An Evans City woman’s vision has become a reality she uses in her mission to help women look at Blessed Mother Mary as a model for choosing life.

Bernadette Conklin, who works as a dental hygienist, runs the Preborn Jesus Ministry.

Conklin said, “I wanted to begin a ministry for women who are considering abortions, introduce them to Mary. I needed an image and what better image than of her pregnant.”

She was instrumental in creating the statue “Mary Ark of the New Covenant,” which travels to churches and other locations.

Conklin said she and the statue will be at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church’s hall, 128 N. McKean St., at 9 a.m. Dec. 6 for the World Apostolate of Fatima.

The statue’s genesis was in 2009 when Conklin asked her son, James, to draw an image of Jesus in the womb of Mary.

She said the illustration was inspired by Leonardo DaVinci’s study of embryos in 1500. James Conklin completed the illustration and gave it to Conklin in July 2009, she said.

“I was in prayer the next day at Holy Sepulcher Church,” said Conklin. “The prayer at noon was the Angelus (a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation) and the image came to my mind: the umbilical chord slowly changed to a rosary. I asked him to add it to the picture.

“It immediately came to me to enlarge the image. I was a Mass Wednesday night and I prayed ‘Lord if you want it done, open a window,’’’ she said.

Intending to use the picture as a poster in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., Conklin said a patient in the dental office she worked unexpectedly gave her a $50 tip he refused to take back.

Later, Conklin said, the image was reproduced in watercolors by Wexford artist Lea Ravotti. This image, Conklin said, has been given to the late Pope John Paul II’s secretary Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwicz, who blessed it.

Conklin said images were also sent to U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd, and former Pa. Senator Rick Santorum.

This year, the image was converted into a statue “Mary, Ark of the New Covenant,” by Philadelphia artist Douglas Vasko, who completed it in May.

The statue is carved from wood in two pieces with the base being the Ark of the Covenant.

Conklin said New Ark is one of the lesser known titles given to Mary.

“The old Ark was holy and pure. How much better would he want his mother to be?” asked Conklin.

Conklin said she sent Pope Francis a copy of the image with a note in 2013 telling him of her ministry’s mission and asking the pope to pray about it.

Conklin said in February she received a letter from the Vatican acknowledging Pope Francis received the gift of the image and the letter.

Conklin said EWTN (the Eternal Word Television Network) filmed her for its Sunday Night Prime program, which aired in December of 2013.

“They interviewed me. I needed a website before it went on the air, and we got it up and running,” she said.

“Fatima, Lourdes, Jesus is sending his mother to help us,” said Conklin. “The focus is always on Jesus. Her role is to bring us to her son.

“I’m hoping people will understand Mary,” she said. “Jesus shares everything with us including his mother.

“The hope is we can understand Mary’s role. She wants to bring all her children to Jesus,” Conklin said.

The statue is taken from church to church to drive the point home.

The Rev. Steve Neff, whose hometown is Chicora, is with St. Catherine of Sweden Roman Catholic Church in Allison Park.

“It (the statute) has been here at various times,” said Neff. “She brought it initially when it was the raw wooden statue. Once the painting was done, when the Ark stand was finished, she brought it back.

“For Catholics, we have a great love for the Blessed Mother. When she brings the statue, it strengthens our connection to the Blessed Mother,” said Neff.

“It gives us a better understanding of the role of the Blessed Mother in salvation history,” said Neff.

Now, the ministry is having a bigger replica of the statue made in Columbia. The new statue will be three feet tall. The present statue is 2½ feet tall.

“It’s moving pretty fast now. It’s being sculpted in fiberglass resin,” said Conklin.

She said it will be completed in the next several moths.

Smaller replicas of the statue should be available soon, said Conklin.

Sales consultant Adam Miller of A.T. Merhaut Church Restoration and Supply of Allison Park, said his church supply company and religious retail store will sell replicas of the statue.

Miller said he met Conklin nearly two years ago when the plans for the statue were just getting under way.

Right now, the store has copies of the “Vessel of the Newborn Jesus” watercolor for sale.

“It’s a binding force,” said Miller, who acknowledged sales weren’t bad for business.

“It’s amazing how hearts are uniting,” Miller said. “We’re excited about this.

“People love artwork to explain our faith,” said Neff.

“This is just another form of using art to give that explanation.”

For more information, visit www.prebornjesus.catholicweb.com.