and hand-carved marble, delivered to every county in Ireland.